Travel Insurance ? re: Rental Car

[klfrodo]

My CSR card offers up to $75K of CDW coverage if I rent a car using this card. It also covers Loss of Use.

 

Coverage that I can't find is Third Party Liability. My Allstate policy doesn't cover me outside the US.

My Travel Insurance offers Rental Car coverage but it's only CDW.

Some countries include Third Party Liability in the price of the rental car, some countries don't include it in the price, but do "require" coverage which can be very expensive when added on at the rental counter.

 

Does anyone offer Third Party Liability?

[Hlitner]

Interesting post.  We have often rented cars in Europe in France, Italy, Germany, England, Ireland, Spain, Portugal. Malta, Azores, Canary Islands, and others.  With the exception of Italy we have relied on our credit card coverage.  I cannot recall any third party liability issues since it was always covered as part of our rental contract (generally mandated by the country's own laws).  That being said I am not an international lawyer and may have simply screwed-up.  But we have been renting cars in Europe for about forty years without any problems.

 

Just a suggestion.  If you are planning on a rental for 3 or more days I would strongly recommend contacting either Autoeurope or Kemwel (they are sister companies at a joint location in New England) who are consolidators (discounters) for both Hertz and Europcar.  They often have deals that can include zero deductibles at a lower cost then you will find elsewhere.  They also have a toll free number (from North America and Europe) and their folks are very knowledgeable.   While I do not always rent through them I always price them out on any longer term rental.  

 

If you are thinking about renting a car for 21+ days another option is to lease a car rather then rent.  Leasing has some terrific advantages (such as excellent insurance with no deductible) not to mention you get a new car (which you choose in advance).  These deals are primarily through Citroen and Peugeot.  Autoeurope and Kemwel both can handle lease arrangements as do a few other online brokers.

 

Hank

[klfrodo]

Hank

Yes, I followed your advice for my car rental in France for next year. France does include Third Party Liability with the price of the rental. For France I went through Autoeurope.

 

I ran into my issue when renting in Cabo for later this month. The price for the rental (from Budget) was only $68 for 5 days. What a great price right?

Until, I started doing some research in Cabo for various pieces of information when I started running across rental car stories.

[iamtrustworthy]

On 11/6/2020 at 6:08 PM, klfrodo said:

My CSR card offers up to $75K of CDW coverage if I rent a car using this card. It also covers Loss of Use.

 

Coverage that I can't find is Third Party Liability. My Allstate policy doesn't cover me outside the US.

My Travel Insurance offers Rental Car coverage but it's only CDW.

Some countries include Third Party Liability in the price of the rental car, some countries don't include it in the price, but do "require" coverage which can be very expensive when added on at the rental counter.

 

Does anyone offer Third Party Liability?

Hi klfodo,

 

I've sold the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) for 16 years but I've never found a company that offers a plan that includes Third Party Liability nor Third Party Property Damage.

 

I've looked for this alot, but I doubt I'll find it.

 

Steve Dasseos

[klfrodo]

3 hours ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi klfodo,

 

I've sold the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) for 16 years but I've never found a company that offers a plan that includes Third Party Liability nor Third Party Property Damage.

 

I've looked for this alot, but I doubt I'll find it.

 

Steve Dasseos

Interesting...

 

Thanks for responding.

[Hlitner]

On 11/7/2020 at 10:37 AM, klfrodo said:

Hank

Yes, I followed your advice for my car rental in France for next year. France does include Third Party Liability with the price of the rental. For France I went through Autoeurope.

 

I ran into my issue when renting in Cabo for later this month. The price for the rental (from Budget) was only $68 for 5 days. What a great price right?

Until, I started doing some research in Cabo for various pieces of information when I started running across rental car stories.

Ahhhh so you were talking about Mexico :).  I have lived in Mexico (Puerto Vallarta) for the past 15 winters and my recommendation (ignored by a few friends) is to not rent a car or drive in Mexico!  But if you do rent you will likely need to pay big bucks to the rental car company for decent insurance.  As a general rule, rental car companies  (even the majors) in Mexico suck!  While I can recommend a small company in PV I know nothing about renting in Cabo.  

 

So why do I suggest not driving in Mexico?  Two reasons.  1.  The police who are often corrupt and like to increase their personal revenue by picking on gringos.  Bribery (Mordida) and crooked cops are just part of the culture.   2.  If you have an accident in Mexico and somebody gets hurt you may quickly find yourself in a world of hurt as you sit in a Mexican jail.      The good news is that if you have insurance and have not been drinking things will usually work out!  But you still might find yourself negotiating from a cell until you can get a lawyer.   This is just my opinion and there are certainly plenty of gringos who happily drive in Mexico.

 

Hank

[iancal]

We did seven weeks of independent travel in Mexico last winter.  We decide on the the inter city buses for this very reason.  Worked out well for us.

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, iancal said:

We did seven weeks of independent travel in Mexico last winter.  We decide on the the inter city buses for this very reason.  Worked out well for us.

Some of the inter city buses in Mexico are amazing.  We are talking first class on steroids.  DW and I took a bus between Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara and it was a gorgeous double decker.  We booked the top deck front seats and had a fabulous view.   It was similar to Business Class on an airline with individual TV screens,  included WiFi and bathrooms.  They actually had separate male and female rest room...and we also got include box lunches.

 

There are many different intercity classes of buses so folks need to do their homework.  Obviously, the higher end first class buses do cost more..but they are still a bargain.

 

Hank