dannieboiz

Wife's car got smashed into and we'll probably need to rent a vehicle for a short period. I'm not sure what's the rental coverage by insurance these days but I figured if I rent from national I can at least select my own vehicle.

kxc262

Yes - it is called Enterprise. Their main business is insurance rentals.
If you want to rent with National, you'll need to ask the claim adjuster.

TXJeepGuy

Former adjuster here. Typically Enterprise and Hertz have contracts set up with the insurance companies via their "local" branches where the insurance company pays a flat rate for a rental up to 30 days. It is significantly less than a daily rate with National.

dannieboiz

Thanks for the responses guy. Since we have some adjuster here I have another question.

I understand that there's a difference between company to company but Is there an option to "upgrade" and pay the difference for a better vehicle? From experience they "enterprise" gives you the lowest end vehicle when going through the insurance. This is why I was hoping to rent through National so I can use the executive perks.

Auto Enthusiast

How has the chip shortage impacted those special rates? Might the insurance company tell the customer we'll pay $30/day and you pay the rest?

bchandler02

My solution was adding enhanced rental coverage to my auto policy. It was very cheap to do - and allows up to $50/day for rentals which I can spend however I want and have my insurance reimburse me. This allows me to rent through National at my discounted rate and enjoy the perks (or just use Uber if I think I can get by < 50/day)

dannieboiz

I've never seen "henance rental" coverage on any of my options. Maybe I should look harder. This would be nice, we have 7 seat SUV for specific reasons and having a tiny sedan will become a serious issue.

My insurance is through progressive but in this specific case, my rental payment will almost definitely come from the other party. I said almost because we weren't even at the scene when everything happened. Came back only to find a wrecked up car and a note from the CHP. Investigation is still underway and I hope the person at fault have insurance.

TXJeepGuy

I've been out of the business for over 10 years, but I can tell you it used to be like a $300 flat rate for the month. So at that rate, unless your car is in the shop under 10 days they won't want to get involved. None of that of course prevents you from trying to negotiate an upgrade directly with the agent at the rental agency.

TXJeepGuy

If the rental payment is coming from the other party you should be able to push back and get a car thats a similar size to what you have. You may end up with a minivan instead of a 7 seat SUV but at least you'll have the seating you need. The per day limits in your policy generally only come into play when your insurance is paying.

The fun ones used to always be the guy driving a Jaguar X Type who was furious he got put in a Ford Contour. Never mind they were the same platform and size, he wanted his luxury car!

TXJeepGuy

Ask at the counter, thats all you really can do.

m907

I have done this but only because my insurance would reimburse me if I paid for it out of pocket, and the National rates were only a little more than the reimbursement rate, so it made sense.

I did ask National if they could reduce the rate below the insurance reimbursement rate. The manager said they don't do insurance rentals and directed me to Enterprise. But I was willing to pay the extra few bucks per day so I just made a reservation and paid for it myself, and requested reimbursement.

All that said, don't be afraid to see what Enterprise, or whatever company your insurance works with, can give you. On a separate occasion where I needed a rental covered by insurance, I went to Enterprise and saw a nice pickup truck on the lot and asked for it, and they gave it to me without an upcharge because sedans & SUVs were more popular. You may also be able to upgrade into a nicer car for cheap (i.e., insurance pays $35/day for a midsize sedan but the location only charges $42/day for a premium, so you just pay the extra $7 out of pocket). If it's a short rental, you're not missing much in terms of rewards with National.

bchandler02

Agreed. If it's your insurance you are bound by whatever your policy covers. If it is theirs, you have a right to get a vehicle that is equivalent. In my case, I'd demand a truck because I tow a trailer.

I have Travelers, but I know Progressive offers it too because I got a quote from them recently and added it. Last time I had to use it, my truck was in the shop for nearly 3 weeks. I rented from National at my discounted rate and submitted the bill at the end. Within a week, I had a reimbursement check for that amount. As a bonus, I got my National perks (points and upgraded vehicle)

This is exactly why I refuse to just let them do it - Enterprise sucks and I have no interest in getting a 4 yr old Malibu with 80k miles on it.

hourglass

not even as a one time exception for the free upgrade into full-size from midsize? How dare you? And sir ARE YOU SURE YOU DECLINE COVERAGE? This Malibu is very expensive /s

dannieboiz

I too have horrible experience with Enterprise. Especially when going through insurance, this was 20 years ago and never going back.

Spoke to my adjuster (progressive) because I reported the accident to them since the official police report has not come in yet. Since we weren't at the scene and the vehicle was parked at the time of the accident they offered to let me fix my vehicle and just pay the deductible. I refused and said I'll wait until I get the insurance information from the at fault party from the CHP. However he did say that if I wanted to rent a car I should be able to and charge it against the other party's insurance. He couldn't tell me what's a reasonable rate but in this case, it's open ended since I have the rights to be back on the road when the other insurer slammed into my parked cars and several others as it seems. Won't do that yet until I know that CHP have the other party's info and that they are insured.

kxc262

I am not an insurance agent, but your insurance company can subrogate the other party to recover your deductible since it is quite evident that you are not at fault. You can get the car fixed quicker and get a rental car quicker. Not sure how good Progressive is with subrogation, but I have done this in the past in CA for a not-fault accident with Farmers.