Car Insurance for rental cars in the USA

Grawns

Just wanted to share the results of my research into renting a car in the US. The whole process is as clear as paint but I think I've got it cracked. The most important thing is your insurance cover:

Points to note:
CDW ( Collision Damage waiver) or LDW ( Loss Damage Waiver) .
LDW or CDW from the rental company essentially take the place of your own collision and comprehensive insurance, letting you off the hook if the rental is stolen or vandalized, or if you crash the rental car company's vehicle. Why they need to have 2 names I don't understand but make sure that the small print says you are protected from both theft and collision

You need this insurance and this should be included in the quote from the rental company.

SLI Supplemental Liability Insurance
This is the tricky one and you may think you don't need it. You do! This is essntially just another name for 3rd party insurance and most credit cards in the states provide this coverage for US citizens when the card is used to hire a car. This is not the case with Irish credit cards. Most US states require the rental companies to automatically provide at least the minimum required liability coverage at no charge to you. However do not be reassured by this. In some states the coverage may be as low as US$5000. Not much coverage in a nation of lawyers. I found that most companies did not cover this insurance in the quote and you would have to contact them directly to enquire about coverage.

UMP - Uninsured Motorist Protection:
Provides the renter, family members & passengers travelling together in the rented vehicle with up to $1,000,000 of coverage for bodily injury sustained while driving the rental car, and caused by another driver who has no insurance, minimal insurance, or is a hit & run driver. This is another necessity and may be included in the quote.

Irish car insurance ( Third Party Insurance and fully comprehensive)
I phoned my insurers and they do not cover driving outside Europe. You essentially have no insurance.

Travel Insurance. Provides 3rd party but not whilst driving. I couldn't find a travel insurer who quoted to include driving.

Credit card 3rd party insurance. Not offered by visa or mastercard to irish customers.

Anyway I found http://www.carhire3000.ie to be among the best value and provide the most coverage. They seem to be a broker for the carhire companies but offer you their insurance. Their quote which in this case was for car hire from Dollar http://www.dollar.com/ included LDW (collison and theft protection according to small print) with no excess, SLI to $1,000,000 and UMP to $1,000,000. It was €474.66 for 13 days rental in November ( 1st -14th) for a minivan seating 7.

A point of interest is that it is always worth comparing the price offered on the uk site www.carhire3000.com to the Irish one. This can save you a few bucks. For some reason the Irish ones have been cheaper. I noticed this first on travelsupermarket.com, the quotes can differ substantially but the insurance offered is the same.

Best of luck and safe driving

andyeire

Thanks for that .I am off to Florida for Christmas got a 7 seater for 780 for three weeks .

Thats 300 euro cheaper than my best quote so far .

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Grawns

That makes my day. Thanks Mate.