Accident with Uninsured Rental Truck

[djs]

The truck company's insurance division called and informed me that Massachusetts has a minimum of $5k property damage coverage which is included with the rental (first I have heard of this even after talking with several other company reps). This should cover at least part of it. So that is good news.

I'm sure they don't advertise this. They want you to buy their insurance. Of course, $5K can be a drop in the bucket, so I still recommend getting the additional coverage when renting a truck. People are used to driving cars. They tend to misjudge the size of the truck and get into a lot of minor scrapes. Just to easy to have that 'oops' when driving a different class of vehicle.

Dan

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Checked on the credit cards... sadly they all exclude any type of truck. They also exclude larger SUV's and van's as well (FYI for anyone reading).

I figured it was a longshot..... but it was worth checking.

 

[atrucker]

Finally the bill. Over $8k! I guess at this point I can see if I can negotiate it down to under $5k... at which point the minimum coverage should cover it?

Thanks for all the help on here!

 

[Milkman1265]

do you have a personal umbrella? There may be some hidden coverage in there that may help you...

also geico denied the claim on the basis of no coverage for trucks or just rentals in general. (did you have full coverage?)

 

[atrucker]

No personal umbrella policy. I don't believe this falls under any of my existing insurance policies (home, auto, etc).

I didn't attempt to file it with Geico. Discussions with them on the phone indicated that there was absolutely no coverage from my auto insurance for any rental trucks (at least for a penske truck). Of course I only realized this after the fact and Penske didn't explain the insurance situation when I got the truck.

Appreciate all the tips here!

 

[xrac]

Finally the bill. Over $8k! I guess at this point I can see if I can negotiate it down to under $5k... at which point the minimum coverage should cover it?

Thanks for all the help on here!

At least there is $5K coverage.

 

[VolAgent]

No personal umbrella policy. I don't believe this falls under any of my existing insurance policies (home, auto, etc).

I didn't attempt to file it with Geico. Discussions with them on the phone indicated that there was absolutely no coverage from my auto insurance for any rental trucks (at least for a penske truck). Of course I only realized this after the fact and Penske didn't explain the insurance situation when I got the truck.

Appreciate all the tips here!

I call BS on that.

Penske made it explicitly clear to me that my car insurance would not cover their rental truck. In fact, every time I have rented a truck, whether from Budget or Penske, they did the same. I don't know about U-Haul as a I refuse to pay for one of their rattletraps.

Every single time they have strongly encouraged and cajoled me to purchase their insurance, which I have.

 

[djs]

Most truck rental companies, by policy, try to sell you on their insurance. Its usually the clerk pushing pretty hard, like they get a huge commission on it.

But, all it takes is a newer employee, or at least one that is tired of being told he has no idea what he is talking about, to do it in a much more subdued manner, so the client doesn't remember the conversation.

Of course, they still have you initial stating that you were made aware of the risk and that odds are, your personal carrier won't cover a rental truck, which they don't.

BS or not doesn't matter. If you don't buy the insurance, you don't have the insurance.

Dan

 

[atrucker]

When I rented the truck I filled out the forms online. They made a big deal that your insurance would not cover damage to the vehicle and suggested the supplemental collision insurance, which I purchased. They didn't mention the liability, and you actually had to select it to get additional coverage. The clerk when I picked up said nothing about any of the insurance selections and just handed me the forms. I initialed all the forms and thought it was a bit strange that I was declining coverage but I didn't ask about it. I was in a hurry since Penske had not had the truck available when I had reserved and had to drive over to a different location. I really feel that Penske screwed me over a bit as I absolutely would have purchased the insurance had I understood the situation. It was only $12...

I got another letter from the claims collection agency which said "On advice from your creditor, we have increased the balance on your existing account". Now it says I owe over $11k. I guess they must have decided to total the vehicle after the fact.