invisible

If one is involved in a very minor fender-bender at a parking lot with a rental vehicle and the vehicle is paid by a credit card with CDW coverage, what is the procedure in case of such a fender-bender? Call the card benefit center first? Call Hertz first?

BTW, what is Hertz's number to report an accident? By calling their main number there is no such option, only a roadside assistance option that is not needed in this case.

Else? This is the first time any type of accident with a rental vehicle in >25 years of renting.

notquiteaff

The customer support section on the Hertz website has a link to this online accident report system:

https://eclaim.htzra.com/

docbert

Call 1 should be to the police if it's required under law. Exactly what that means depends on the area, but would include if the accident was a hit-n-run, persons injured, excessive damage, etc. Even if none of those apply you may need to still report it and get a police report as you'll likely need it for the insurance claim.

Next, call the credit card company or their insurance provider. The steps vary depending on the provider and the situation as to what/when they need to be notified but the sooner the better is a good thing if only to make sure you have your ducks in a line (eg, police report and anything else that's needed).

If you're from the the US, confirm your credit card insurance is 'Primary' insurance. If not, you'll also need to call your car insurance company as you'll probably need to claim from them first, and the credit card will cover anything that they don't.

There shouldn't be a need to call Hertz unless the damage means the car can't be driven (although there's no real harm in doing so). Allow extra time at return to handle all of the paperwork.

Then set in for numerous months until it's all revolved. When I had a Hertz rental hit overnight in a hotel carpark it took close to 8 months until it was fully resolved/paid for (in that case the credit card insurance was secondary, so it required claims to both them and my auto insurance company).

guv1976

Anyone injured? Any damage to anyone else's property?

Does your personal auto policy have a deductible for damage to rental cars? If so, does the deductible exceed the repair cost? (You won't know that until sometime after you return the car.)

moral_low_ground

A colleague of mine rented a car from Hertz in the UK a few weeks back and had an accident before she left the Hertz lot (her rental agreement included CDW and she also has an excess insurance policy with a 3rd party provider).

As I understand it, a Hertz person came and looked at the damage, wrote a quick report on his Hertz device and she signed to acknowledge the damage.

When she returned the vehicle (the same one she damaged as it did not affect the car from a saftey perspective) there were no extra charges and she just paid the amount of the rental as if nothing had happened. The hertz person at return noted the car was damaged and that a report had been filed previously when she rented.

A couple of weeks have passed and she has not received anything from Hertz re the damage nor any charges so I have the following questions:

1) If you have an accident in the Hertz lot who's insurance is this under ? I always assumed you had not rented the car until you left the lot as that's the time the rental starts ? (but this is just my assumption - and if so when does your rental agreement actually start ie is it when you open the car, turn the key, move the car ??)

2) If you had an accident in the lot this makes it on private property so not sure if that affects anything

3) Related to question 1 - I presume Hertz carries insurance for accidents at its work place so is this why she has not seen anything as it is Hertz insurance rather than her CDW that is going to pay for this

4) If Hertz are going to charge her is there a time limit for notification (and amount) as her 3rd party insurance cover says she must notify them of any extra charges within 14 days but there have been no extra charges

I am sure there must be quite a few accidents in the lot with people not used to the car they were given or being on the wrong side of the road but never considered the insurance implications so interested in anyone's thoughts/opinions etc

lincolnjkc

If you're driving a vehicle and cause damage you're generally responsible for the damage regardless of if you've rented a vehicle, own it, or are borrowing it. For locations that hand you the key and rental agreement (as is my experience at LHR [x1], EDI [x5], and GLA [x1] in the UK) I don't see how the rental doesn't formally start when you get the key... Even if you don't leave the lot you still have the exclusive right to use the vehicle & Hertz is still going to charge you for it), e.g. I could rent a car, pick up the key, and go to dinner at the airport -- as far as Hertz is concerned it's your car. For locations where the key is in the car, if there are any in the UK, that gets a little trickier but I'd say the technical start is when you turn the car on.

