Let’s take a look at some useful nouns :

1. Collision Damage Waiver (CDW): Vehicle loss insurance

In different states and different car rental companies, this type of insurance ranges from US$7 to US$20. Please note that this insurance is charged on a daily basis, not on a per-rental basis, so if the lease period is long, the amount will not vary. Small.

As the name suggests, vehicle loss insurance can guarantee that no matter it is a collision or a car accident during the rental period, the user does not need to pay for it, and everything is handled by the car rental company (insurance company).

What to pay attention to when choosing this type of insurance: some car rental companies will set a deductible amount for this type of insurance, such as 500 US dollars, then after the vehicle collision, the repair fee below 500 US dollars will be borne by the user himself, and the car rental company (insurance company) will be responsible for the compensation. Claims over $500. Users can also choose to purchase FULL CDW, which is also known in China as “non-deductible insurance”, which reduces the deductible to 0. In this case, the user does not need to bear any repair costs, and the car rental company (insurance company) is responsible for all the repairs. .

Another type of insurance that is usually associated with vehicle loss insurance is Theft Protection (TP), which is theft insurance. Some companies separate this insurance from CDW, collectively called LOSS DAMAGE WAIVER (LDW, car damage insurance). Please note that some car rentals The company also has a limit on the amount of compensation for TP.

If the selected car rental company has a deductible for car damage insurance, then whether to purchase non-deductible insurance mainly depends on personal driving skills and the difficulty of the route. Due to the high labor costs in the United States, a slight accident can cost hundreds of dollars or even more Thousands of dollars are possible and beginners are usually advised to buy.

In addition, I found that I booked a car rental in the United States through car rental http://w.zuzuche.com. Except for New York State, car rentals in other states, including Hawaii’s car damage insurance (including CDW and TP, that is, LDW), are not covered. Well, this one is pretty good.

2. Liability: liability insurance

That is, the 1+2 introduced in the first part, that is, Bodily Injury Liability plus Property Damage Liability, both protect the other party. After an accident, if the other party’s vehicle or personnel is lost due to your reasons, you need to have insurance to pay the other party’s car repair costs and medical expenses. In the United States, driving without a Liability is against the law in most places.

If you own a car, your car insurance generally covers the Liability of the rental car.

If you don’t have your own car, it is recommended to purchase a special liability insurance from the car rental company, just in case. Read the terms and conditions carefully before buying, and check the deductible, that is, how much you need to pay, and then the insurance will start paying.

3. Personal Accident Insurance (PAI): personal accident insurance

Generally, your own travel insurance or accident insurance will bear it, so most people don’t need to buy it.

If you do not have medical insurance or travel insurance, you can purchase it from the car rental company. PAI generally also covers Personal Effects Coverage (PEC), which covers the cost of stolen or damaged items in your car.

4. Road Assistance: road assistance

In fact, roadside assistance does not belong to the scope of insurance, it is just a service provided by the car rental company, usually the price is about 6 US dollars per day. After purchasing this item, if the vehicle breaks down on the way or has a flat tire, you can call the car rental company, and the rental company will send staff nearby to replace the vehicle or tire for you and other emergency treatment. It is best to choose places where you plan to run long distances and go to places such as Shangougou, otherwise you will not be able to hold on the American roads with no front and no villages and no shops behind.

The above types of insurance have basically covered the mainstream insurance types, and can fully meet the protection needs of Chinese consumers who rent a car and drive in the United States. Since the insurance amount is usually relatively large, you must check whether the price includes insurance when booking with a car rental company. Don’t be fooled by the “bare price” that does not include insurance. Often, the insurance amount is more expensive than the car rental amount.

It is recommended that you can book directly on a website like car rental. The price already includes car damage insurance and third-party liability insurance, which will save a lot of money compared to renting a car directly from a car rental company.

3. Car rental insurance

1. Collision risk

Cost: ranging from more than ten dollars to more than twenty dollars per day, which is related to the state or the car rental company

Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Loss Damage Waiver (LDW). The following is represented by CDW.

With this type of insurance, if the renter damages the rented car, whether it is a collision, car accident, or theft, you do not need to pay for it.

What to pay attention to when choosing this type of insurance: some car rental companies will also have a certain Deduction, that is, after the car is in danger, only a part of the cost will be borne by the insurance company, and the excess will be borne by the renter. This kind of CDW can only be called “small CDW”, and this kind of car rental company often also provides insurance options called FULL-CDW. That is to say, if you choose the “small CDW”, you may have to bear part of it after you get out of danger, but if you go to the FULL CDW, you don’t have to bear any costs for car-related problems such as collisions, car accidents, or theft. As for the choice of FULL CDW or “small CDW”, it must be determined according to personal driving skills and the difficulty of the route.

Selection suggestion: Due to the high labor costs in the United States, it is possible for a slight accident to cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. It is better to go up to this point without having to bear any costs.

2. “Third Party Liability Insurance (Liability)”

Cost: ranging from ten to twenty dollars per day, depending on the state or car rental company

This type of insurance means that if the renter drives the rented car and has an accident, causing personal or property damage to a third party other than the renter and the car rental company, this insurance can bear all or part of the loss for the renter.

Only a part of the burden means that the laws of different states are different. Some companies only include basic third-party liability insurance in the car rental. After the accident, the insurance company only pays a certain fixed amount. to be borne by the renter. In other words, this is a limited compensation. Therefore, the car rental company also provides additional insurance called Supplemental Liability Insurance (“SLI”) or Additional Liability Insurance (“ALI”) to increase the amount borne by the insurance company and reduce your risk accordingly.

Selection suggestion: Confirm whether the car company includes basic third-party liability insurance in the funds, and this part of insurance must be purchased at its own expense. As for SLI or ALI, it is up to the individual to determine on a case-by-case basis.

3. “Personal insurance”

Cost: Less than ten dollars per day, depending on the state or car rental company

Personal Accident Insurance (“PAI”) and Personal Effects Insurance (“PEI”)

Many companies combine these two types into a Personal Protection Plan (“PPP”), which costs less than $10 per day.

PAI: With this insurance, the insurance company pays the driver and passengers for death, injury, and ambulance expenses caused by a car accident

Take AVIS as an example: the fees paid to the driver and passengers in the following situations are:

Death: $175,000 Medical: $2,500 Ambulance: $250

PEI: With this insurance, the insurance company will pay for the loss of property in the car during the rental of the car to the driver and his family. The general limit is $1,500.

The above-mentioned PAI and PEI are purchased by car renters as packages in many companies. Taking AVIS as an example, some companies also offer PAI PLUS as an option, that is to say, adding this type of insurance can increase the death compensation from US$175,000 to US$250,000.

If the personal local insurance includes compensation for self-driving accidents abroad, PAI may not be considered. As for PEI, pay attention to yourself, and you may not be able to carry valuables with you.