Travel dilemmas: Taken for a ride by car rental company?

Mar 8, 2010 — Los Angeles Times

By Catherine Hamm

Mar. 8, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune News Service delivered by Newstex) -- Q: I have read articles that detail the waste in paying for insurance on a rental car when a driver already has a good policy, because the coverage usually transfers to use of a rental car. My insurance agent confirmed I was covered. On a recent trip to Texas, I declined to purchase the insurance. Imagine my surprise when the rental agent told me that Texas law prohibited my insurance company from covering me for anything beyond basic liability. Is this correct?

_T.P., Downey, Calif.

A: Texas insurance experts think not.

"It sounds like the rental car employee was misinformed," said Jerry Hagins of the public information office of the Texas Department of Insurance.

Jerry Johns, president of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service in Austin, Texas, added, "The typical auto insurance policy covers the driver of a rental vehicle in Texas. I am not aware of any enacted legislation in Texas that would prohibit an insurance company from covering a driver for anything beyond basic liability limits."

Let's assume, for purposes of this discussion, that this is not some rental car company's way to make a profit off the unsuspecting consumer by raising the specter of financial catastrophe.

What then?

You can refuse to do business with that company, especially if there's no penalty for canceling the reservation on the spot. But remember, never bring in a new pitcher unless you have one warming up in the bullpen, as my mother used to say, so you may want to call another rental car company to see whether you can reserve a car.

Or if you want to do business there, ask to speak with a supervisor. If there's one thing I've learned (or one thing I've had to keep learning), it's that you need to deal with the person who can solve your problem, not the person who created it.

Or you can whip out your thumb drive that contains your insurance policy and show the employee exactly what your policy says. (This is the same USB drive that has the contracts of carriage from the airline you just flew. Yes, I know it's nerdy, but sometimes you need this stuff.)

Finally, if you happen to have a video camera in your phone, perhaps you can persuade the rental agent to repeat himself for the camera. If you suspect he's loving the truth so much he finds it hard to part with it, remind him that you have the Texas consumer hotline toll-free number (it's [800] 252-3439) on speed dial.

Sometimes, being a smart consumer boils down to a willingness to play a game of chicken.

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Newstex ID: KRTN-1429-42666044