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Rental car wrecked by unauthorized driver; renter's ins had lapsed

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G

guitarmama

Guest
I rented a car while Benz was going in the shop. The only available cars at enterprise were a Cadillac DeVille and a Prowler. I rented the Cadillac, $59.95 per day, plus $2 per day for the extra insurance; the guy said if I only had the car for about a week, in case anything happened, this insurance would cover everything and would be cheaper than paying the deductible on any other ins I might have.

Later that same day, my husband let a guy (who was doing some work for us) borrow the car to run an errand for us. He took it to his area of town, picked up some of his friends and went cruising for a while. And wrecked it. Estimated damage is $11,000. He had no insurance, and come to find out, my ins had lapsed (my accident in bill paying, but what a terrible mistake to make at this particular time!)

I received a letter from Enterprise, instructing me to please send in the $11,000 right away! Who, where, what, when and how!! I don't even know where to go from here. My Corporate AmEx Platinum card was used to rent the car, and has been charged over $1500 so far. I have a request for a claim in to them. What else should I do?

Thanks for any advice!
GuitarMama
 


Check with your own insurance company. If you carry collision coverage on your car that was in the shop, it is very possible that the coverage could extend to the rental from Enterprise. Many insurance policies coverage extend to temporary rental vehicles. Some do not. It's worth checking out. If the unauthorized user of the rental car was running errands for you, or otherwise acting as your "agent," your insurance company may also cover him for liability or medical payments coverage. Have you reported this to your company?
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
RunningOnEmpty said:
Check with your own insurance company.
My response:

You've got to read the writer's post a little more carefully. She said, and I quote,

". . . and come to find out, my ins had lapsed (my accident in bill paying, but what a terrible mistake to make at this particular time!) "

IAAL
 
This is only a guess, but, having rented from Enertprise before you have to list any possible drivers on the contract. I think the rental contract may have been voided when the husband loaned out the car.

I think IAAL is right, she has to pay.
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
LegalBeagle said:
What was the '$2 per day for the extra insurance' for?

My response:

Remember, when they first rented the car, our writer's husband was under the impression he had his own insurance, but for the wife's failure to pay the main insurance ("It lapsed"). That "extra insurance" (or "Umbrella coverage") is to cover deductibles, higher liability limits, and items that the main, or primary, insurance won't pay. But, there must be other insurance in full force and effect BEFORE the "extra insurance" kicks in.

IAAL

 

LegalBeagle

Senior Member
Juan Rodriguez said:
This is only a guess, but, having rented from Enertprise before you have to list any possible drivers on the contract. I think the rental contract may have been voided when the husband loaned out the car.

I think IAAL is right, she has to pay.
Oh, I have no doubt about that.. she is screwed which ever way she turns.
 
G

guitarmama

Guest
Thank you all so much for the encouraging words. I feel so much better! BTW, the man who worked at Enterprise talked me into that extra insurance because it would "cover anything that might happen. That way you wouldn't have to get your personal insurance involved. Two dollars a day for one week will be a lot less expensive than your policy's deductible!" It is called "optional personal accident insurance" in the contract.

Enterprise is not going to fix the car because the damages amounted to so much. Is it possible for me to buy this car from them? It was a beautiful new car (3200 miles on it). Could I offer a settlement to them that includes transfer of title, then fix the car myself?
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
guitarmama said:
Thank you all so much for the encouraging words. I feel so much better!
My response:

What encouraging words ?

You apparently misunderstood the rental agent. You bought "umbrella coverage" - read the rental agreement.

If you did buy "primary" insurance coverage through the rental agency, then the agency couldn't, legally, say : "Well, the damage is too much so we're not going to cover you at all."

That would be ludicrous, and illegal.

Also, if what you were saying was "accurate" about the insurance, we'd all be buying our "full coverage" insurance through Enterprise Rent-A-Car, because at $2.00 per day, that would be far cheaper than anything anyone could buy on the open market.

You bought "umbrella coverage". That's why it was only $2.00 per day.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 05-02-2001 at 07:03 PM]
 
L

LadyFable

Guest
when you purchased that additional insurance coverage for the rental car, you should have signed or intialed the document. Said document should have explained what you were getting. Remember all that fine print you saw that you probably didn't bother to read? Well, if you had read it before signing, you would have known what you were paying for. It is unfortunate that this has happened to you. Perhaps if you had gotten the prowler instead of the caddy, you may not be out so much money...
 
