Renting a car insurance surcharges · Insurance Surcharges in Renting a car
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Insurance Surcharges in Renting a car
Insurance Surcharges in Renting a car
If the car is damaged or stolen, or if your car damages another or injures or kills someone, your liabilities (to the rental agency and/or others) can go far beyond the fee you agree to pay for the rental. In addition to paying for any repairs required, the rental car company will charge you for any loss or revenue while the car is being repaired, and administration costs for managing the repair.
Usually when you come to rent a car you are presented with several insurance options. Some of these are
Collision Damage Waiver - sometimes included in the rental cost, this reduces your liability in case of an accident to a fixed amount advised by the rental agency.
Theft Liability Waiver
Windscreen Breakage Insurance - sometimes a small extra daily fee will cover you against the cost of windscreen damage
Excess Reduction/Super-CDW - reduces the deductible amount in case of an accident to a lower or sometimes eliminates all liability. Can be a substantial cost on top of the base price amount.
Third party insurance
Personal Effects Insurance - covers loss of personal items in the car when it is stolen or damaged.
You should take the time to consider the insurances offered, how they effect your liability, their cost, and whether your personal car insurance, travel insurance or charge card (used to rent the car) provides partial or full coverage. Sometimes some of these insurances and surcharges are compulsory, e.g., in foreign countries where your personal insurance doesn't offer coverage. Sometimes some coverages are built into the base rate.
If insurance or waivers are optional, consider the following before accepting the charge:
As above, if you have an automobile insurance policy on your vehicle at home, check to see if it includes coverage for rental car damage.
If you plan to pay with your credit card, check also to see if it includes rental car coverage. Be aware that in many cases this coverage is secondary (meaning your existing auto insurance coverage pays first).
If you have purchased a travel insurance policy that covers trip cancellation, medical expenses, etc., check to see if it includes a rental car collision/loss benefit. Some packages do, providing primary coverage up to a certain amount. (Primary coverage means that the insurance pays before other policies, including your own auto insurance.) Depending on the amount of insurance you buy, the per-day charge for a travel insurance policy that includes rental car coverage can work out to less than the per-day amount of a waiver. It is usually cheaper to purchase travel insurance than to pay for the Excess Reduction/Super-CDW at the rental counter.
Rental companies tend to prefer bona-fide visitors rather than local renters when it comes to excess levels and excess reduction. Sometimes these are lower for international visitors booked in advance, for airport renters with a flight number, or for people using a corporate discount code.
Many of the insurances are void if you use the car in a manner not permitted by the contract, e.g., driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, using it to commit a crime.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Renting a car
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Renting a car Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.