Short term renters insurance in USA

By ex-pat do you mean a US citizen

Poor choice of words on my part. I mean a foreign national visitor to the US with no US address, typically a tourist.

Note that on the car insurance thing, some companies offer inclusive insurance if booked in UK that would double the daily rate if booked locally in the US. I never drive without LDW and SLI, but the position with ‘courtesy cars’ from FBO’s is intractible for a foreigner. (unless anyone knows a solution???)

the position with ‘courtesy cars’ from FBO’s is intractible for a foreigner. (unless anyone knows a solution???)

I think the solution is to be prepared to pay the owner of the car if you damage his property, cash payment, up to and including buying the car. I’ve done that myself but otherwise I’ve yet to make an vehicle insurance claim on any policy I’ve bought over 35 years, so I’d take that risk without much thought. However it might not be a bad idea to verify that the loaner car is covered by liability insurance when you drive it. That would typically be the case in the US, where insurance policies are not generally specific to particular drivers.

Its also not a bad idea to have an international drivers ‘license’ when driving privately owned vehicles in the US on a foreign license. Rental car companies don’t require it and its kind of a symbolic gesture, but it shows preparedness. European tourists in the US would be expected to have a somewhat uptight attitude about driving, licenses etc and you want to fit this useful mold in case of issues, not depart from it. For Mexicans, the expectation is somewhat different so you’re already one step ahead

Its also not a bad idea to have an international drivers ‘license’ when driving privately owned vehicles in the US on a foreign license

I’ve never bothered, never caused me a problem even when the police stopped me in a bright red Ford Mustang after driving far too quickly… (my driving license didn’t even have a photo at the time!)

(Incidentally, I got stopped 5 times in 1 year when I lived in Texas during my no money stage, although I had a Texas license by then, the vehicle I drove looked uninsured (a Dodge Ram that looked rather like others dodged while I rammed), and I did tend to drive it rather fast. Only ever got one ticket though, police in the area are so shocked when they stop someone and the person they stop is polite and treats them like another human instead of getting all belligerent that they often completely failed to write a speeding ticket).

The first time i drove outside the UK in 1963, I payed for an International Drivers Licence – from the AA on their information. I never renewed it. I regard it as a money-making con for the motoring organisations. I reckon the worst thing I could do on a US traffic stop is to produce a document which is not issued by some level of government when asked for a driving licence.

An International Driver’s ‘License’ is not actually a license, its a translation, so you’d produce both it and your actual license. A US traffic cop would have no idea what to do with a foreign license in isolation, because its most likely in a foreign language and quite possibly issued by a nation of which he’s never heard. The translation, often issued by an auto club affiliated with the US AAA is something he can understand. Then after seeing your level of preparedness, in most instances he will let you go because (1) he is not authorized to levy fines on the side of the road, all fines are produced by a court, and (2) he knows full well that you’re unlikely to pay a fine mailed to an address outside the US.

Its also not a bad idea to do the same in reverse, if you use an American drivers license in Europe. Few European cops are likely to either speak English very well or recognize the names of many US states that control ‘US’ licenses. Those licenses do not say United States anywhere on them.

In case you were wondering there are AFAIK no treaties covering traffic fines between any US states and any European countries.

A friend of mine got stopped for speeding in the US, and the cop started writing his name as “Ellan Vannin Kied Imman” on the speeding ticket. It means “Isle of Man Driving License” in Manx. I don’t think he pointed this out to them :-)