Car Rental Insurance Discussion

Frequent Flyer Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 73

I was pricing on-line and found a Compact car with Budget at $227/week (includes taxes/fees). Is this a good price or are there other places that offer better?

I'm not looking for anything fancy - just something to toot around the island in

Topic title changed

Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 2:40 pm Post subject:

What about insurance? Try Economy at: economy@candw.ky. Ask for Danny and tell him you heard about them from Activity Guide and ask for a 20% discount. They have dependable vehicles, and do not tack on a bunch of surprise charges. wink

Frequent Flyer Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 73

Damn... you're right Joe. I forgot about insurance!! My U.S. insurance doesn't count in Cayman, right??

Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:39 pm Post subject:

Nope, you need Cayman insurance and unless you buy 3rd. party insurance they swipe a huge deposit on your credit card.

Economy is probably sold out, but I can't recommend them highly enough for providing well-maintained cars at affordable prices with no hidden charges. Some companies charge more for insurance than they do for the rental. Bash

Frequent Flyer Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 73

I have Platinum credit cards.... does this mean I will be covered? And will the car rental places know that or do I have to show proof somehow?

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 7:33 am Post subject:

Vegas - It would be up to you to contact your credit card company and find out exactly what they cover. You can decline the insurance here (just like in the US), but if you decline 3rd. party most acencies will pre-debit your credit card for a sizeable amount. I would imagine that if you can show proof of LDW coverage by showing them something from your credit card company then they would likely accept that. Danny at Economy Car Rental would be able to give you more details: economy@candw.ky.

Banned Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 117

Like was said above, do look in to what coverage your credit card offers. I have a Bank of America Platinum card and a Citi Bank Diamond card and both offer rental insurance as a perk of having the card!! Saves me big bucks!

Frequent Flyer Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 73

Adawg....

How do you go about providing proof to the car rental agencies? I have a BofA Platinum card as well and a Citi Card. Do I request something from my credit card company asking them to provide proof and then bring that with me to the Cayman car rental place? Will they accept that?

Just curious to see how it works for you when you rent - if I can save some money, I"M ALL FOR THAT ...

Banned Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 117

Vegas M wrote:

Adawg....

How do you go about providing proof to the car rental agencies? I have a BofA Platinum card as well and a Citi Card. Do I request something from my credit card company asking them to provide proof and then bring that with me to the Cayman car rental place? Will they accept that?

Just curious to see how it works for you when you rent - if I can save some money, I"M ALL FOR THAT ...

Sorry I just saw this. Last year I rented from Budget because I got a Sam's Club discount for them and had a 2 class upgrade coupon. Before leaving, I called Bank of America to see what coverage I had. They told me to decline all offered insurance as I was covered. Additionally, I do marketing work the leading car insurer in the U.S. and when I mentioned going on vacation they reminded me (which I did not know) my car insurance from at home also covers rentals. I had never heard of this. So call both your credit cards and insurance agent.

When I picked up my car, they asked me what level of insurance I wanted and I said nothing. They warned me of my risks, told them of my credit card coverage and I was on my way w/o a deposit that I can remember. However, I have to say I would rather put a temporary deposit on my credit card that will be refunded than buy insurance I do not need!

Sorry again for taking so long to respond.

Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 3

Never get the insurance, its a rip off. Use your credit card and drive carefully. Laughing

Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 6:07 pm Post subject:

Americus - If you have an accident without insurance you are personally liable for the damages. That could be millions in the case of a severe injury. Your advice is not in what I would consider to be the best interest of our members and I wil ask you nicely to limit your suggestions to sharing personal experiences.

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:17 am Post subject:

I always decline the insurance but use a gold card which covers it for rentals. One thing they don't tell you is that there is a limit on the number of passengers you can have. I wouldn't have known this had McCurly's not mentioned it. I called the CC company and sure enough I wouldn't have been covered on an 8 passenger van as it was only good to 7.

Another "heads up" on if you pay for any portion of the rental by some means other than the CC it can void the coverage in some cases. Also, if you accept ANY of the insurance from the rental agency it can also void your CC coverage regardless of whether the rental coverage is inferior to that of the CC company.

