Overseas Car Hire & Credit Card Insurance

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  captain fatguts on 06/12/2014 - 19:01

  Most platinum cards and some gold cards do.
  Have a look at my Travel Money webpage, http://checkthis.com/travelmoney and check out the Bankwest platinum card. Fee free, free travel insurance (incl. hire car) and no foreign currency fees.
  Offers the same foreign currency benefits as 28 degrees but also free travel insurance.

  www.yhyw.com.au

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  wobblydrow on 06/12/2014 - 19:59

  +1

  Make sure you read the card T&C's most will not cover CDW or supplementary liability and in the USA you must get this if you have any sense, as the liability is massive if you have an accident..I have found the best way to get a good deal is to use a broker such as autoeurope, they will include all insurances fully and tend to be 30% cheaper than directly with a car hire company such as Hertz (we generally get assigned to Budget car hire in the USA and never have a problem)

  The bankwest platinum will offer cover up to 3K (which is far too low) and you have to take comprehensive insurance out at the time of booking.

  Honestly, for the USA get the insurance as part of a hire package, as none of the cards will cover supplementary liabiluty which is where the big exposure is.

  • 

    captain fatguts on 07/12/2014 - 00:32

    +1

    Agree with what you say, however the op did also mention excess waiver, the 3 k cover is sufficient to cover this. You still pay necessary insurances but opt out of excess waiver.

    The hire company may put a hold on your cc for the full amount of the excess until up to 6 weeks after the return of the car. This needs to be factored in when deciding on the limit of your card.

    • 

      RockyRaccoon on 07/12/2014 - 06:22

      Point taken, but at the same time, Aussie's going to the US have no idea how the US insurance works.

      They assume they have CTP like we do in this country and in many states of the US the basic CTP is as low as $10K which wouldnt even cover a scratch.

      Covering the excess waiver is just that, the excess you have to pay on the $10K liabilty insurance cover (its NOT covering you for anything above this basic cover).

      This is the basic liability insurance that Hawaii requires, it must meet the following minimum coverage requirements per accident:

      $20,000 for bodily injury, per person.
      $40,000 for total bodily injury if multiple people are injured.
      $10,000 for property damage.
      

      and that's only what the car rental company will provide.

      The CDW that they offer, waives the car rental companies right to claim the excess they charge on their cost to repair THEIR vehicle.

      If you cause an accident, then the only insurance you have to cover the others claim is the amounts above. Hit something and the bill is higher than 10K and guess who has to pay the extra.

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  RockyRaccoon on 06/12/2014 - 20:46

  If you want to be sure read the wiki here - scroll down to acr insurance

  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/category:travel

  Its a little complex but US car insurance is

  As Wobblydrew has indicated.

  The alternative is to buy separate insurance as discussed in the wiki. It will save you money and a lot of heartache if you have the misfortune to have an accident in the USA

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  eatwell365 on 06/12/2014 - 21:51

  Especially if you have never driven on the left. Highly recommended full insurance.

  • 

    toristo on 06/12/2014 - 22:23

    +1

    Having a passenger in the front seat to scream "YOU'RE DRIFTING!" and grab at the wheel to correct helps immensely. The alternative is to start with the 1-10EB
 during peak hour if you're in L.A. There's no chance of getting enough speed to have an accident then…