Carhire in USA - Do I Need Car Hire Excess Insurance?

Came across this at MoneySavingExpert.com

Carhire in US - Need Car Hire Excess Insurance?

Hello - off to the US later this month and hiring a car for most of the time as travelling from Yosemite to Yellowstone. Have hired quite a few cars before in NZ, South Africa and Canada last year but continue to get confused to whether I need to purchase exces cover. I did this with insurance4carhire.com in NZ but seem to remember not needing it last year in Canada. How about the US

I have booked it through Hertz and my charge includes - Loss Damage Waiver, Tax and other charges, Liability Insurance Supplement, Vehicle Licensing Cost Recovery, Transaction Fee, Drop fee and estimate mileage.

Am I ok then? And I don't need either the USA&Canada or Worldwide policies attached below?

http://www.insurance4carhire.com/Products.asp?subRefID=&pageID=37&langID=1&refID=188&curID=1

Below is also a quote from the Hertz website. It suggests its an optional policy but from reading elsewhere I think that whenever you book US carhire from outside the US its normally chucked in as part of the total cost

Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) an optional service, which for an additional daily charge relieves you of all financial responsibility for the loss or damage to the rental car, whether or not you have insurance to cover such damage, provided the car is used in accordance with the terms of the Rental Agreement.

EDIT

Also just (to strengthen that bit above about LDW/etc being automatically added when booking from outside the US), just done a quote directly on hertz.com saying I am a US citizen and it gives a total price and then options for Liability Insurance Supplement at 12.95 USD per day and Loss Damage Waiver at 15.00 USD per day

The Canada / USA situation does look confusing.Came across this question earlier.

Question: August 2010: Can you please advise me, does your worldwide insurance policy Cover me for international Collision Damage Waiver (I.C.D.W.) Which will allow me to hire a vehicle abroad without paying The rental companies insurance charges (including rental in the U.S.A.) If so how much is an annual policy? Thanking you in advance.

Reply: Dear Sir, Thank you for your email. We can only cover you annually for the CDW/SLI in the USA and Canada. The policy costs £109 and can be purchased on ww.insurance4carhire.com When you hire a car in the USA, you have the choice of taking a rental that is either fully inclusive, or fully exclusive, of car rental insurance.

If you hire a car on an exclusive basis, no car rental insurance is included in the car rental price. In those circumstances, it is necessary to purchase Collision Damage Waiver/Loss Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW) and Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI). CDW/LDW covers damage, loss of use and theft of the rental vehicle, and SLI covers third party liability. These insurances are sold at the car rental counter and cost between US$20 and US$30 per day.

Our USA & Canada policy covers:

Supplemental Liability Insurance (Third Party) up to US$ 1 million

Collision Damage Waiver/Loss Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW) - covering damage, theft and loss of use of the rental vehicle - up to US $80,000

Uninsured Motorist up to US$ 100,000

Hit & Run Motorist up to US$100,000

Excess if excess is charged (it is generally not charged in the USA)

Damage to windows, roof, tyres & wheels and the undercarriage.

If you have taken a rental that is exclusive of car rental insurance, then our Policy will cover you for your car rental insurance requirementsWe do not recommend this Policy for use with Fly Drive programmes (a package that includes a flight and possibly a hotel, with car rental included at minimal or no cost).

Fly Drive programmes are generally structured so that the car rental company makes very little money on the rental, and looks to make its profit from add-ons such as insurance. For that reason, companies which participate in Fly Drive programmes do not always readily accept this insurance.

If you are doing a Fly Drive programme, it would be sensible to contact the car rental company, tell them you can provide your own insurance, and confirm that they will accept it.

Kind regards Insurance4carhire.com

Hope this clarifies the issue!