Should i get ldw when renting a car

I believe chase requires you to decline the rental car company cover in order for them to assume or provide coverage. Most rental car companies actually sell policies not self insure. Zurich is one of the bigger players in this market. Typically the rental car company gets a cut of the additional insurance price per day, per car. The article focuses on renting a car in the USA.

Also with amex premium insurance the main reason for carrying chase sapphire card is negated. Why carry chase sapphire? With AMEX premium coverage, you need to pay an additional fee with every rental. With the Sapphire, you get primary coverage included as a card benefit. Yes but that fee is per rental and less than the annual fee of the chase card. If the only thing you value a Chase Sapphire card for is the primary rental coverage, you are correct.

I doubt there are many people where that is the only criteria they are using to make such a decision. There are the travel protections which are much better from Chase and earning x Ultimate Rewards per dollar spent is another factor. Good blog post as always. I would credit cards also have exclusions for this as well. February 15, Share this: Twitter Facebook Pinterest. Like this: Like Loading Christian March 24, - pm Great post.

DaninMCI March 24, - pm I believe chase requires you to decline the rental car company cover in order for them to assume or provide coverage. Debit March 24, - pm Very comprehensive and useful. So you don't need the rental company's collision waiver — also known as a loss damage waiver — which covers physical damage to the rental car, right?

Not so fast. Even if you're covered under your own policy for liability and accidents, you may be on the hook for two charges that your insurance or credit card typically won't cover in full, or at all. One is "diminished value," which is the difference in resale value for a car before and after an accident. Bill Wilson, an insurance educator and founder of industry blog InsuranceCommentary. The other is "loss of use," which refers to the daily income the rental company loses while a car is being repaired.

To protect yourself, it is worth coughing up the money for the CDW, Wilson says. What about supplemental liability insurance? I rarely rent cars on business trips or vacation, but I experienced a major claim with a hit-and-run in a restaurant parking lot the night before a 6 a. Thompson, who rents cars fairly often, says he has walked away from damaged cars three times. Returning a rental at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, Thompson asked the attendant how many cars a month are returned with damage.

She responded that, in her typical hour shift, 15 cars are returned with damage and, in most cases, the damage was allegedly caused by someone else, not the renter. The cost of the LDW admittedly can be significant, especially if you extrapolate what the effective physical damage insurance cost would be at that daily rate. On an eight-day vacation last year, the LDW cost me more than the actual rental and, in fact, more than my airline ticket.

But I considered the LDW part of the cost of the vacation. Is the LDW all you need? Is it foolproof? Well, kind of, as long as you follow the rental agreement.

If you violate the rental agreement, you are likely to void the LDW. Many rental agreements consider the following to be violations:. The ISO PAP does not exclude the first three rental agreement violations, and the territorial limit is usually broader than any restrictive rental agreement territory outside of Mexico. As for unauthorized drivers, some rental companies may automatically include a spouse or fellow employee or authorize them to drive for a fee.

More often, the renter never reads the rental agreement and presumes anyone on the trip can drive. In one claim, a father and son were on vacation, and the father rented a car. The rental clerk made this clear at the time of rental. Despite knowing this, the father allowed the son to drive, and he wrecked the vehicle.

A special case of unauthorized drivers could be-valet parking at a hotel or restaurant. He mistakenly assumed this was the same LDW offered by the rental car company, but it was underwritten by a separate entity.

During his trip, the rental car was damaged by a deer on a rural Montana road.