My only experience with Hertz insurance (LDW/CDW/Super Cover) was with a rental from/to EDI where after having to drop off some paperwork in the Highlands my jet-lagged self got spooked by a lorry coming at me on a narrow windy road on the way back down to Edinburgh over correcting off the road and popping a tire, damaging the rim, with some scrapes and dings from roadside foliage added in. Two tow trucks later (too far for just one to get me back to EDI) rolling on to the Hertz lot in the truck the guy had a "this is gonna be some paperwork..." look, pulled up the rental agreement, saw I had insurance and was like "You have the keys?" "Here you go." "Ok, you're all set! Here's copy of the receipt".

Never heard another word about that rental an I've been back several times since (first Telsla was an EDI rental). In the US, and I presume the UK, Hertz is largely self-insured both for their own liability as well as potential losses under things like CDW/LDW, e.g. unless you're in the tens of thousands of dollars/pounds (possibly hundreds of thousands) damages there isn't a separate insurer (there may be an insurance administrator handling thins like subrogation claims etc) -- if she had valid CDW / wasn't in breach of the rental conditions and the rental was closed out normally I wouldn't be too worried.

baclubflyer

Minor incident - another car who’s driver was distracted on phone came into our front left bumper, which is still intact but slightly dented. Location is HNL. Their right side has very minor (but visible scratches). Thankfully no bodily injuries.

Our car from Hertz has Loss Damage Waiver and LIS included, other car local with their own insurance. Called Hertz on the spot and report filed, other side the same on their side. Other driver very cooperative and shared their policy and full details, stated will be willing to assist thankfully but their insurance company unsure how they will action.

For peace of mind, and that this was totally an accident at the others sides fault for driving into our car, we have LDW and LIS included at the get go. I tried searching endlessly online but couldn’t find any mention of any deductibles nor specific process involved. The only wording I can find is quite broad but seems to be quite broad (a good thing):

• However Hertz offers Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) an optional service, which for an additional daily charge relieves you of all financial responsibility for the loss or damage to the rental car, whether or not you have insurance to cover such damage, provided the car is used in accordance with the terms of the Rental Agreement.
  
  https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/reser...ES&EOAG=HNLT11

Not sure if other side insurance company will make things difficult, but would this be for Hertz to deal with? Was advised to return the car to the rental location (HNL) and file another paper form to supplement the telephone report on the spot.

Any advice/tips to put us (not from US) at peace of mind would be much much appreciated!

guv1976

There are no deductibles on these coverages. It does not matter (to you) whether the other driver's insurance pays up or not. Just complete the incident report when you return the car, and you should be done.

If the other driver should subsequently claim physical injury, Hertz' insurer should defend the case, and you'd be covered up to the limits of the LIS.

Edited to add: Depending on the dollar amount of damage to the two vehicles involved, you might be required to file an accident report with the police under Hawaii state law.

GMP440

Check with your credit card company if they still do automatic coverage when rental is paid by credit card. Some companies have stopped this benefit. I know Mastercard has. Called them recently to check on this benefit and they stated that they eliminated that about 2 years ago. No problem for me, called my primary car insurance underwriter; they confimed with me that I was covered.

guv1976

Mastercards are issued by many different banks, and come in many different flavors. Some U.S.-issued Mastercards still include rental-car coverage, as this recent Forbes article points out:

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credi...car-insurance/

("How To Use MasterCard MasterRental Insurance When Renting A Car")

Here's an example of a no-annual-fee Mastercard which still provides such coverage:

https://www.biltrewards.com/card

GMP440

Still, should check with your credit card company. That's the point I'm making. In short, don't trust everything you read or hear.
Just make that phone call to be sure. Thanks for the link. Good opportunity for those to check rental insurance benefits on their card. If they don't have the benefit they can use the link you posted to apply for the card that offers rental car insurance benefits.

guv1976

If you rent cars with some frequency, you might also investigate credit cards which offer primary rental-car coverage, so that you would not have to make a claim with your personal insurance for accidents which only involve damage to the rental vehicle itself. A couple of cards which offer primary coverage and which have relatively low net annual costs are the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa ($95 annual fee), and the US Bank Altitude Reserve Visa ($400 annual fee, but the first $325 in annual travel/dining charges are automatically rebated; and US Bank has been generous about retention offers when the annual fee comes due).

m907

Capital One Venture X has it too with an annual fee that is covered by credits.