Car Rental Advisory Issued by Travel Office

The following story is an advisory from the Harvard Travel Office.

Are you aware of the risk to the University when someone in your School or department rents a car from a nonpreferred vendor?

Problem and Risk

Despite efforts to inform the University community about their exposure to car rental liability claims, 40 percent of rentals are with nonpreferred vendors and, even worse, most of those renters omit to elect the additional primary liability insurance provided by the rental agency. A nonpreferred vendor rate may appear to be lower, but that is because travelers are not purchasing the required liability insurance. Liability insurance protects the University from personal injury and property damage claims made by third parties. When a University business traveler does not use Hertz or Budget or does not purchase the required insurance from a nonpreferred vendor, the traveler is exposing the University and his/her department to potential claims of up to $250,000.

University Policy

The Harvard Travel Policy expressly states that if primary liability insurance of $250,000 is not included in the car rental daily rate, University business travelers must purchase primary liability insurance of $250,000 per accident from the nonpreferred car rental vendor.

Cost

Harvard's preferred car rental vendors, Hertz and Budget, automatically include in their corporate rates -- at no extra cost -- the required levels of primary liability insurance. Nonpreferred car rental companies typically charge an additional $10 per day for primary liability insurance.

What to do

To get the liability insurance coverage for free, the traveler's rental agreement must list the Harvard corporate I.D. number for insurance coverage to be in effect. The corporate I.D. numbers are as follows: Hertz: 31570; Budget: T255400.

While renting on University business, the University's insurance policy provides coverage for collision damage to the vehicle and personal accident insurance for employees who are eligible for benefits (classes 01-08). These employees should continue to decline collision damage waiver (CDW), loss damage waiver (LDW) and Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) coverage when renting cars for business. (Nonsalaried employees -- all classes

greater than 08 -- and students renting a car for University business should always use Hertz or Budget or should purchase CDW or LDW, in addition to primary liability insurance of at least $250,000 per accident.)

For more information

If you have any questions regarding Harvard's preferred car rental vendors please contact Frank Schnur, director of travel, at 495-2705. For questions regarding insurance coverage for rental cars, please contact Lee Ann Ross, assistant director for insurance, at 495-8668. For reservations, call the Harvard Travel Center at 496-8000.