craig

A travel insurance will never attempt to cover something, which should be covered under the relevant vehicle insurance. The car hirers policy will cover your personal liability if you damage a 3rd parties property or your injure them when driving the car.

Travel Insurance liability is purely for your personal liabilty as individuals. Example you are walking down the main road and you cause an accident, the 3rd party sues you. Your travel insurance liability and personal liability under your Home contents could be used in this event. The travel insurance would pay first and then if not sufficient you have the back up of the liability cover of your home insurance.

Car Insurance covers personal liability when driving or in relation to your control of the vehicle. So if you cause a car accident or if you parked the car in a dangerous postion, your car hirers insurance policy would be claimed against.

Hope this makes sense.

Huckster

Ok, here you go, from the wording of the annual travel insurance policy from Direct Line at https://uk2.directline.com/travel/AnnualTravelPolicy.pdf

=========

Section I – Personal liability
....

Exclusions
We will not pay claims that result from:
.....

you owning or using a firearm, an aircraft, or a horse-drawn, waterborne, motorised, mechanical or towed vehicle.

=========

Which seems to say to me that they don't cover for personal liability if you are driving a hire car!

Craig

Huckster,

Okay, further down the list I am starting to find some with medical cover. But looking at the wording, I see this:

=============

Third Party Liability: If You use any form of mechanically propelled vehicle, (e.g. car, motor cycle, moped or
scooter), sail or powered boat, or an aircraft, no liability cover will apply under this policy and You must ensure
that You have cover for third party injury or property damage in place.

=============

Yet, on the page for the search result it says:

==============

ersonal LiabilityIf in the course of a trip you become legally liable for accidental bodily injury to, or death of, any person and/or accidental loss of or damage to their property, then:
On condition that there is no other insurance in force covering the loss, the material damage or your liability, the insurer will indemnify you (or, in the case of your death, your legal representative) against:
- all sums which you shall become legally liable to pay as compensation; and
- all law costs awarded to any claimant or incurred in the defence of any claim that is contested by the insurer with their consent.
You are not covered for any claim arising in connection with a trip solely within the U.K area. £2,000,000.00£75.00

===============

So does this mean that such policies are still useless if I am driving a hire car?

I'll have a look at Direct Line, though the last time I looked at them for anything (car insurance that time), they were ridiculously expensive.

Craig

Craig

Personal accident and medical cover is pretty standard. Try Direct Line. I rate their product and have heard some good reviews of people who have claimed with them.

Can you tell me the name of one company that will not cover you?

Huckster

Hi huckster,

I am having a lot of difficulty finding a policy that will cover for personal injury. I am having to go through every policy in the search results individually..and so far, they cover for death and disablement, and for injuries to 3rd parties, but I haven't yet found one that would take car of a broken leg in a US hospital!

There's got to be an easier way...

Craig

If you take out a good standard of travel Insurance which includes a good sum insured for medical cover and personal injury, then I do not see any areas for concern. Use the comparison Travel Insurance page to look for the best deals but before you buy check the policy wording which will be in a PDF on the insurers internet site.

You will find that for some of the cheaper policies, they have compromised on the cover. It is sometimes worthwhile paying a bit more to obtain decent cover.

In regard to your personal effects, check the item limit and overall cover on the travel insurance as most are quite restricted. You will not be able to increase on the travel policy, but you should make sure your Home Insurance includes Personal Possessions cover, which will offer more cover for items such as camera, camcorders, clothing and other items that ware,carry or use away from home.

In regard to the car hire insurance in the US, they use to mention bail bond cover. Some companies appear to include this. Is this cover still recommended?

Huckster

Hi,

My wife and I are going to the US shortly and have booked a hire car through Auto Europe. I still need to arrange travel insurance and I want to be sure that I am not missing out on being covered in the case of an accident whilst driving the hire car, whilst not getting ripped off with some £30/day or whatever charge when I pick up the car.

This page gives some detail of what is covered by the hire agreement: http://www.auto-europe.co.uk/service-promise.cfm

The email from them when I booked says:

======================================

[YOUR RENTAL FROM DOLLAR CAR RENTAL INCLUDES]
* 0% Sales tax as of Booking Date: 14-Jun-2009
* Unlimited mileage. * SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance). * LDW (Loss Damage Waiver).
* UMP (Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Protection).
* Taxes & fees.
* Customer Facility Charge (CFC), where applicable.
[RENTAL DOES NOT INCLUDE]
* Insurance coverage for personal injuries to driver or passengers. Optional coverage may be offered locally for an additional fee.
* Fuel, client will be charged for a full tank at time of pick up and is advised to return the vehicle as empty as possible as there is no refund for unused fuel.
* Local toll, highway fees, or travel stickers required by local authorities.
[GENERAL TERMS]
Auto Europe does not provide insurance. Coverage is provided by the rental company as indicated. Additional coverage may be available for purchase from the
rental company.

=============================

So, what do I now need to ensure I have on my travel insurance to avoid getting ripped when I pick up the car? And can anyone recommend a provider/policy?

Thanks,

Craig