David Hoadley
Stormtrack founder
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2006
- Messages
- 120
Now that storm season is winding down, I have a couple of insurance questions regarding rental cars.
For awhile, I didn’t buy their insurance (and know many of you don‘t), because my regular carrier covered it. However, after a couple of storm related mishaps, I wound up in an unpleasant bind between the rental company and my primary carrier, who was slow to process. I began to get stern warnings from the rental company that I was too slow, that their claim was with ME! --and not my carrier, and demanded immediate payment! Telling them that I had repeatedly asked my carrier for prompt reimbursement made no difference. Never mind that I had used their company for decades. Now, it was as if they had never heard of me!!
What steps can a rental-car company take to secure payment, if a primary insurer is too slow for them? Can it garnish wages (pension in my case), sue for damages or negligence, degrade my credit rating, or take any legal action against me?
As a consequence, I have returned to buying rental insurance (usually for a 5-6 day trip), to avoid that aggravation and repeated threats. It is almost worth it for the “peace of mind.” When there is a mishap now with their coverage, I just report it at the rental desk and walk away. It is that easy!
Have any of you had a similar experience, and how did you handle it?
- - - Also for those who have made several claims for hail damage, has anyone had their primary insurance cancelled or incurred a steep premium hike because of repeated claims for the same loss? I am super cautious about driving close to a storm base for this reason. I don’t want to establish a loss-pattern and risk losing my coverage.
Thanks for any advice.
For awhile, I didn’t buy their insurance (and know many of you don‘t), because my regular carrier covered it. However, after a couple of storm related mishaps, I wound up in an unpleasant bind between the rental company and my primary carrier, who was slow to process. I began to get stern warnings from the rental company that I was too slow, that their claim was with ME! --and not my carrier, and demanded immediate payment! Telling them that I had repeatedly asked my carrier for prompt reimbursement made no difference. Never mind that I had used their company for decades. Now, it was as if they had never heard of me!!
What steps can a rental-car company take to secure payment, if a primary insurer is too slow for them? Can it garnish wages (pension in my case), sue for damages or negligence, degrade my credit rating, or take any legal action against me?
As a consequence, I have returned to buying rental insurance (usually for a 5-6 day trip), to avoid that aggravation and repeated threats. It is almost worth it for the “peace of mind.” When there is a mishap now with their coverage, I just report it at the rental desk and walk away. It is that easy!
Have any of you had a similar experience, and how did you handle it?
- - - Also for those who have made several claims for hail damage, has anyone had their primary insurance cancelled or incurred a steep premium hike because of repeated claims for the same loss? I am super cautious about driving close to a storm base for this reason. I don’t want to establish a loss-pattern and risk losing my coverage.
Thanks for any advice.