Is a confusing nightmare with LDW, CDW and several other options that cost massive $$$ through car rental agencies to cover against.
Any help/suggestions appreciated

For the USA - Take all of them with Hertz, easy, no excess and no trying to claim back later! Besides they are included automatically when you book through hertz.com.au and you can't decline them

Oh didnt know that.
So I dont need to bother with extra insurance for car rental?

Is that in writing somewhere?

If you booked with Hertz.com.au it will have automatically included ALL insurances either at a $$$$ or INCLUDED

$0 excess as long as you are not doing anything illegal so you do not need any extra insurance at all

Ensure that you get the other 2 clowns added as additional drivers, this is FREE. You MUST do this, otherwise they are not covered. They just need to show a drivers licence and sign on a screen.

This is from the rental DEAL I got, main reason it was so cheap is the insurances came up as free

But look at the email confirmation for this:

Rate Details
Airport concession fee recovery Included
Loss Damage Waiver Included
Taxes Included
Liability Insurance Supplement Included
Vehicle Licensing Cost Recovery Included
Customer Facility Charge: Included
California Tourism Commission Assessment Included
ENERGY SURCHARGE Included
Personal Accident Insurance / Personal Effects Coverage 166.60 USD

You are correct.....AWESOME

That was quite a DEAL you grabbed there skidowner

&
Yes love a good DEAL

Helps us all skiusa4less

Skidown has already said most of it. Always get the LDW and Liability Insurance because travel insurance will NOT cover these areas.
I never bother with the extra Personal effects coverage because many travel insurance policies will cover this area.

Yep and through Hertz the LDW and LIS is automatically included. Makes life much easier

This is scary:

Other Restrictions:

Please note: In common with most car hire suppliers the insurance coverage does not cover damage to windows, wheels, tires, the roof, underside & interior of the vehicle, towing charges or damage caused negligently, willfully or recklessly.

this is the bit you need to pay special attention too TOFF

is being naked in a moving vehicle on interstate highways illegal?

No it's encouraged

One of the regulars on the forums drifted over double lines and clipped a car, ...and was billed $15k ....sneakly on the credit card at $1k per day so he didn't get any fraud alerts from the credit card. Cancel the card if you have a bingle and realise that the hire company's 'self insure' (play the odds) so its in their interests to use your money to pay themselves for repairs etc at whatever their mate charges for the repair.

I have a question: If I'm an American and I rent a car, my normal car insurance covers my rental automatically. How much is a typical car policy and is is the daily hire rate, w/out the avis etc insurance, a lot lower?

I like the 'cancel the credit card bit' seems like a great idea.

Are you suggesting that all the insurance offered by USA rental car mobs is a ripoff and not worth taking?

Some time ago I hired a car from Alamo (I think). Got a puncture. It was before those stupid donut wheels had hit Australia, so I was alarmed when I went to change it and found this tiny bloody thing as my only option. Anyway, phoned the rental company and they told me to get it to the nearest town, take it to a certain tyre chain place, and book it to them (Alamo). Trouble was the tyre place didn't have the right make & model tyre. Car hire company said to get something compatible. Done. Then tyre place said that they didn't have an account with Alamo. Phone Alamo for the 3rd time. They said that I should pay for it and they'd refund it to my credit card. All in all, over half a day lost. Got back to Australia, and a couple of weeks later they refunded my credit card for the tyre cost

You can't just cancel the credit card, they will send you bills and eventually debt collectors after you etc etc

YOU MUST TAKE ALL INSURANCE OPTIONS WHEN RENTING IN THE USA and these are the ones from the rental car company.

You used to be able to choose not to, but many idiots did and then racked up debts of hundreds of thousands of $$$ because you are liable for EVERYTHING if you have no insurance.

There was a time when people went around ramming the back of rental cars causing accidents to claim compensation as well.

Again, as I said, you can't DE-select insurance as an Australian renting a vehicle in the USA at least with the major companies. Dunno about the shit kicker operators.

From hertz.com - Under insurance, if you find a way to avoid the insurance which would be by using the hertz.com USA website and and not the aussie one...

In the event of any other loss or damage to the car, regardless of fault, your financial responsibility extends to the full value of the car at the time of rental, less its salvage value, plus expenses for towing, storage impound fees, an administrative fee and a reasonable charge for loss of use.

Write off the car ? $40k + lost revenue + admin fees and you'll be up for $60k +

Then of course the costs to the other car etc etc

You also won't likely fund an insurance option that will cover you for $100k++++ of damage and up to $2 Million of liablity etc

Any 3rd party rental car insurance will normally only cover up to $5000 (the excess in some countries, Australia for example with Hertz) or $70,000 of damage anyways so you are still stuffed


In Australia the insurance with all rental companies is a joke and I never take it, as my credit card covers me to $5000 and the max I would be liable for with any vehicle is $5500 anyways

Was that sfo?

I'd let the debt collectors prove their loss or try to recover from fully encumbered assets and trusts. Chances are they'll write things off. At the very least they'll have to convince the credit card that the cancellation was improper. Either way, they can't just sneak up on you, max out your card, and leave you broke in a foreign country.


The trouble is with the fine print that basically says they can refuse to honour the policy or refuse to cover you because the interior was soaked in blood and the windows were smashed in the prang. That's why I'm looking to see if I can get a policy that's fair.

AFAIK you HAVE to get the LDW and all that extra stuff when you're purchasing US car rental from overseas. A lot of my friends were exited about how cheap their rentals were when they booked car rental from US sites while not disclosing their locations (most sites detect it). They weren't so happy when they got charged basically AGAIN for the car rental in insurance when they picked it up...

So I assume you are on the DNR (Do Not Rent) list from that rental car company then?

What rental car companies in the USA allow you to decline insurance as an Australian resident ?

What insurance policy will cover you as an Australian resident hiring in the USA for say $1,000,000 in public liability and also unlimited costs for loss/damage to your car and any other cars involved when declining the included insurance options provided by the car rental company.

Exactly right, as a US resident, insurance is OPTIONAL. But for anyone else you have to take it.

US residents can be covered with their credit cards or own car insurance policy.

You can get around it, like you said, but that leads to a few things
1. Your whole rental being void
2. Being charged for it and more when you pick it up, as the over the counter rates can be higher
3. Being able to rent without it, but then crashing etc and being left up for tens or hundreds of thousands of $$ or even a millions.

It used to be optional for visitors to the USA, but heaps of people declined it, like travel insurance... then crashed and were left broke and the car rental companies out of pocket.

Personal Accident Insurance / Personal Effects Coverage 166.60 USD

skidown, some take this option and some don't. Hertz cover both with the one premium. Wouldn't a regular Travel Insurance Policy or Credit Card Travel Insurance Policy (NAB Gold) cover this ? BTW I book with Hertz as well.