Thought I would share my experience with US car rental insurance cover. Rental companies have Collision Damage Waiver as we do, but also Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI). SLI, (property & injury to third parties) has limits with some complexities depending on which State; in our case starting in Texas it was $300k. Whilst I consider myself a safe driver, legal exposure in the US is a real risk.
This issue isn’t covered by a recent travel insurance review article. My understanding is that if someone files a liability claim against you that surpasses your personal auto policy’s liability limits (I understand no Aussie insurance provider rental car company coverage) & you don’t have supplemental liability insurance, you are responsible for paying the remainder of the claim out of pocket. My credit card travel insurance does not cover personal liability for an accident in a motor vehicle, only policy excess cost in the event of an accident. One US car rental company Alamo (for example) offers cover with a $300k SLI limit, but none any higher.
In an exchange with the choice article author confirmed …
Most, if not all, travel insurance policies we’ve seen contain a similar clause to what you note in your credit card policy. i.e. they don’t cover personal liability for an accident in a motor vehicle. We suspect that the most likely coverage would be provided by the American car rental companies You would obviously need to check the T&Cs to be sure.
So, what did we do …
Based on my web search Enterprise, National & Alamo had the best customer star reviews, noting all are owned Enterprise Holdings Inc. We booked online with Alamo as their online rental rate for international visitors included CDW & SLI. To be certain I called the Dallas airport office & confirmed on pick up at the desk. Enterprise & National charge a premium.
We hired the Car on Chicago, Illinois, picked up a cracked windscreen in either Ohio or Tennessee. It got worse, so we swapped at Memphis Tennessee confirming cover under the CDW with no excess. Thankfully I did not test the SLI cover, but with constant accident lawyer adverts on TV, I was glad.
