Other Car Rental Programs (ie. Alamo, Enterprise) - Car rentals, "additional drivers" and insurance policies

I'm renting a car for my upcoming vacation. Since I've been burned before in the past by hidden fees, I asked the agent very clearly if I could expect any additional fees when I went to pay for it. She asked if I'd have any additional drivers. Which got me to thinking...

We're going to Maui with another couple and planned on rotating the designated driving around, hence 4 drivers. So I asked how much an additional driver was and she said, "$8.00 per driver per day." In other words, to cover the other drivers, it would add $150, or 50%, to the rental cost!

So my question is, what would happen if someone else was driving and they got into a wreck? We each have insurance policies, are over 35, have good driving records, valid driver's licenses, etc.

Exactly what repercussions would I suffer if I "allowed" a sober driver to take over the wheel and he/she wrecked? Any idea?

You don't mention whether you plan to purchase collision damage waiver, etc. That will probably affect the answer of the experts here.

I've always assumed such an event would demonstrate I had breached my contract with the rental company. If going "bare" and each of you depending on your own insurance, I suspect coverage of the damage to the rental car would depend on your own carrier and your question is a good one...what can they do to you besides charge you for the damage?

We've rented from Budget in Hawaii a couple of times and they don't charge for spouses or domestic partners. If you ask about a fee for an additional driver, they will give the rate for a non-spouse driver, but if you ask further, you will usually find that a spouse is no-charge. Check the small-print on your reservation. The quote below is the only thing I could find on the Web site, but I know it specifies more in the actual contract and the e-reservation details. I would expect that the other major companies would be similar....

I know this doesn't include the other couple, but at least it brings in one additional driver.

If I rent, may another person drive?
Additional drivers are allowed at most locations, though they must meet the minimum age requirements, present a valid driver's license and major credit card in their name, and have an infraction-free driving record. There may be a surcharge for additional drivers. The cost of a daily surcharge varies from location to location. If the additional driver is your spouse or domestic partner, at U.S. corporate locations you will not incur a surcharge.

How do you tell if a location is a "US Corporate location"?

If you plan on taking the optional insurance from the rental agency, forget about that covering you if an unathorized driver is operating the car and is in an accident.

Also, I doubt that your insurance policy would cover someone else driving a car you rented (they insure you, not the additional drivers), and I'm not sure if the additional driver's insurance policy would cover them driving a car if they were not authorized to be driving the car on the rental contract.

eddie34 said
"Also, I doubt that your insurance policy would cover someone else driving a car you rented (they insure you, not the additional drivers)"


Not so sure about that, if you have insurance on a car you own and are covered for rentals your probably are covered for additional drivers also as my friend discovered when he called up his insurance provider before renting.