Car Insurance for the states
 

I am renting a car for 90 days this summer in USA, i am from the UK. I am trying to find out if there are any insurance companies that will sell me insurance to cover the car, so that i can avoid paying a ridiculously high rate to the rental company. does anyone have any ideas? thanks

What I believe you are referring to is the infamous "collision damage waiver". First check with your credit card company to make sure they don't cover you automatically for CDW if you use their card to pay for the rental. Many card companies offer this for free. Visa and American Express offer this. However, sometimes it does not apply if you are renting outside the country in which the card was issued OR if you are renting in certain countries. Call your credit card company.

Also, if you own a car, your existing insurance policy may cover CDW on rentals. Check your policy or call your agent.

If they don't offer coverage, then you may be able to get it from a motorists club, have you tried the British Automobile Association at http://www.theaa.com/?

The car rental companies charge UK visitors an extraordinary amount which is not covered by any card. A cyber acquaintance on another board says there isn't any way to avoid it.

Before you trust your credit card company to cover you, check their exact policy. Almost all will NOT cover a car rental longer than thirty days.

Check with your local insurance agent for help. If her own company doesn't cover what you're looking for, most likely she can refer you to an insurance company that can.

Agreed that you would best if your own company could help you locate something. they then have access to your driving record and the rates might be lower.


(Part of the reason car insurance is so high for foreign travelers is that the rental companies have no access to your driving record - and they're esp concerned about people from countries where driving is on the wrong side of the road.)

To even try to get insurance from a US company (and I don;t know if any wold do this) you would need to tell them the kind of car you're getting and somehow give them access to your entire driving record (perhaps via your insurer at home?). If you have a DWI, more than one accident or even several tickets they won't touch you.

If you can't find a UK-based or US-based insurer that will cover a rental, then break up the 90 days into smaller pieces so that you'll be able to use the insurance provided by the car hire company. 3 x 30 probably won't be that much more than 1 x 90, all things considered. You might also be able to avoid drop fees if a one-way hire was part of your thinking, too.

You have lots of issues - most mentioned on the earlier thread you posted about this.

Your plan has pitfalls - too long a car hire, massive drop off charges for X-country, insurance for long term hires, etc.

It would actually be cheaper for you to organize your tour so you rent for a week or so, drop the car, fly to your next destination, rent another car, and so forth.

As far as I know there is no way for a UK driver to avoid the CDW. My credit cards cover me every time I rent in the UK but I don't believe there is comparable coverage for Brits over here in the States.

My travel Insurance policy covers vehicle hire excess as well as all the other things (travel delays, baggage loss, ill health etc)

A comprehensive travel insurance policy might do it - but you would need to be sure they cover all the states you will be in.

Since we have a federal form of government laws for most things very widely between states (not just between rental car companies) - for instance - a few states don;t require any liability insurance or allow you to post a bond, and some allow limits as low as $10,000 - while other - more prosperous states require you to carry much higher liability (I think $50,000 in some states - although that really isn;t enough for anyone with assets to protect).

For that length of time, have you looked into leasing a car rather than renting one?