Hertz - Insurance options & Credit Card coverage - help please

I spoke to the #1 Gold desk last week and asked details about a 1 week rental I will be doing in September. When I got to the part about insurance, the agent told me that Hertz has only one type of insurance coverage available.... is this true?

I could have sworn that you have up to 3 levels of coverage, has this changed?

Also, with a Diners or an Amex Platinum, you get some type of coverage included. Would that coverage allow you to get less coverage with Hertz? Im the type who like to have more rather than less insurance.

Thanks for your tips!!

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Gaucho100K

You might start by reading the extensive insurance information under "extras" at hertz.com.

Diners Club is the only card with primary insurance coverage for rental cars. All other cards are secondary coverage. If you rent cars a lot, it's worth the annual fee for the primary rental car coverage alone.

Keep in mind that some of the things you can buy are waivers rather than insurance ie. LDW (loss damage waiver) and CDW (collision damage waiver). This is not insurance, but is Hertz agreeing not to collect from you above a specific amount if the car is stolen or damaged. Companies always offer liability insurance which protects you, up to specific limits, from 3rd party claims arising out of your use of the vehicle (eg. you kill someone and they sue you). In most states, rental car companies are required to maintain some sort of minimum liability coverage. Some companies also offer extra insurance coverage such as medical coverage for occupants of your vehicl.

Thanks to all for you input.

Dudster, what waivers does it make sense for me to get to complement what Diners will offer me in terms of primary coverage?

I don't think it makes sense to get any waivers, as diners will cover any problems with the car. You're real concern should be liability insurance. In some places (eg. Germany) the rental car companies provide plenty (eg. $1 million), however I think in the US there is usually far less, if any, provided, though it will vary from state to state. The worst case scenario is that you end up in an accident where someone is severely disabled (usually worse from a liability standpoint than actually killing the person) and they sue you for $1 million or something.

This is where, assuming you have significant assets to protect, it is important to make sure you have other insurance, such as personal auto insurance and/or an umbrella policy. Alternatively, hertz probably sells something. Irrespective of the car rental, you should have something to cover general liability.

What nobody has mentioned yet is that you should first call your own insurance agent. Many auto policies already provide coverage.

Family Flyer makes a good point. Your current auto insurance coverage most likely covers car rentals. This coupled with a credit card that covers excess charges will be sufficient. On the other hand, $95 a year for a Diners Club card may provide additional peach of mind in case of an accident. You won't even have to report the claim to your personal insurance company since Diners provided primary coverage. Personally, I'm satisfied with my own insurance policy, but it's up to you.

Thanks guys. I live in Manhattan and I dont have a car, therefore I do not have primary auto insurance of any kind. I called Diners Club various times today and Im still not sure what they cover... here is my tale and I would appreciate your advice:

After various calls to Diners, the only thing Im sure of is that the Diners CS Reps are nice and try to be helpful, but they dont know 'jack'... they just read what they see on a computer and answer like robots. On the NYC resident issue, she wasnt sure. All she said was, DC will be your secondary coverage. I said, secondary to what, I dont have primary insurance. She didnt know what to say, put me on hold. Then she comes back and tells me if I dont have primary insurance, DC becomes primary, even if Im a NYC resident.

Does this make sense? I called again and received the same doubts, then the same answers. Based on this, I would not get any insurance against loss/theft/damage to the vehicle from Hertz, since if what Ive been told is true DC would automatically take the bill for this.

I would only take on the liability coverage that Hertz is offering me for $11 per day, since thats not covered by any credit card.

If I do that, am I good on insurance?

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Gaucho100K

Also, I will have a second driver registered on the lease. Is he automatically covered by DC or is he excluded. Do I have to do any additional paperwork with DC to ensure coverage?

If your company is like mine, please note:
If I am in an accident, then a combination of American Express and my company will pay for everything if:

1. I use my Amex card.
2. I rent from my company's preferred company: Hertz.

Someone who works for me had a rental car totaled this year and did not have to pay a dime.

Gaucho: As I don't own a car either, I am always interested in this type of topic. Where are you renting the car, by the way?

Have you looked at the DC web site? Below is some information that can be found there

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Primary and Full Value Rental Car Collision/Loss Damage Insurance*
The Diners.Club program provides automatic primary full-value coverage worldwide, any time the entire cost of a car rental is charged to a Diners.Club Card. To qualify, you must decline the rental agency's collision damage waiver (CDW), thereby saving you up to $16 per rental day. The Diners.Club program pays for covered damages up to the full-value of the rental car. There's usually no need to file a claim with your own insurance company, so your personal premium won't be affected.</font>

DC web site link (http://www.dinersclubnorthamerica.com/US/en/diners_club.jhtml?pageId=us_02_04_03_05)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">*Travel Insurance
(2.6) All insurance coverages are underwritten and administered by third parties. Rental Car Collision/Loss Damage Waiver and Excess Baggage Insurance are underwritten by Triton Insurance Company, Fort Worth, TX. Travel Accident Insurance is underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. Rental car collision/loss damage insurance is available worldwide, except in certain places outside the U.S. where prohibited by law or local agency practice. Coverage for a New York resident with a personal auto policy renting in another state (but not another country) is secondary. Coverage for a New York resident without a personal auto policy renting in another state is primary. The maximum liability of a New York resident renting a car in New York is $100, which is covered under their personal auto policy, if they have one, and under the Diners Club policy if they do not. See applicable Summary of Insurance Coverage in the membership guide for details. Certain terms, conditions, restrictions and exclusions apply.</font>

DC web site link (http://www.dinersclubnorthamerica.com/US/en/about_diners_club/01_10_master_disclosure_doc.jhtml#pers_insurance)

It appears that because you are a N.Y. resident without a personal auto policy, DC provides you with primary coverage. NY state law is somewhat specific about car rentals: CDW is already included in the rental price and rental car companies are not permitted by law to charge extra for the CDW. New York also restricts the liability of drivers to $100. This is why it is mentioned in the DC information above.

As far as the second driver, I have no idea. If they are a Hertz-authorized second driver in NY state, I would assume they are covered under the inclusive CDW and $100 maximum liabilty provisions. As for other states, it looks as if you need to get this in writing from DC (have you checked the member's guide?).

Hope this helps (a little).

Gaucho100:

You are asking some hard to answer questions.
I am also interested to be insured, and save some money, if possible.
It matters a lot WHERE you rent a car. I always study the small booklet from the credit card companies before I make a decision regarding the insurance; I also take a copy with me.
When you are Hertz #1Gold, your insurance-wishes are in the Hertz-database! You shold look them up.
Next, it matters a lot FROM what country you are. Last month I rented a Mercedes C-class from AVIS at CDG and paid less than $300 incl. tax, CDW and theft insurance for week; my origin = Germany. When I entered origin = USA, the price was more than $500, NO insurance included!
Next, I was told that most of the European Gold/Platinum Credit Cards don't cover the insurance for a rental car.

Thanks to Blair & USAFAN for the great info.

I need to do some reading.... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Gaucho100K:
I need to do some reading</font>
Here's a good insurance review (http://www.smarterliving.com/columns/ed/column.php?id=2945) for your reading pleasure.