How to Avoid Car Hire Scams: Part 3 of many
Hello Car Hire Seekers!!!
This edition of “How to Avoid Car Hire Scams” will talk about one of the oldest tricks in the book. As in a lot of the car hire scams out there, this one involves insurance. If you have ever been at the hire counter, you know about all of the insurance plans and extra protection you are offered. Sometimes I wonder if I am there to hire a car or if I am at a meeting with an insurance salesman. Let me first give the car hire companies some credit because this “scam” is much more legitimate than some of the others, but nonetheless, it is not good for you.
Here is how it works…
1. You make a reservation for the car hire on the internet or you arrive to book a car at the location (Side note: I strongly recommend booking in advance).
2. The price you pay says it is all inclusive and this is true for the most part. The car hire companies will provide you will all of the protection you need that is mandated by law. But, they rarely stop there.
3. The car hire company employee says something along the lines of, “Ok, you are all set to go but let me tell you about the extra protection packages we have.” Oh, you were so close to leaving, but now you have to hear another sales pitch.
4. Then you are asked if you want to purchase additional coverage called accidental this and liability that and enough legal words are thrown at you to make your head spin.
5. Some customers figure…well I do not want to get myself into trouble with the car hire, I might as well buy as much protection as I can. Hmmmmmm, why do they have all this extra protection? If it is so important, they would include it in the original price…right?
6. Now you drive your car hire and you end up paying sometimes double the original cost of the vehicle just so you can have no worries.
Now for the SIMPLE solution.
They offer you all of this stuff because they know some people will buy. Even people that do not need it. What do I mean by that? I mean that most personal car insurance policies (especially in the United States) cover the driver with the normal policy even if they drive a car hire. Therefore, if you already have accidental death coverage on your insurance plan, you do not need to buy it again from the car hire company. Furthermore, if you are driving with two insurance policies that cover the same things, you might end up not even using the policy from the car hire company if there is a claim.
Another way you can be covered for car hire is from a credit card. Sometimes, your credit card provider will supply all of the additional insurance you need if it is the same card used to hire the car.
So what can you do?!?!?!?!?
Before you go to pick up a car hire, you need to review your personal car insurance policy and determine what you are covered for and what you are lacking. You should call your insurance company and ask them exactly how you are protected if you are not certain. This will save you a lot of money and time at the car hire desk. Do not double pay for insurance. Educate yourself, it is the best way to beat car hire scams!