G

guitarmama

Guest
IAAL: "What encouraging words?"

GM: I was being sarcastic, facetious; you know, I WAS KIDDING. I guess your name here is wrong: you are not liable to recognize a joke! ;)

I was mistaken; the daily insurance was $12 per day, not $2. Actually, here is how it breaks down and what the contract says.
"Renter requests opional partial damage waiver (DW) at daily fee shown in adjoining column. See reverse. This is not insurance." THAT PART COST $9.99 PER DAY

next line

"Renter requests optional personal accident insurance (PAI) at daily fee shown in adjacent column and has read the policy certificate." THAT PART COST $2 PER DAY

I initialed where it says "Renter declines optional supplemental liability protection (SLP)." That would have been an additional $9.99 per day.

I did not, and was not asked to, initial the box which states "Renter accepts damage responsibility."

Will Amex cover me at all? Thus far, Enterprise has charged $940.92 to my card, in addition to the $150 deposit which I agreed to. Are they allowed to just charge any amount they want w/out my authorization?

Even if I am screwed, there has to be a way to handle this that is better than just forking over $11,000. Right? Please someone tell me I'm right!

Anyone who knows about Landlord/Tenant law should read all about my other situation on that forum, "storage unit, etc". Look for my name--guitar mama. What a mess! How many lawsuits can one have in court before the white-coats come to visit?

thanks for all the advice, even though most of it sucks for me!
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
guitarmama said:
IAAL: "What encouraging words?"

GM: I was being sarcastic, facetious; you know, I WAS KIDDING. I guess your name here is wrong: you are not liable to recognize a joke! ;)

I was mistaken; the daily insurance was $12 per day, not $2. Actually, here is how it breaks down and what the contract says.
"Renter requests opional partial damage waiver (DW) at daily fee shown in adjoining column. See reverse. This is not insurance." THAT PART COST $9.99 PER DAY

next line

"Renter requests optional personal accident insurance (PAI) at daily fee shown in adjacent column and has read the policy certificate." THAT PART COST $2 PER DAY

I initialed where it says "Renter declines optional supplemental liability protection (SLP)." That would have been an additional $9.99 per day.

I did not, and was not asked to, initial the box which states "Renter accepts damage responsibility."

Will Amex cover me at all? Thus far, Enterprise has charged $940.92 to my card, in addition to the $150 deposit which I agreed to. Are they allowed to just charge any amount they want w/out my authorization?

Even if I am screwed, there has to be a way to handle this that is better than just forking over $11,000. Right? Please someone tell me I'm right!

Anyone who knows about Landlord/Tenant law should read all about my other situation on that forum, "storage unit, etc". Look for my name--guitar mama. What a mess! How many lawsuits can one have in court before the white-coats come to visit?

thanks for all the advice, even though most of it sucks for me!
My response:

Well, isn't that coincidental. Up to that point, we hadn't been too helpful, and so I was also being sarcastic and facetious with you too ! Isn't that something ?

But, as you know, the written word is different from the spoken word and, as such, sometimes things get lost in the "translation".

However, and despite your "sarcasm", I maintain my answer to you in my first response.

Additionally, you bought, what amounts to be, Umbrella insurance coverage. So, since your primary insurance coverage had lapsed, your Umbrella coverage doesn't "kick in".

Sure, you could buy the car from them - - not at their "Fleet" price; rather, at fair market value for the same type of car with 3,500 miles on it.

And speaking of being sarcastic, just remember, you can't afford to be. You're the one on the hook - - not me or any of us. How's that for a real "knee-slapper" ?

There is no way out of this, except to pay them for the damages.

IAAL
 
G

guitarmama

Guest
well, I guess I'm not very lucky. You were right, and I am just going to have to let my atty work out a settlement. he seems to think it'll work out and we'll end up with the car, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed.

And speaking of "cross," I hope you weren't actually as mad as your last response seemed. My last response had winky smiley faces; all in good fun! (I hope!) I really appreciate you taking the time to explain things in more detail. I was a legal aide for a criminal judge for 5 years, but know nothing about this type of case. So thank you!

Oh, and I really CAN afford to be sarcastic--just because I'm well-off doesn't mean I like to throw thousands of dollars down the drain! Guess I'm going to have to anyway, then we'll go after the driver in civil court!

Best wishes,
GuitarMama
 

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