AA Zone

Hi

We drive between 5K and 10K miles a year in the USA, all in hire cars. We'd recommend booking your car hire direct with one of the major companies via their web site so that you can look at what your standard deal includes and what options they offer.

The options can be expensive, but you need to weigh them up against the risks. You mention a road trip, so you'll probably be on unfamiliar roads and maybe hitting towns in the rush hour and so on. If you're a little tired, under pressure in traffic and trying to find your destination amidst a forest of strange signs there's a greater chance of a bump somewhere, and that can get expensive.

Personally we take out Loss Danage Waiver (LDW) to cover loss or damage to the car. That gives peace of mind if you find you've parked next to someone inconsiderate who's dented your door in the parking lot as a minimum. When in the big cities and strange places we also take out a liability insurance supplement (LIS) to cover us against injury claims. This one is a supplement though, and the basic insurance should give you some cover. Read the car hire web site package to see what you get with the hire contract.

It's also worth checking your travel insurance policy to see what that covers you against. That should cover you for any inruries to yourselves, so I would not take out additional insurance from the car hire company.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip.