pottipatip

As per my employers requirement I keep visiting USA for around 4 to 8 months every year. And so as I don't live in USA for years, I don't own a car, but I rent a car for the period I stay in USA.

SO, when I rent a car, the car rental companies offers CDW and SLI (supplimantary Liability) for around $38 a day ($22.5 + $14.75) in Massachussets. So if the rent of an intermediate size car comes to around $750 a month, the insurance premium comes to around $1400 a month including taxes and fees.

So, finally I end up paying 1000's of dollars for a better coverage. All this hassle is coz I don't own a car. Because I don't own a car, the insurance companies like AAA, Geico etc won't provide Auto insurance. Why is that so.

I hold a VISA credit card, but as per VISA terms, they provide cover for CDW, only if the rental period is no more than 15 days. So it is not applicable in my case, as the rental agencies makes a new contract every 28 days (even though I book the car for 6 months or so).

If I own a car, irrespective of the make and model for an intermediate size one, the annual premium may sum up to $1200 max. So not owning a car is the issue.

Is there any way, that I can get a better coverage for a car that I rent, with something around normal premiums amounts.

Please suggest. Thanks in advance.

ibrick

carrental-insurance dot com

bsmits

You didn't mention where you're officially based. From the EU you can rent cars in the US with all the goodies included from various operators for less than it would cost to rent stateside and pay for it separately.

Amex Platinum also has far more favorable terms for their rental car insurance (haven't checked gold) if you can qualify for that card. I just checked the t&c on mine, and it doesn't mention max duration of the trip.

clacko

us auto insurance companies sell to people who don't own cars....

a family member [us citizen] has such a policy for ~ $500/yr...

might be worth a call or 2...

good luck...

DesertNomad

I am American but live overseas. I pay about $15 per year for a non-owner/non-resident policy. Most companies should offer this... not sure if you are not American tho.

jackal

IIRC, the T&C of the basic free included CDW on the Amex Gold and Amex Plat are identical.

The Premium Car Rental Protection program is available to all Amex cardmembers and has significantly better terms (and is primary, though that wouldn't really matter in the case of the OP, since he has no other primary coverage). It's $25 per rental, regardless of length. I think there is still a length-of-rental limit the OP would come up against, though.

With as much renting as you do, I would definitely look into this. Google "non-owner auto insurance" or something like that for some leads.

If for whatever reason you can't get a non-owner policy, consider renting through the UK-based prepaid sites, which have all-inclusive rates including coverage packages for far less than the coverage sold at the rental counter:

http://prepaid.thrifty.co.uk/
http://www.dollar.co.uk/
http://www.alamo.co.uk/RatesAndReser...ect_default=US

There may be other companies that offer such deals, and there are countless third-party booking sites (some of dubious legitimacy) that will be happy to take your money and reserve you a car under one of these rate plans.

lettezilla

I also don't have a car, and so my primary rental insurance is through my AmEx. However, that doesn't cover liability. The $15-20/day adds up! Is there a problem for an American living in the US to book a rental on the UK sites? In other words, if I rent on a UK website and it includes SLI, will I risk losing that coverage when I walk up to the counter with a US license, credit card, and address?

I noticed some of the sites (Dollar, for example) explicitly asks your country of residence, and when you change from UK to US, it redirects you to the normal US site. I don't want to lie about my country of residence in case I need the insurance and telling a fib makes it invalid...

Dieuwer

Apart from the UK based sites, are there also continental-Europe based sites?

jackal

I haven't really tested it, but nothing in the terms and conditions I've seen specifies that you can't be a resident of the U.S.

That's all I can say on that subject.

I once saw someone book a prepaid deal through a Czech travel agency, so there are definitely options outside of the UK. I see no problem with just using the UK sites, though. Most let you choose your country of residence, anyway.

Dieuwer

I made a dummy booking on the dollar website and it seems that indeed the rates shown include CDW, SLI, unlimited mileage and taxes. The rate was €145/week. Not bad. Might consider doing that a next time.

lettezilla

When it asked your country of residence, did you say US, or somewhere in Europe? Seems both Dollar and Thrifty automatically redirect you when you say you're in the US.

Dieuwer

I selected "Netherlands".

jackal

From what I've seen, choosing any country other than U.S. simply allows you to continue to the prepaid booking screen. Nothing on the resulting screens indicates that you must be a resident of the country you've selected.

Dieuwer

Your point is..?

jackal

...you have to read between the lines.