dickytim: True, paying out then having to claim back would be a PITA

Yea absolutely, especially when it could potentially be the full market value of the vehicle. I can't remember the limit on my credit card, but pretty sure it's not US$30,000 lol. I might just have to bite the bullet and take the rental company's LDW....

I've used Holiday Autos several times in the past.  They act as a broker / price comparator with all costs and insurance cover details transparent up front

Technofreak:

 

We got cover with our travel insurance.

 

Which company/policy? 

Perhaps some corporate types of insurance might cover US rental car insurance.... certainly I could find no retail insurance product that offers comprehensive rental insurance. 

Which is why I am interested in where you found something. 

Wheelbarrow01:

 

OK, so my ANZ travel insurance includes up to $2.5m liability insurance, so I am already covered should I injure someone or damage their property in any collision.

 

Based on the above, can anyone see any pitfalls I have not thought of?

 

Your 2.5 million liability insurance does not apply to rental car hire, because there will be a subclause saying it does not apply to motor vehicle claims. 

Each state can differ significantly in laws around rental car insurance too.   

And, the rental car companies obfuscate the information such that there is no simple way to figure this out. 

I did intensive research on this about 4 years ago or so, and found, generally you must take the extra insurance options (except in some states). 

sbiddle:

 

 

 

If you hire a rental car in the US and don't take out some form of CDW you will have no coverage on any travel insurance policy I've ever looked at (which all will only pay the CDW excess, not full vehicle replacement).

 

Exactly my experience, and, I have spent a few hours looking into USA insurance online and on the phone with insurance companies. 

It is actually amazing how little our local insurance retailers actually know about US rental car insurance. They pretty much had no clue. 

Some as you said earlier, require you to take all the insurance options out.  Some don't (eg, ASB platinum). 

Aussie rental agreements are better setup,  as rental companies cover you by default (included in the quote) with a 3-4k excess.  Any decent insurance policy should then cover excess payments up to that value. Too bad the US is not the same. 

surfisup1000:

 

Wheelbarrow01:

 

OK, so my ANZ travel insurance includes up to $2.5m liability insurance, so I am already covered should I injure someone or damage their property in any collision.

 

Based on the above, can anyone see any pitfalls I have not thought of?

 

 

Your 2.5 million liability insurance does not apply to rental car hire, because there will be a subclause saying it does not apply to motor vehicle claims. 

 

Each state can differ significantly in laws around rental car insurance too.   

 

And, the rental car companies obfuscate the information such that there is no simple way to figure this out. 

 

I did intensive research on this about 4 years ago or so, and found, generally you must take the extra insurance options (except in some states). 

 

 

Ahh that's a really good point. I hadn't looked at the ANZ policy for ages as I don't rely on so it would pay to check the liability doesn't exclude anything involving a motor vehicle.

The cost of CDW/LDW does vary between states due to the various laws each has.

surfisup1000:

 

Aussie rental agreements are better setup,  as rental companies cover you by default (included in the quote) with a 3-4k excess.  Any decent insurance policy should then cover excess payments up to that value. Too bad the US is not the same. 

 

 

 

The US is pretty unique (in many ways!). It's why booking through some UK sites can give you a far better deal in the US as it includes things like insurance.

sbiddle:

 

surfisup1000:

 

Wheelbarrow01:

 

OK, so my ANZ travel insurance includes up to $2.5m liability insurance, so I am already covered should I injure someone or damage their property in any collision.

 

Based on the above, can anyone see any pitfalls I have not thought of?

 

 

Your 2.5 million liability insurance does not apply to rental car hire, because there will be a subclause saying it does not apply to motor vehicle claims. 

 

Each state can differ significantly in laws around rental car insurance too.   

 

And, the rental car companies obfuscate the information such that there is no simple way to figure this out. 

 

I did intensive research on this about 4 years ago or so, and found, generally you must take the extra insurance options (except in some states). 

 

 

 

Ahh that's a really good point. I hadn't looked at the ANZ policy for ages as I don't rely on so it would pay to check the liability doesn't exclude anything involving a motor vehicle.

