I seem to remember mention on this site of an insurance policy to cover excess damage waivers when hiring cars abroad.
I have searched but can't find it. Does anyone have details please?
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Read both articles, maybe some companies don't accept
this cover? Anyone any feedback to say this is true/untrue?
www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?grid=T6&xml=...0
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Annual car hire insurance
G Weaver from London wrote
We visit Florida several times a year, and find it irritating to have to pay so much for collision damage waiver (CDW) and supplementary liability insurance (SLI). Is it possible to buy an annual policy covering these insurances?
Gill's response
I have come across two such options. NatWest offers annual cover for LDW (similar to CDW) and SLI for a premium of £75 to holders of any NatWest credit card. It covers renters aged 21 to 74 for LDW up to US$50,000 (£32,000) and SLI of up to US$1 million (£650,000), plus protection if you are involved in an accident with someone with no insurance. The maximum period for any one trip is 31 days and the cardholder must pay the rental
cost using the NatWest card. For more details, call 0845 458 9677.
If you buy its Annual Premier Plus travel insurance, American Express (0800 700707) offers CDW up to US$50,000 (£32,000) and "top-up liability" - similar to SLI - of up to US$1 million (£650,000), plus cover of up to US$100,000 (£65,000) for any bodily injury sustained by the insured when entering, occupying or alighting from a rental vehicle in the US and Canada.
The policy costs £204.95 a year for an individual (£389.95 if you are over
66) or £284.95 for family cover (£549.95 for insured and spouse only if over 66). This is about £100 more than the company's basic annual travel policy.
Rates for shorter-term CDW and SLI vary, but reckon on about US$148 (£98) per week for CDW and US$84 (£56) per week for SLI. You will need to shop around to make substantial savings because all-inclusive packages sold in Britain are very competitive. For example, Avis UK charges £160 for a week in Florida for a compact car, including CDW and all surcharges and taxes, although SLI is not mentioned. By contrast, Avis in America charges US$228.21 (£152) online for the basic rental, including surcharges and
taxes, but not CDW or SLI.
If any readers know of other British companies selling CDW and SLI for US rentals, or have had problems with US rental desks over the acceptance of such cover, I would like to hear from them.
www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?grid=T6&xml=...1
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Also mentioned is www.insurance4carhire.com/telegraph
Car-only hire in US
Gill writes
In a recent column, I suggested it was possible to buy an annual insurance policy from NatWest or American Express to cover the collision damage waiver (CDW) and supplementary liability insurance (SLI) needed for hiring a car abroad. These insurances, bought either as part of a pre-paid car hire package or at the rental counter on picking up the car, worked out much more
expensive for frequent travellers, especially to the US.
I asked for readers' experiences in obtaining what is known as car-only rental in the US. Tony Thompson, the car rental manager of Sunstyle Vacations, emailed to say his company pioneered this concept in Florida.
"Until last April, our customers could rent an economy car from £45 a week, including taxes, in Florida and use their own annual CDW and SLI policies to cover these essential insurances. The savings on the standard all-inclusive package were about £100 a week.
"However, car rental companies realised they were losing money on the rental and withdrew the car-only deal from the market. For international travellers, most major companies no longer accept CDW/SLI cover purchased elsewhere."
Mr Thompson says that, for the US domestic market, car rental companies must provide a car-only deal (US drivers often have CDW/SLI as part of their own car insurance). But as companies have come to realise they are making no profit from selling insurance, rental rates have risen. "Add airport, state,
road and environment taxes," said Mr Thompson, "and the total cost can be way above that of pre-paid packages available through tour operators such as ourselves." (Sunstyle charges £129 a week for a compact car in Florida, including all insurances.)
Smaller local car rental companies may be willing to accept British purchased annual CDW/SLI policies, but customers should check this is still the case and what the bottom line really is.
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I have used Insurance4carhire.com and they were fine, my (then £45) premium got a refund of a 300 Euro bill when my car was hit when parked, plus vandalised in Italy. Premiums are up a bit since the but are still less than 7 days of a hirer's CDW excess and it is certainly a good dewal if you hire abroad for 14 days a year or more.
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Many thanks for comments. I'll report back in due course.
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