Rental Car -Collision/Damage Waiver Insurance

[blue steal]

I am not sure Don, but I did read here a while back that the deductable was $250 US. Others who have used them hopefully can chime in and let us know.

 

[DandyDon]

I'll ask on a new thread.

 

[sddiver]

Just to clarify some things about auto rental and "insurance". At least in the US and I believe in Mexico as well, the CDW and LDW are not "insurance" they are "waivers". It's basically a contract between you and the rental company that states they are "waiving" any rights to go after you for damage to "their" car. It's a form of self insurance. If you refuse the waiver then you and or your secondary insurance ie Visa, Amex et al are on the hook. Waivers are also a profit center for auto rental companies. $30 /day times number of rentals without damage vs the occasional minor damage and even rarer total loss. If done correctly they can make a lot of money with this. The liability portion (damage to others and or your passengers ie Jennifer) should hopefully be being paid for and provided by an Insurance company. In the states I believe you can "self insure" liability, but only if you post a large bond with the state your operate in. It sounds as if Less Pay either doesn't have the liability insurance in place or is reluctant to make a claim. I believe that the Liability for "others" is mandatory in Mexico. I'm not sure on the liability coverage for your passengers, I think it's an option at additional charge.

I think the driver paying the "deductable" might have been a mistake.

Not surprising that they are being less than cooperative. Hopefully they eventually come to the table and pay without this becoming a legal rodeo.

Rich

 

[Reef Tank]

Just to clarify some things about auto rental and "insurance". At least in the US and I believe in Mexico as well, the CDW and LDW are not "insurance" they are "waivers". It's basically a contract between you and the rental company that states they are "waiving" any rights to go after you for damage to "their" car. It's a form of self insurance....

I believe that the Liability for "others" is mandatory in Mexico. I'm not sure on the liability coverage for your passengers, I think it's an option at additional charge.

Agreed.

For all the talk about waivers it seems few are aware of the important difference between CDW and LDW.

The liability for personal injury is my biggest concern with renting a car in a country outside the U.S., even first-world countries. If I damage someones pet goat or other property I know I will pay an inflated price but if I hurt a person in another country I lose a lot more. If that person is under 18 years old in some countries I am responsible for them until they turn 18 and I'm sure they will have many symptoms for which a poultice of dollars is required. Even above the liability for personal injury is the criminal cost and associated bribes, er, I mean fee for service.

On the other hand a realtor in Roatan said the best thing about liability in Roatan is that there is none. If you get hurt it is your fault.

Even in the U.S. having liability insurance doesn't end the matter if the insurance company pays out their liability limit and the injured party decides to pursue me for more.

Apologies to the world for appearing U.S. centric in this post.

 

[5615mike]

As a career property and casualty insurance broker you are best advised to accept the insurance offered with the rental car in Mexico as most all American auto carriers do not extend any facet of automobile coverage for any replacement vehicle (rental) to any country other than Canada.

The c.c. company may reimburse you for your comprehensive and collision deductible as it appears on your USA policy but that's it. Not only are you on the hook for further damage to the rental car, you may also have major problems with any damage done to other property and persons...

Coming from a career of 23 years as a Commercial Insurance Broker......I completely agree.

 

[5615mike]

OK. My concern for you folks is higher than worrying about whether or not I get into hot water by mentioning the name of the company. BillInDenver, I really hope not all your wedding party is renting from LessPay because they certainly DO live up to their name. LessPay is the rental car company involved in this fraud and they are located right next to the Barracuda Hotel. I am completely fed up by their actions and gave them every chance and more to do the right thing. I was polite, patient, and contacted them numerous times as well as going by their office and speaking directly to the owner, John DeVries on several occasions. My accident was June 5th and I have repeatedly contacted him and his manager, Victor, regarding insurance information and they absolutely refuse to give me the name of an insurance company or the name of the adjuster and will not speak to me any longer. I just can not sit and be quiet about this when someone else could get hurt and go through the same thing I am going through now, or possibly worse. I have decided it is time to tell the entire story and let the "you-know-what" rain down on them for trying to screw me over for over $5000 in medical expenses that should be covered by their "insurance" AND they are also screwing with the other couple's credit card, who rented a car from them, as well.

