QuestionQUESTION: Hi, a year ago I was on vacation with my girlfriend in Las Vegas. We rented a
car to drive to grand canyon .My girlfriend never drives the rental cars,so I
didn't put her name on rental agreement. I use AMEX premium car insurance
( they charge me 25$ flat rate for every car rental) so I didn't take Hertz
insurance. When we entered the Arizona state I was starting to get big
headache, so my girlfriend offered to drive the car on highway until I will
start feel better. While she was taking the exit other vehicle hit us and
totally destroyed the rear end of our car. The other vehicles driver agreed to
the police officer that it was totally his fault. Half year after accident Hertz
send me the letter that they had no luck collecting the money from the third
party which caused the accident and they forwarding 18.000$ claim to me.
Since I pay to Amex for rental car insurance, I called them to deal with this
claim . Recently they contact me and told me that they will not cover the
claim because my girlfriends name wasn't on car rental agreement. Now I
have no idea how to deal with this mater and what consequences I should be
expecting. Please help.
P.S. I apologize for any spelling mistakes, I'm from Europe
ANSWER: Hi David,
It is true that neither the rental company nor American express will cover this claim. Anyone who drives a rental car that is not listed on the rental contract and is involved in an accident is not covered by any insurance.
However, if the other person was at fault, their insurance company must pay the claim. You will need to obtain a copy of the police report to see who was shown as the at-fault party. If the other driver was clearly at fault, you must contact their insurance company and have them explain why they are not paying the claim. If they are denying liability, you should ask them to put it in writing. Then you may need to speak with an attorney. It is possible that you may need to file suit against the other driver.
You need to do all of this quickly as the rental company will still be looking to you for payment since you were the contracted renter and are ultimately responsible to them for the damage.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you very much for you answer.It was other persons fault and it's written
in the car accident report, but other car was rental and I guess uninsured. The
driver is Canadian and it's impossible to reach him. I don't know what to do,
can't really afford the attorney. Do I have any chance with Amex insurance ?
AnswerHi David,
I really do not think so. However the only way to know for sure is to ask. You should go ahead and file the claim with Amex and see what they say.
Also, you should contact the other rental car company. They should have some kind of coverage for out of country renters.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
