With car rental these days one of the hardy aspects to grasp is the accident - insurance options. One of the problems that you will be tempted by the car rental companies staff to take the collision damage waiver (CDW) cost and at the time believing that it is in your own best interests. They will call it a variety of names but at the end of the day it all amounts to the same and as they receive a commission on all CDW taken rest assured they will do anything to convince you that it is a good option.
Normally if something is good for you, how can you believe it could be good for the car rental company at the same time. How does this work? Just like your insurance for your own vehicle car hire companies are charged very high rates to insure their fleet, afterall look at the circumstances they are renting cars to people they know nothing about, they have no driving history on you, they do not know if you drink or take illegal drugs so it is a high risk situation. This eventuates in the rental company self insuring the hire cars. In doing so they take on the cost of the accident damage themselves and offset that expense by offering a CDW to you. This is a much more ecomonical way for them to maintain the rental car fleet and the company do not pay the insurance companies the big premiums for every car. Car Rental companies are in business to make money and this aspect of car rental becomes an extra revenue raiser itself and that is why the sales staff at the car hire branch will do their best to sell you this option. In regards to vehicle accidents, Australian law states that the liability lies with the owner of the vehicle unless you are acting as an agent for the owner, and as the hirer it is therefore unlikely you would come under that clasification.
You should consider this offer of excess reduction carefully. Do you want to be driving a hire car with the knowledge that in the event of an accident you will be liable for hundreds or thousands of dollars? The cost of CDW may be worth it just for peace of mind or you may decide to take your chances. The car rental companies often inflate the excess amount to pressure you into accepting the CDW.
One of the major misconceptions with car hire excesses today is that a number of people believe that their credit card insurance will cover them in the event of an accident. Many credit card companies will NOT cover the excess if their client has been offered excess reduction by the credit card company. You must be absolutely positive that you have it in writing from your credit card company that you would be covered in the unfortunately event of an accident.
Whether you are booking online or in person, when you book the rental car is when you should be looking at this option of CDW. As we have said previously the car rental company will do their best to get you to take the excess reduction option after all this is a profit area for them.
Next we have the situation where the unthinkable happened, a car accident. Assuming no one was hurt, in which case an ambulance should be called as soon as possible, the first objective will be to approach the other driver or drivers and collect their full particulars. This will include sighting their driver’s license and noting its full details. A tip here is to confirm that the address on the license is in fact their current address. If the accident has occurred in a busy location you may need to move the vehicles but it is always best to leave them if possible unless the police instruct you to move the cars. The police will need to be called depending on the severity of the accident or if anyone has been injured.
The accident isn’t the only thing you will have to contend with, the tow truck drivers are very competitive and sometimes extremely pushy. Try not to be taken for a ride, under no circumstances allow them to tow the rental car unless you are given the OK by the car hire company or told to do so by the police. Tow truck drivers or companies are paid a higher rate for what is call a police tow. Someone will have to pay for this tow and that could be you. Tow truck drivers also receive commissions from panel repairs if he delivers the damaged vehicles to thier facility. That is why they are so anxious to get your vehicle off the road it isn’t because they want to look after you it’s because they wish to look after themselves. If he gets your rental car attached to his truck it is almost impossible to get him to release the vehicle.
Your next problem to deal with will be paying the excess to the car rental company and then attempting to recover it in the event that you were not at fault. This process may take a very long time and to some extent depend on the honesty and integrity of everyone involved.
In concluding all that has been said is the worst case scenario and should not deter you from renting a car as a fact a percentage of car renters involved is in fact very small. That is considering the mileage that the cars actually do. So good renting a have a safe trip.
Learn more about car hire #1. Stop by Teresa Burrows’s site where you can find out all about rental cars #2 and what it can do for you.
Tags: Accidents and Hire Cars, auto insurance, car rental, Car Rental Insurance