Other Car Rental Programs/Partners (ie. Alamo, Enterprise, Sixt) - NON-US renter and insurance, need advice please

MY mom, who lives in Florida, got a good rate at Enterprise, but for both of us to drive, there is a 10$ a day fee.

I live abroad and do not have car insurance in the US, though I do in Israel. My mom was told that if I have an int'l license, my insurance would be OK. Is this true?

I do have a US AMEX card. does that cover me? Otherwise they want 33$ for CDW.

I can get a 1000$ minivan with insurance through Ofran, with a deal from Alamo, I think. BUt since my mom can get a car with Enterprise at 700$, we are trying to do that --if we can work out the insurance. Ideas, anyone? thanks!!

Hi,
If you are using an international drivers license, you WILL need to purchase the additional car rental insurance at the time of rental.

It is confusing I know.

Even if you have purchased travel insurance, it does not cover you for any damage to the car. Travel insurance ONLY covers you for the excess on the car rental insurance, which could be anywhere between $0 and $4000.

So, yes, you will need to buy the car rental insurance.

You sure about that one?

I am fairly certain any foreigner with a foreign driving licence can hire a car in the U.S. and AMEX will cover the CDW portion.

For the purposes of this posting I am assuming that Israel is considered to be a European country. Please do check that these facts apply to you in your situation.

You must first understand that, as with so many things, the way hire cars are insured in America is very different to the ways that cars are insured in Europe. In America, most home insurances include a component that covers some (but not all) of the risks associated with car hire and accordingly the insurance provided by car rental companies covers less than Europeans might reasonably expect. This is one of the reasons that American car hire sometimes seems cheap to Europeans.

One solution to this is to make your reservation through the European portal of the hire companies (or to declare a European domicile when booking via their generic web sites) and you will probably be offered rates that include the full range of insurances that you need. It is a very false economy to hire a car in America without adequate insurance; almost as stupid as going there without medical insurance with a cover the size if Belgium's national debt.

As to your question about Amex cards, Platinum & Centurion Amex cards issued in Europe include world-wide car rental top-up insurance that covers all rentals of any car with a replacement value under £50k. This is a very significant benefit and completely solves the problem we are discussing. If you have such a card then you can safely hire a car at the cheap domestic American rates as the de minimis insurance cover it comes will with will be topped up to pretty much complete cover.

Your driving licence should not be an issue as European driving licences are valid throughout North America. What might be a problem is a clerk in a small office somewhere (or, for that matter, a policeman) who thinks that Nebraska is a foreign country and who has never seen a European driving licence.

There are many companies which offer car rental insurance for annual basis. You need to have that.

You do not necessarily need INt'l Driving Lic. in US. YOur Israel LIcence, if in English and with Photo is good enough