 

The cost of CDW/LDW does vary between states due to the various laws each has.

 

 

 

Thanks for pointing this out. From the ANZ travel policy wording I have:

Exclusions
We will not pay damages, compensation or legal
expenses in respect of any liability directly or indirectly
arising out of or in connection with:

4. Loss of or damage to property or bodily injury
(including death or illness), arising out of your
ownership, use or possession of any mechanically
propelled vehicle, aircraft or waterborne craft.

I clearly missed this on my previous read-though of the ANZ policy. I am starting to realise that it provides basically no cover for anything you are likely to actually need it for....

I am more or less resigned to not getting the car I really want now, just so that I can afford to take the LDW/CDW on offer. But looks like I will still need to find some other form of 3rd party injury/damage cover as well... No doubt this is offered at the counter.

SLI = supplementary liability insurance

I mentioned it briefly further up.

The US really isn't the place to not have insurance. People love lawyering up for car accidents!

So I ended up booking a Mustang convertible (or similar) through Sixt - US$723 for 15 days, including loss/collision damage waiver and supplementary liability insurance. This was cheaper than anything I could find on rentalcars.com or other similar sites. It seems like pretty good value after my research, and since watching some youtube videos I am confident we'll fit our luggage in the Mustang trunk. However if the 'similar' ends up being a Camaro convertible we may have an issue with that!

I was almost going to book the Dodge Challenger through Fox, but while the daily rate was slightly cheaper, to have full LDW and SLI took the price up to US$1400ish, and there was no guarantee it would be a Challenger anyway, so it made no sense to spend the extra for a maybe. In fact their booking page said Challenger or Mustang or similar. I'd kick myself if I went this way and ended up paying almost double for the same car I would have got with Sixt anyway.

I know I most likely won't be getting a V8, but it will do the job. In any case the car is only one aspect of our trip so it doesn't pay to anguish over it too much. I have free cancellation with Sixt up until we travel, so if anything better pops up I can always change my arrangements, but at least I have something booked now.

Thanks everyone for your insights and advice

I'm in a similar boat. We're going to the US for a long (long) summer road trip. Because of the crazy one way drop fees we've just decided to go all out and basically go from one side of the country and back again in about 2 months. For some of that time we've got family with us so we're going to be getting the Dodge Grand Caravan.

I've found it on Budget for $2800NZD for the full 55 days but now we come to the same problem. LWR is $44NZD/day and SLI is $23NZD/day. So now i'm looking at another $3600 on top of the $2800. I'm looking at getting something like insuremyrentalcar.com which will cover the LWR fine but it's the SLI I'm worried about. Similarly my travel insurance won't pay out liability if caused by a motor vehicle so it's very frustrating. 

Rentalcars.com might be an option as you're paid, but it's hard to find any information about how much they'll actually pay out etc if there is a problem etc

Kingy:

 

I'm in a similar boat. We're going to the US for a long (long) summer road trip. Because of the crazy one way drop fees we've just decided to go all out and basically go from one side of the country and back again in about 2 months. For some of that time we've got family with us so we're going to be getting the Dodge Grand Caravan.

 

I've found it on Budget for $2800NZD for the full 55 days but now we come to the same problem. LWR is $44NZD/day and SLI is $23NZD/day. So now i'm looking at another $3600 on top of the $2800. I'm looking at getting something like insuremyrentalcar.com which will cover the LWR fine but it's the SLI I'm worried about. Similarly my travel insurance won't pay out liability if caused by a motor vehicle so it's very frustrating. 

 

Rentalcars.com might be an option as you're paid, but it's hard to find any information about how much they'll actually pay out etc if there is a problem etc

 

 

 

Just buy a car for that, get a dunger, a tool kit and hit the open road.

 Please note that if you get insurance cover from the 3rd party rental agency you still have to pay the excess then claim it back.

We fiancé booked this and when I read the fine print if anything had have happened we would have been 5,500 out of pocket until airportrentals.com paid out on the policy.

Worth noting if you don't have a spare 3,000 - 5,500 laying around.