| Insurance Options For Car Rental |
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| Written by Teresa Burrows |
| Thursday, 22 July 2010 15:02 |
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Car Rental accident insurance is probably the most misunderstood and debated subject for those of us who rent cars. Car Hire companies will always offer and most times with much gusto for you to reduce your liability should you be involved in an accident, this fee is most often refered to as Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and they will insist that it is in your best interest to take this option.
Car Rental accident insurance is probably the most misunderstood and debated subject for those of us who rent cars. Car Hire companies will always offer and most times with much gusto for you to reduce your liability should you be involved in an accident, this fee is most often refered to as Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and they will insist that it is in your best interest to take this option. The car rental company will most likely tell you that it is in your best interests but common sense will tell you that if it is in your best interests how can it also be in their best interest. Most of us have car insurance and complain about the cost, well car hire companies are no different they seek car insurance from insurance companies but the policies are very expensive much more than your family car insurance because the circumstances are very different. Because of this expensive option for car rental companies many of them opt to self insure their vehicles as it is a much more economical way for them to cover any damage to their fleet and the damage cost is offset by the additional fees charged to the client for CDW. The car rental staff will try their very best to get you to take this extra charged as in most cases they receive commissions for the amount of CDW they sell. In Australia the legal precedent is that the liability lies with the owner or a person acting as an agent for the owner and this is unlikely to be the hirer. Serious thought should be given as to whether you accept the offer of excess reduction to reduce your liability. One obvious reason to take up the offer is to reduce the stress on yourself and not drive around knowing that in the event of an accident you would have to pay a high excess that in most cases has been inflated to scare you into taking the CDW. In all hosesty it does not take long for the CDW costs to add up and amount to more than paying the excess in the unfortunate event of an accident. Here is the dilermma! Some credit card companies offer their clients insurance to cover excess liability when renting cars and some clients think they are covered when they are not you should check with your credit card company and get it in writing that you will be covered and under what circumstances are you covered for. Sometimes the credit card companies will only cover you if you have not been offer excess reduction by the car hire company or their cover may only cover the difference between the two. Whether you are booking online or in person, when you book the rental car is when you should be looking at this option of CDW. As we have said previously the car rental company will do their best to get you to take the excess reduction option after all this is a profit area for them. Next we have the situation where the unthinkable happened, a car accident. Assuming no one was hurt, in which case an ambulance should be called as soon as possible, the first objective will be to approach the other driver or drivers and collect their full particulars. This will include sighting their driver's license and noting its full details. A tip here is to confirm that the address on the license is in fact their current address. If the accident has occurred in a busy location you may need to move the vehicles but it is always best to leave them if possible unless the police instruct you to move the cars. The police will need to be called depending on the severity of the accident or if anyone has been injured. This is always an unpleasant situation and you will be shaken, don't be pressured by tow truck drivers who will show up like bad pennies. Do not let them attach you rental car to their truck unless you have permission from the car rental company or told to do so by the police. Tow truck drivers are paid commissions from panel repairs and they will do their best to get your car hocked up quickly. Try to work with the car rental agency to sort out all the details and a course of action to follow. The normal procedure is that you would have to pay the excess and that would most likely be actioned on your credit card even before you got back to the office. Then you would set about recovering your money once fault had to determined. Insurance is always difficult to understand if you are not sure ask questions before you drive away in your rental car. Safe Driving. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Want to find out more about Car Rental #1, then visit Teresa Burrows's site on how to choose the best hire car #2 for your needs. |