Spin Out in the Snow – Should Have Taken the Extra Rental Car Insurance

January 23, 2012

We all have something of a teenager mentality in us, “It won’t happen to me.  I am invincible!” I suppose you have to have some attitude or you’d never leave the house.  I did leave my house yesterday in a snow storm because my husband and I had tickets to a film showing at the Sundance Film Festival.  We specifically chose a film at the Sundance Resort for Saturday rather than a film in the town of Park City because we wanted to experience the ambiance of founder Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort viewing room.  This meant a 40 mile drive down Provo Canyon in a snow storm.

We piled in our four-wheel drive Ford Explorer with studded snow tires, grabbed extra jackets, some power bars and a few bottles of water (just in case), and headed out.  No problems on the way down – just a beautiful drive with thick flakes of Utah snow hitting our windshield.  Drivers behind us probably felt we were too slow but we got there safe and sound.  After the movie viewing and a wonderful lunch, we headed back and since it was raining, we thought we were in the clear.

Things went swimmingly until we got to a little higher elevation, which was about halfway home. That was when we noticed signs of trouble.  Our first car trouble sighting directly followed a highway patrol car passing us.  Just then, we saw the tow truck on the side of the road but no car to tow.  Then as we got closer we saw a car in a ravine with four snowy people standing beside it.  Here is our “CSI – Park City” analysis:

  • The roads were snowy with little visibility and drivers were driving faster than it was safe.
  • A car lost control and started to swerve, changing lanes unexpectedly.
  • The ‘trouble” car carrying the snowy people were forced off the highway and they lost control of the car driving over the hill to the ravine below.  Fortunately, the car didn’t overturn and they appeared otherwise unharmed (but shaken and cold.)
  • They were from out of town and driving a rental car (I am assuming this since they took the same trek back from Sundance that we did.)
  • They are all now trying to figure out how to get the rental car back to the highway and themselves to a dry spot.

We saw no less than twelve spin outs on the drive from Sundance Resort to Park City, the above being the worst and thankfully one of them wasn’t us.  The other cars were either backwards on the side of the highway, bumped up to or straddling an embankment, or with a group of guys attempting to push the car uphill to get some grip on the tires.  This was a tow truck driver’s heaven and an “out-of-towner” rental car driver’s nightmare.  Once I determined the drivers were safe and not in danger, my thoughts turned to how much this was going to cost them – of course I think of money!  Assuming most of these drivers were actually not locals but participants in the Sundance Film Festival, their day could be a lot better if they’d gotten the additional insurance on the rental car.

Most people refuse the additional insurance when renting a car because it may add something like $25 per day to the bill –it’s expensive.  In a circumstance like this however, where there is a storm warning (or any unusual weather notification) and lack of experience driving under those conditions, the extra insurance may be warranted.  The insurance the rental car companies offer covers damage on the car whether you cause it or not, but also loss of use and additional fees for the rental car company.

Generally, your own insurance will cover whatever it normally covers for your automobile. If you have towing, it covers towing on a rental car.  Whatever your deductible is, you pay the deductible.  Be sure to call your insurance company to verify or refer to their website before you rent.  Also, your credit card company may have additional insurance benefits if you book the rental with your credit card. For instance, I have a USAA MasterCard and I always book my rental cars with their credit card because they increase my coverage for property damage and bodily injury (amounts depend on which rental company I use.)  They beef up my coverage a bit and it doesn’t cost me anything.  However, they don’t cover certain expenses such as loss of use of the rental car if it needs to be repaired, which could be something like $600 – $1000.

Creditcard.com has a checklist that you can print off their website before renting a car. (Click here.)  However, add to the checklist circumstances when you might want to get the extra insurance: unusually bad weather or tough driving conditions.  It may be worth it.

A couple of other tips when renting a car –

  • Run a thorough damage check before you leave the lot and note in writing to the attendant when you leave.  He gets a copy and you keep a copy of your notes.  This has saved me from problems several times.
  • Check to see if your company has a fleet discount – with the code you can get a discount rental whether you are using it for business or pleasure.
  • Your credit card may also offer discounts on rental cars. When I book through my insurance company’s website (start there and get re-directed through their site), I always get a 20% discount on my rental.

Then go enjoy yourself, have some wonderful adventures and drive safely.