Each card will be different and have different conditions so it's always advisable to check with you own prior to departure AND recheck from time to time since the CC companies are fond of changing their terms and coditions from time to time.

One other point - when renting in Canada or USA I have a rider on my personal car insurance which extends my coverage to the rental car and the cost is only $25/year with unlimited use so I get all the additional coverage that comes with that.

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:36 am Post subject:

Caribbeansun,

Thank you for the information. I think any little hints like that on what to call your credit card company to ask, are very valuable.

Again, thank you.

Edited By : scubachar Mon, 01 Aug 2005 22:23:08 -0500

Amys, Welcome to the board. Glad you are taking time to get a rental and see more of the island. Word of caution on your CC rental ins. Be very careful about using this. I am in the retnal car business and what we have found out is most CC insurances are not worth the paper they are written on. AMEX is the only exception to this (and I would double check even them). There are so many loop holes and if you dont ask the right questions you will not get the proper answers. if you just ask "am I covered?" then the answer is always yes, but if you ask How am I covered?" then it is a different story. Most find that they are only covered up to a specific amount and if you rent a jeep or truck or even some SUV or sports cars then you are not covered at all. If you ask what are my limits then you will find out that they may only cover the deductable on your own policy, which defeats the whole purpose. Your own policy may not cover you in a foreign country. You may also find out that if there are any damages done to the rental, you have to pay for them on your credit card and while they are investigating you are racking up all sorts of interest on your card. And if they dont pay, then you are in all sorts of trouble. I dont want to scare you about this but so many people really dont understand the in's and out's of insurance and the problems with rental cars. This may sound very biased but it is not really. Even if you dont take all the insurance I would highly recommend the PDW (partial damage waiver) or the LDW (Loss damage waiver), these will cover you against any damage done to the vehicle absolutely without any liability to you. If you choose the PDW, then you have a deductable and the then they take care of anything after that. The LDW is complete with no deductable. I would definately check with your insurance company and ask how your Liability works in a foreign country too. Because your credit card will not cover any liability. This information is true for no matter when or what reason you are renting a vehicle or where you rent it. At any rate, you really dont want to file a claim on your own insurance for a car you were driving in a foreign country. They wont like you to much and could very easily cancel you, or at the very least up your rates. Dont risk it. It just isnt worth the hassle, especially where they drive on the side of the road where you are not used to driving. I hope this information is useful to you guys, I know it was unsolisited, but I really care, and this is information I give out on a daily basis. Take care and have a great time no matter what you do while there.

(Title renamed for clarity) - Scubachar

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 8:19 am Post subject:

rumrunner...

Thank you SO much for your post! I couldn't agree with you more! clap

I was going to write my own story here, but I thought it would go on too long, and perhaps this isn't the right place to get into it.....our credit card and car insurance companies do NOT really cover us in the Cayman Islands....therefore we take all the options that are offered. The main thing to us is personal liability, and we make sure that it is either part of the rental fee (which is usually the case), or offered for an additional fee. Like I said, I have a story here, but it's too long, I think - oh, ok, here's the short version....it's about a company that I don't think is even in business down there anymore, so I won't name it (but was in business for years and years and years) ...I've never seen it named on this board, so I'm guessing it's not open anymore....anyway, we had an "experience" (not an accident, thank God), where we learned while on vacation, that we were NOT covered for personal liability insurance (despite a Cayman law requiring that it be provided), which led us to check it out with our own insurance companies. That's when we found out we were NOT covered by them either, so we called the company (who confirmed that we were correct!) and asked them to come get the car, which they did. We then rented from another agency that DID include personal liability insurance.

I also completely agree with your advice about the hassle of settling a damage claim. Even if you are covered by your own insurance (which I think we would be), you have to pay before you can leave the island (I believe), and then get reimbursed later by your own company (maybe).....who needs that hassle!

GREAT ADVICE rumunner! I couldn't agree with you more, and I was so glad to see it written so well from someone in the business. Thank you!

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