Is the CDW on a car rental a rip-off?
 

I got a great deal on a fly/drive combo to France and now I'm having second thoughts about having refused the CDW cost. It was almost as much as the car rental itself. Should I try to pick it up now or trust that my own insurance coverage (USAA) will be enough? Any thoughts?

CDW is not insurance - I blurt that out every chance I get.

It is Collision Damage Waiver. The rental agreement makes you personally responsible for all physical damage to the vehicle - however caused - in most cases.

Purchasing CDW effectively "waives" your obligation under that rental contract provision.

Standard automobile insurance policies don't respond to that kind of contractual damage exposure on other vehicles. In many cases you can purchase an endorsement to your policy that provides coverage for damage to other vehicles when you are driving them, but most of those (north America is my reference) only provide the coverage for rentals in the US and Canada so they won't help you on a European rental.

Charging the rental to a credit card that provides this type of physical damage coverage is usually the best choice, if available.

You MUST find out if your policy has an endorsement available which might extend you this coverage to a European rental - some might, but I have not seen them from N. American insurers. If they do not offer it, then you need to find out if any of your credit card issuers offer this "CDW" coverage. If they do charge the rental to the card and you are set (check their deductible!)

If you can;t find some protection from either of those sources, you must wither purchase the waiver, or assume the risk of damage to the vehicle.

Some European rental agencies have a limit on your exposure to damage costs and the CDW simply drops it down to $0, so maybe the built in maximum exposure is something you can live with.

If you are not comfortable perhaps you can contact the agency who booked the trip for you and ask for the CDW oprtion back. It's not like travel accident insurance where if you pass it up on booking you are out of luck.

What do you mean "trust that my own insurance coverage will be enough?"

Either your own insurance covers you or it doesn't. Call them and find out. If you're not covered, spring for the extra cost of the CDW.

Few if any Stateside car insurance policies will cover you overseas. However your credit card might . . . . .

You REALLY need to make sure you are covered by someone.

Yeah, I should have added that the chances your INSURANCE covers you are about nil. You may hold a credit card that covers you, though. Check that too.

obviously aramis was editing his post when StCirq and I were posting, because his wasn't there when we added our comments (Preview/edit "holds" the time stamp on a post)

Obviously his comments are much more detailed than ours - but the same basic info. You need to find out and get coverage from somewhere . . . .

Meant when we were posting our original comments . . . .

Your stateside car insurance company will not cover you when renting a car outside of the continental USA and it territories, except for Canada. If you rent the car while still in the States, using a Visa or MC Signature card, or Amex, then they will be the primary insurer, thus you have no need for the CDW, which appears mandatory if the car is rented while in Europe. We’ve done it both way and found that CDW effectively doubles the cost of the rental and you still can end up with a deductible of 600 + euros.

I just type very slooooowwwwlllyyyy Janis

I would be really surprised if your own insurance company covered you. You had better check with them, because you may be making a very expensive mistake.

In my experience, you can:
1. Pay the money to the rental company (yes, it is excessive) for a lowish deductible ($500 - $1,000) and then pay a little extra locally for a zero deductible

2. Do what I do: Rent the car on a credit card that offers CDW coverage (must be booked and picked up with that credit card), which offers zero deductible – any damage will be paid for in full my MY CC company

3. Take a chance that you will not damage the car and if you do, YOU pay the cost for repair. Given that a fender-bender can result in $$$, I’d prefer option 1 or 2 because I would hate to have no coverage if I totaled the car.

What is really lovely is to ask a well-known automobile association about any kind of insurance on a rental in Europe.

I casually asked that question one day, and the agent just about attacked me. His line: If you have a wreck with no collision insurance, the police will put you in jail.

Talk about scare tactics.

I usually waive the CDW and my credit card covers the potential damage. Last summer, I paid the estimated cost and was reimbursed within 6 weeks by Visa. Just follow their directions if damage occurs.

Wow! I posted my question and then went surfing for cell phone threads. Just got back and 11 responses.

Sounds like I really need to do some research before I go. I've already paid for the car with my Visa credit card so it might not be so bad. But I will check both with my insurance company and my credit card holder to see what my options are.

Some of the threads here that talk about rental car damages are kinda scary. Thanks for the advice.