Ik word nog maar weinig wijs uit de extra verzekeringen die je nodig hebt voor een huurauto in de US. In principe moet de verhuurder toch ervoor zorgen dat die auto verzekerd is? Ook WA? Maar als ik dit dan weer lees, verwarring alom...
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Rental Car Insurance: O! The horror! There is nothing so complicated as the insurance that surrounds rental cars. You can count on the following: First, whatever insurance you buy at the rental car counter will be horrendously overpriced. Second, if you own a car at home and have insurance, it's almost always totally unnecessary to buy any additional insurance for a rental car. Third, whatever you do, do NOT drive in the United States without liability coverage. Repeat: Don't drive here without liability coverage. If you get in an accident and it's even partly your fault and you don't have liability coverage, you'll wish you were the one who died.
Collision insurance. Many credit cards will pay the collision insurance deductible, and so will many personal insurance policies. Check this before you travel. The CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) policies sold by rental car companies are expensive. There is also something called LDW (Loss Damage Waiver), which is CDW that also covers damage from theft and vandalism. Credit card policies vary on this, and so do personal insurance policies. One thing is for certain: If you're going to purchase CDW from the rental car company, you might as well buy LDW if it's available. But don't buy both.
Personal Effects insurance. Let's imagine you don't have a car at home so there's no backup insurance policy. You buy the LDW and someone steals the rental car. And along with it, they swipe your luggage and all your other stuff. Or they simply break into your rental car's trunk and swipe everything. Guess what? The LDW covers the car, not your stuff. That coverage goes by the usual term PEC (Personal Effects Coverage). If you buy PEC, you'd better have receipts for everything you lost, or the insurance company will stiff you on the reimbursement. And you'll have to file a police report.
Crucial: You must have liability insurance! Neither CDW, LDW or PEC, nor anything provded by credit card policies, cover liability, i.e., the damage you do to another person's car or person while driving. This is your responsibility, and it can be a financial nightmare if you get into an accident. Check your own car insurance before you go, because it usually covers this. If you don't own a car at home and will be renting one here, then you need to buy separate liability insurance for your rental car. It's typically available from the rental car agency, and is often split into SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance) or ALI (Additional Liability Insurance) and PAI (Personal Accident Insurance).
Insurance isn't for the happy outcomes, so let's imagine something really bad. You get in a terrible accident on a busy street in Los Angeles. You're injured, your passenger dies, the other driver dies and his passenger is critically injured. Further imagine that it all happened because you didn't notice that the light had turned red, and therefore the accident is ruled to be your fault. Not only that, but witnesses say you were speeding. You will be liable not only for the damage to the other driver's vehicle, but for their medical expenses and the financial value of wrongful death, pain & suffering, etc. SLI/ALI pays for this. PAI pays your medical bills, your passenger's medical bills and a death benefit for your passenger. The American Automobile Assn. (AAA, commonly called "Triple-A") also sells liability insurance. Do not ignore this issue!
Read the Fine Print!. Those credit card CDWs, and often your own personal insurance, tend not to cover the rental of exotic, expensive or specialty vehicles. If you're going to rely on those coverages, check the wording before renting, for example, an SUV, a recreational vehicle or a luxury car. I think SUVs are almost always covered, but only for on-road use. Don't assume that you're covered for any vehicle going anywhere. Same goes for renting a car in the U.S. and then driving it into Canada or (especially) Mexico. Reading the fine print could save you a bundle of money. Don't assume you're covered, because you might not be!
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