Originally Posted by
guv1976
If you were satisfied that Thrifty's loss-of-use claim was legitimate, did you consider suing MC's insurer (or seek arbitration if that's what the policy provides for), or was the amount in question not worth it to you?
The logs were submitted TWICE - it was very obvious MC would not pay up that part. In order to get the repair bill paid we must accept the MC settlement. The repair bill was 3 months or more passed due. Incident happened early Sept, claim was filed immediately. MC denied we had filed a claim as late as Eve of X'mas as I posted above. Ball of getting this taken off did not start rolling until after New Year holiday. However, once the rental car adjuster and the MC adjuster started to talk, the claim was settled in 3 weeks time.
No. We are not poeple who threaten to sue each time a claim or anything, not settled in the manner they prefer.
We paid Thrifty the LOU and Admin fee, to a negotiated sum of $320 or thereabout. I vaguely recall it is about $70 or so lower than what they initially asked. It is not our fault to cause the damage as it is weather-related. However, it definitely is our responsility to the damage as we accept the T&Cs on the contract, as anyone who rents a car would have to.
Since then, if it is a short rental in an area that is very accident-prone, and the insurance prem is not outrageous, we choose to buy the LDW. Such as our recent 2 day 1 night rental in Hokkaido, Japan, we paid extra 1100 yen a day for the 2 day coverage, that would reduce the liability to 0. Otherwise it would be between 20000 to 50000 Yen.
If it is in an area with very unpredictable weather, such as what happened in Yellowstone, we would also buy the LDW. Else we continue to use MC coverage.
If it is in an area where if you dont buy the LDW, your CC would immediately be CHARGED for several thousands dollars (actual charge, not just authorization) and the refund is determined upon car return, we buy the LDW. This is the case of New Zealand. I dont know if Australia would be in the same case or not. FYI, neither New Zealand nor Australia is covered by any card, not even AMEX, because the 2 are no-fault countries, and the insurance is mandatory built-in the rate with a very high deductible, typically in thousands of USD. One can buy LDW to reduce the deductible to just a couple hundreds of USD, but never to 0, if you rent from the majors. Locally operated companies generally only have 5 to 10 years old car for rent - it is not advisable to rent a clunker if you are touring the country.
Visa has very vague language on New Zealand, so vague that I would not count on it.