Need for LDW and SLI optional car ins in USA?

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Protocol

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We are hiring a car from Budget in a hotel in Orlando next April.

The base price is 96.87 USD for Wed 11am to Fri 6pm. The extra taxes and fees are about 14.50, meaning approx 110 USD in total.

The options are as follows:

LDW, loss damage waiver (not insurance) = 26 USD per day

SLI (supp liability ins) = 12 approx per day

PPE (personal injury and effects) = 6-7 approx pd

Which of these extra insurances are important?
 
I would suggest pricing a car rental with www.ebookers.ie - all insurances are included. When you get to Orlando the hire car company may try to sell you more insurance but you should just refuse.
 
Protocol said:
The options are as follows:

LDW, loss damage waiver (not insurance) = 26 USD per day

SLI (supp liability ins) = 12 approx per day

PPE (personal injury and effects) = 6-7 approx pd

Which of these extra insurances are important?
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None, as a general rule, though you will often get the hard sell at the rental counter.

I remember being misled at an Avis counter some years back, so I kicked up a fuss when I was returning the car. They credited me the cost of the insurance, so I had the best of both worlds! I had the extra insurance cover while I was driving, but when I didn't need it, I had the cost returned.
 
First of all LDW is a must; if you crash the car, you are totally liable for repairing/replacing the car; the Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) (also known as Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) in some places) absolves you of this. You would be crazy not to go with it.

The Supplementary Liability Insurance (SLI) covers any injury/damage to 3rd parties (not covered by LDW); I would also take this out.

The Personal Accident Insurance covers death or injury to yourself or passengers but if you have a decent travel insurance (which you will need for the USA), this will be covered by that so it is not really necessary.

Now, some car hire companies do a prepaid rate which you pay ahead of the trip which includes LDW and SLI and is a much less expensive option; in fact the daily rate sometimes works out cheaper than the non-prepaid rates which you still have to add the extras on to.

Hertz do these prepaid rates and I am pretty sure Avis also do them. It is the way to go and gives you peace of mind. The difference is that you have to pay when booking and if you cancel, you will lose the cost of the first day's rental.
 
Have looked up the Budget website; and they also do these prepaid rates. A group B car (equivalent to Ford Focus) would cost about €87 for the time period you are talking about including LDW and SLI; you would still have to pay extra for Personal Accident Insurance and other supplements e.g. an extra driver.

I picked a random Budget rental office in Orlando on the first Wednesday to Friday in April 2008 but the cost for you should not be hugely different.

The website is www.budget.ie. If you click on Worldwide Hire tab, you will be able to book from there
 
Thanks very, very much for your help.

I originally booked through the US website. I booked a Class E (Ford Taurus) for 96.87 + 6.80 + 7.71 + 115.29 ins = 226.67 USD.

That's about EUR 162 at an exchage rate of USD 1.40.

I have now booked through the Irish website. I got a class K (Ford Mustang) for EUR 153. So a higher class car for a lower price, whcih the insurances included.

Thanks redchariot.
 
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