Rental Car Insurance: Standard Cover versus Super Cover InsurancePlease have a look at this Rental Car Insurance comparison between Standard Cover and Super Cover Insurance, two concepts that will assist you when selecting your next insurance option.
Standard Cover Insurance is the LOW-RATE-HIGH-RISK insurance. The “I-know-I-drive-okay,-but-let's-hope-those-around-me-also-do” option. In many countries this is a very common option, especially when you are on a tight budget. Many locals prefer this, as they know the roads and driving style of their fellow countrymen. But it's a personal preference. They are more familiar with the risks than, say, a foreigner. Standard Cover Insurance excess is much higher than that of Super Cover Insurance, but a cheaper rate is offered. This is mostly accompanied by an 'Excess or 10%, whichever is the greater' line. This might vary from country to country and company to company, but the principle stays more or less the same. A cheap deal is not always a good deal. An example of Standard Cover:Richard rents a medium-sized saloon (sedan), he selects the Standard Cover option of a $300 or 10% excess, whichever is the greater. He gets a great discount car rental rate, does the vehicle inspection and drives off. Two hours later, John, talking on his mobile phone without a hands-free system, runs a red light and smashes into Richard! Both vehicles are still drivable and Richard heads back to the rental agency to share the 'wonderful' news! A damage quotation reveals a hefty $5000 worth of damages. What insurance excess will Richard have to pay to the rental company? What does the $300 or 10%, whichever is the greater, mean? It means that $300 will be the minimum excess payable and 10% of the damage amount, will be the maximum. If the damage is $1000 or $2000, Richard will still have to pay $300. If the damage is more than $3000 as is the case of our example, Richard will have to pay 10% of the damage amount, in this case $500. Thus, $6000 damage = $600 excess, $7000 damage = $700 excess, and so forth. You are probably asking, “Why does Richard have to pay, while John is the guilty party?” Well, the car rental contract is between Richard and his rental company, and thus Richard is held responsible for all damages as stipulated in the rental car insurance policy on the contract. He will unfortunately have to pay the excess amount to the car rental company and claim this back from John's insurance company through a third-party claim or the institution that he is comprehensively insured with, be it his credit card company, personal / business insurance, or private rental car insurance company. It probably sounds like a bad deal for Richard, but as mentioned, this is the LOW-RATE-HIGH-RISK insurance that can either work out beautifully if there is no damage after the rental, or you might find that you have to part with more cash than originally planned. If Richard's rental vehicle was stolen, he would have been responsible for 10% of the value of the vehicle.
Super Cover Rental car Insurance: The HIGH-RATE-LOW-RISK insurance. When traveling to a country with a weaker currency than your own, this will probably be a no-brainer, as the 'small' difference in the rate will easily be justifiable. Super Cover explained: Some companies provide a Super Cover with a very low excess, and other companies provide a Super Cover with a zero excess. When looking at Richard's predicament in our Standard Cover example above, let's look at what would have been the result, if he had opted for the Super Cover Insurance. He would for example, have paid $20 more on his daily rate, but his excess would have been much lower at $150. The $150 would be the only amount that Richard would owe the rental company, irrelevant of the amount of damage to the vehicle. His situation would have been even better, if the excess had been zero. His responsibility would have ended with completing a form. If Richards rental vehicle had been stolen, the principal above would have also applied, just check this upfront as theft policies may differ between companies.
Conclusion: It all comes down to your car rental budget, as mentioned above. If you are traveling to a country where your currency is much stronger or the theft/crime risk is higher, strongly consider the best option available. If your budget is tight or you feel it's just not worth paying the extra fee, you might select the very common Standard Cover option, which is not a bad option at all, just a bit more risky. Rental car insurance options can be confusing, CDW, PEC, PAI... Relax, sit down and look at your options, you will most probably only have to do it once, to know what you want and what you will need in future. The wrong choice can be an expensive one, but the right choice will be highly beneficial, providing you with peace of mind.
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