Car rental insurance is one of the widespread phenomena of the 21st century. I've been working in this industry for 3 years and nearly 25% of all issues related to deductions, authorizations, rebates and geocentric validity. These situations usually arise when customers fall off their vehicle and have a bill that throws their eyes off their heads. Today we will discuss how to avoid such eye irritation.
Let's first look at the types of insurance we're likely to introduce when deciding what to rent for a car. There are five main types, and millions of different smaller types, and find new ones every day. The following must be observed:
1. Collision Insurance – Also known as CDW or LDW, collision insurance covers the body of the vehicle in the event of an accident. Please note that the last sentence specifies exactly what is fed and when. CDW does not cover windows, windscreens, tires, roofs, mirrors, interior lights, headlights, flashlights or suspended vehicles in any event. In addition, it only covers accidents, non-vandalism, and sometimes non-single-accident accidents (that is, running on some other vehicle). Make sure you ask these things when booking.
2. Theft Protection – Simply put, it applies to a car if it is stolen. In order for this insurance to be valid, you must complete a police report and within 24 hours notify the lessor (and the credit card company if you are under your policy) or have the responsibility for the eligible car. Liability insurance is also known as a third party or TPL, responsibility is almost always included in a European lease. This includes non-vehicle things such as people, buildings, property, etc. Possible damage. So when crashing into the front window of a crowded shopping mall, you may be grateful if there is no Pay (unless their liability insurance is ridiculously low, most of them are unlimited).
4. Personal accident insurance – or PAI, this includes medical expenses for car accidents in the event of an accident. Typically, this kind of insurance can be circumvented with a good health plan here and almost always costs only a thousand dollars, including death or scrapping, up to $ 20 or $ 50,000, but we all hope it will not happen.
5. Coverage of personal effects – Cover up to a predetermined amount of marriage. It's usually not valid unless you can prove that the objects are in the car (so take pictures of your stuff if you are there if you want this insurance).
Please note that if you refer to negligence or drunk driving, most of the collateral will be void. So, if you go on a night or several parties, it is best to rent the hotel and make alternative travel. Rental companies are always trying to convince you that you have to take out insurance, but this is not always true. In fact, if you have an American or Canadian credit card, it is very likely that you had collision and theft insurance. Most gold and platinum cards have decent coverage, with little or no deduction. Cards abroad can be American Express & Visa (up to 30 days continuous), Mastercard (15 days continuous) and Diners Club (usually 30 days but vary). Under no circumstances should you try to use an overseas Discover card. Although your agent says that you cover the insurance, you can bet that you will not accept the rental counter.
You can not wait for your national car insurance policy in Europe either. It will not work. Even policies that are intended to be purchased with the sole intention of covering you with car hire on a cruise ship are usually not accepted on the counter. Sometimes you get a policy that will reimburse you for car accident expenses, but they are handled separately because they do not directly involve the rental company.
There are exceptions to this, especially in Ireland, where currently the only accepted cover is Mastercard Platinum. It can be assumed that in the future there will be several countries that accept only one type of card, be careful to mention the credit card company where you pick up the car before taking your nominal value. Get a copy of the policy in writing. Not only is it a good security measure but it speeds up the process in the counter when the agent challenges the validity of coverage. Also, be sure to inquire about the claims procedures that the credit card company uses to allow coverage and payback deductions in case of an accident. In general there are many bureaucracies, but in the end, if you decide to use your credit card coverage, you can save $ 50 to $ 500 a week's rental fee. Since credit card coverage has a head (saving money) and a disadvantage (reporting intensive paperwork), the same applies to insurance from the lessor. The disadvantage is that you first have to pay for the premium, and when you get into an accident, you can usually deduct from $ 200 to $ 2000 or more, depending on the type of car you pay. In theory, you only have to pay the amount of damage, but somehow rental companies can work with bent bumper to get to $ 2,000. The unfortunate thing is that you really can not stay in the debate. You should usually skip to a plane at the next destination. That's why you can go without having to do anything else. The credit card block will be a prize, and it will end until the bill comes naturally to your house.
Understanding insurance restrictions and capabilities can be a mindset exercise. However, it is one of the most important part of a car rental experience, so it's better to be safer than I'm sorry. Taking into account that leaseholders spend a large part of their profits on unused insurance, we can see why they intentionally intend to approach it in a different way in time and distraction. God forbids ever to actually apply this information to car hire. The better you are prepared, the less you have the chance to lose during your experience. In the next chapter, we will discuss how to prepare for the fun section: to actually drive.