Thank you for naming the company. John has owned Less Pay for years. I rented vehicles from John for about 10 years because his vehicles were very well priced and included liability insurance as well as physical damage. They were not new but used to be plenty good island transportation. As of October of last year I stopped trading with him due to the mechanical condition of his vehicles. Trust me, I dont need a new vehicle but when the tires, brakes, transmissions, etc. are always in question and needing to switch Jeeps during my stay about 40% of the time I just got tired of messing with it. In May I moved to Ernestos Jeep rental. Mr. Diaz has a fair pricing structure and the vehicles I have rented are in fare better condition than Johns and are far newer. I always make sure the the insurance coverage is hand written on the contract so its easy to see the coverage is in place as the renter intends. While not being a MX citizen does amplify the problem, there is never an absolute when it comes to this. American Credit cards say that they provide coverage in MX but without having it in writting, its not something to take as gospel. I would never count on coverage in MX without purchasing coverage in MX.......and in this case, its no sure thing to have coverage even when you paid for it. If it is proven that John has been collecting insurance premiums for insurance that is not in place, he should be forced out of business and even placed in jail for insurance fruad. Hard to say what will happen without knowing the laws in MX. John is an American from TX that has lived in MX for years. If he became a MX citizen he might have a better chance of sliding past this than if he is still an American citizen.

 

[deborahdelamar]

This is my understanding of how car rental insurances work in Mexico. But this info may be dated, I don't know....

Mandatory LDW, the liability damage waiver, is mandatory in Mexico and covers injury to third parties or property belonging to third parties including the government (street signs, etc.)

CDW, collision damage waiver, is optional and covers damage to the rented car. There can be a deductible, or optionally, full-coverage may be purchased.

PAI, personal accident insurance, is rarely spoken about but is available. This is the policy that pays for treatment of injuries sustained by the renter and passengers in the rented car due to an accident in which the renter is at fault. (Otherwise the other driver's liability insurer would pay.) Options to this are certain trip insurance policies, certain dive insurance policies, or tourists' personal medical policies.

Many credit card companies have opted out of Mexico entirely and those that cover Mexican rentals do so only if you accept zero insurance offered by the rental company and, of course, use their card to pay for the rental. Due to the mandatory liability waiver here, it's difficult to opt out of all coverage, so credit card renters' insurance may not provide the best assurance.

 

[cicopo]

I hadn't read this until today (the title didn't seem like one I needed to contribute to or learn from) but I'm glad that I took the time to read it while waiting for a phone call. I can say it is something I can learn from, and because of this topic I'll be even more careful about the paperwork the next time I'm renting. Luckily my last 2 rentals were from Isis, and I didn't have any accidents, but I did come close to causing one when I almost pulled into the path of a car when leaving the new highway to enter the driveway at the Grand. I knew the old road was a 2 way street buy at the moment I was about of cross it I treated it like the other 2 lanes of a divided highway, and only looked to the right: but there was a car approaching from my left and I almost pulled right in front of it. My passengers prevented that, but it was close.

 

[cvchief]

While we are talking cars, I got a question: The car we got from Lesspay in May was missing the tag. I read that when parked illegally, the cops take rental car tags and then the rental company has to pay to get them back. We drove the thing nine days without the tag. Is that likely what happened to the tag? Do the cops care that you drive around without a tag? How does that work in Coz?

 

[judydivescoz]

While we are talking cars, I got a question: The car we got from Lesspay in May was missing the tag. I read that when parked illegally, the cops take rental car tags and then the rental company has to pay to get them back. We drove the thing nine days without the tag. Is that likely what happened to the tag? Do the cops care that you drive around without a tag? How does that work in Coz?

Did you notice the tag was missing before you went out driving? I would have found that totally unacceptable and asked for another car. I would imagine that some police might question the lack of tags. I would never have taken that chance!!