All inclusive car rental
 

We have rented a car from SIXT that includes CDW and some other insurance coverage but has a 490 Euro deductable, is this good insurance?

The 490 deductible means that if you have a fender bender, you will be responsible for up to $600 of damages.

Good insurance is one with NO deductible, IMHO.

<<Good insurance is one with NO deductible, IMHO.>>

As with all insurance, it depends on the price and the likelihood of the event covered - - compared with the value of peace of mind.

Reducing a deductible from $600 to $0 - - if it costs 30 cents on the dollar of potential benefit, is expensive - - if the likelihood of loss is 1 in 100, or maybe even if it is 1 in 10.

A lot depends on how often you rent.

Best wishes,

Rex

bigboy,

How much is your car rental and what is the cost of the inusrance you did buy?

The total cost of the rental is, 428.85
Plus a drop fee of 178.50 Euro

Big Boy,

If you share where you are picking up the car, the dates of the rental and drop point, you will probably get some other recommendations from fodorites for alternate choices.

Most(VISA and Mastercards) insurance will cover the cost to damages to a vehicle, if you "don't purchase " the CDW. Of course, you would need to check your particular credit car coverage for this issue, and how to handle any incidents that may occur.

Ideally insurance should cover what you cannot afford to cover yourself. If you are a very bad driver, get confused and disoriented in unfamiliar surroundings or driving conditions, or will worry yourself sick over the possibility of having to pay up to $600 in damages, then it MIGHT be worth buying down to a $0 deductable.

Most of us have deductables on our house, medical, and auto insurance--unless there is something unusual going on (like the examples above), there's no reason not to have a deductable on your car rental insurance as well.

Amsterdam to Munich 14 sept - 24 sept,
I emailed SIXT to see if I could buy extra insurance to make my deductable
zero and their reply was to contact the
Amsterdam office direct by phone and ask. I have only cell phones and I can't call internationaly.

Reducing the CDW deductible to 0 is usually accomplished by paying for Super CDW which is typically paid for when you actually rent the car. Even with the Super CDW many agencies exclude tires, glass, underbody and lost keys from the insurance. I've never rented from SIXT so I obviously don't know the specifics for them. Just a heads up to read the contract.

Bigboy. You asked if the car insurance you were recieving was considered by others to be good.
I have rented many times in Europe and I do not want the responsibility of having to pay for a $600 damage to a car for a one week rental.
Our houses and cars at home do have a deductible, but they are in use for 365 days a year and not just a one week vacation. And I only carry a $100 deductible at home on my car and only a $500 one on my home.
Many people accept the deductible in car travel insurance as just part of the cost of the whole trip. I think it just depends on what you consider acceptable risk. And what you are prepared to pay for should you have an accident.
Super CDW is usually very expensive.
I just rented a car in Austria and I used my Mastercard to cover the insurance. But I have that coverage available.
May I suggest www.gemut.com. They rent for Germany and Austria, are very good to deal with and you will get a comparison price.
Good luck!

Sher--sounds as though you are overinsuring. Reduce those deductables--unless your house is a firetrap or you are a terrible driver.

I bought a calling card and used it to call SIXT in Amsterdam, For 9 Euro Per day extra it lowers the deductable to 190 Euro and for 16 Euro per day it lowers it to 0, I have never had an accident and have never made a insurance claim to my own insurance company however, just to be safe I will
buy the 16 Euro extra package. Damn now this car is expensive 428.85 + 178.50 +
160.00 = 767.35 Euro = $925.00 USD

If I understand your costs correctly, you're paying $160 to eliminate a $600 deductable. That means you are betting that you will have an accident causing at least $600 damage about one out of four times that you rent. Do you think that likely?

Although there is always that emotional comfort zone to consider--it just might be worth $160 to someone who would worry themselves to distraction over $600.

Dear big,

I am defintely not the person to give advice on this but I am curious? Did you get a price quote from AutoEurope if they handle rentals for the area you are going? What was their quote if available?

They were HIGHLY suggested and I found their all inclusive package just the ticket.

I know how Rufus feels about insurance so I really thought about the various insurances for my trip. I might have screwed up actually on the airline tickets. Part of the family has tickets on Alitalia and Alitalia is not covered under the financial default section of my policy. I have been told wait and see and I don't like wait and see. I would have liked the peace of mind that came with coverage for the tickets.

This stuff is always a gamble. I have no flood insurance. I don't live in a section of town that it is required. Now the hurricane is approaching and they say my area will more than likely flood. I went and got some sandbags. I wish I could have afforded flood insurance.

Hi I rent often from Auto Europe I noticed lately that in Spain for instances they have a high deductible, I mean when you ask for full insurance their first option has a high deductible. Instead in Italy their insurance has no deductible.

It's not that I am betting I'll have an accident, I just don't want any problems
while we are on vacation in Europe, like some of the other people I've read about. Yes, it does seem crazy to pay 160 Euro to eliminate a 460 Euro deductable however, as much as this trip is costing us the extra 160 Euro is
worth the piece of mind of not having to worry at all about the car.

When you rent a car in Italy you have to take the CDW offered by the rental agency. That probably explains the all inclusive/no deductible issue.

Everywhere else in Europe, you have the option of not taking the agency's CDW and using your own insurance, typically the free CDW offered by credit card companies. The rental agency's CDW will almost always have a high deductible which you can pay down up front by purchasing Super CDW. This is never the most cost effective way to go but if $160 doesn't break the budget and buys you the peace of mind to be able to walk away from an accident for $0, then it's money well spent.

Determining the cost of one's "comfort zone" includes some intangible variables, not only an analysis of cost benefit vs statistical risk.

We've not driven in Europe as yet, so I plan to pay the extra for my peace of mind our first time this October. Maybe after that, I'll be more comfortable with less coverage.

I think its best, for the same reasons
you point out as well as my own.

Bigboy: I have rented dozens of cars in Europe and have always bought the CDW AND the extra insurance you can buy at the airport when you pick up the car (usually a few dollars a day) so I could have NO deductable. Recently, I have discovered that the car companies are reluctant to allow one to have NO deductable and have now added another category for THEFT that has a separate deductable. For example, for a holiday I am planning in Oct, even if I buy the CDW AND the Super-CDW, I will still have a deductable of $2100 Euros if the car is stolen. My husband will now rent the car using his Mastercard, which will pick up some of the insurance, but we will still be liable for the 2100 Euros if the car is stolen. Please make sure you read the fine print and, if you use a credit card that covers you for insurance, make sure that the person who's card it is is the primary driver.

Good luck, this insurance lark is becoming just becoming SO expensive and complicated. I have been told that this is because the car companies are making little profit on the retal itself and are therefore counting on higher profit margin from the insurance.

regards Ger