U.S. car rental when residency & license aren't the same country

I hope this is the right thread, I've been worrying over this question and don't know who to ask. What do you do when renting a car if your country of residence and the country that issued your driver's license are not the same? I'm worried it might invalidate any claims if there were an accident.

I am an American living in the UK, but my driver's license is from the U.S. and I don't have a UK license (I don't drive here). I'll be visiting the States and want to rent a car. When you rent, the websites ask your country of residence, which is UK. When you read the small print, the agreements tend to say you need a valid driver's license from the country of residence (which I don't have), though I do have a valid driver's license in the country in which I'll be renting the car. I know from past experience actually renting the car as a UK resident with a US license is no problem, and insurance is included in the cost. But what happens if there is an accident? Will the car rental place invoke the small print once they look over the rental agreement and accident report (which would show a U.S. license) and say I don't qualify for coverage as I don't have a valid license in the country of residence? Anyone know if I should worry or not? Anyone else in this situation?

If I should worry, what are my options for renting a car? If I would face problems with the country of residence/license discrepency, would it help if I paid to add myself as another driver on my mother's auto insurance in the U.S. (meaning, would that give me coverage when renting a car in the U.S.)? Thanks for any help!

This would be a situation where you need to contact the rental companies directly by phone and ask them to be on the safe side.

Oh I never thought of this small print...

We are renting a car in Austin but I still have a valid Texas license, house in Austin and I am still the primary insurance holder for my truck that my sister now has and she is a listed driver.  If you stop having insurance in the states to get back on is expensive as they see a "gap" which is why I remain on there so if ever we wanted a rental car or ever moved back it would be extortion to get a policy.

I did ask Gieco (this is my current policy) and I am covered for rental since I still have a valid US address and license.

If you hear different please let me know as we are renting with Avis
 

Oh I never thought of this small print...

We are renting a car in Austin but I still have a valid Texas license, house in Austin and I am still the primary insurance holder for my truck that my sister now has and she is a listed driver.  If you stop having insurance in the states to get back on is expensive as they see a "gap" which is why I remain on there so if ever we wanted a rental car or ever moved back it would be extortion to get a policy.

I did ask Gieco (this is my current policy) and I am covered for rental since I still have a valid US address and license.

If you hear different please let me know as we are renting with Avis
 

Sounds like you are already in a better position than us because you actually still have a U.S. car and insurance (and a home in your name). With you sister listed as a driver, does she get the same benefits as the you, the primary holder? Meaning if she rents a car, can she use her insurance on your car as her insurance coverage when she rents a car just as you could? And how much does it cost her for the insurance as a secondary driver? I'm not sure if it would be worth it for one of us to put our names on one of our Mom's insurance, but it would be extra protection if it did work. We could still get the included insurance that is offered UK residents in the U.S., but if the unthinkable happened and we had an accident and the rental agency said our insurance was invalid due to the residency & license not being the same country, we could fall back on the insurance on Mom's car. And of course then her rates would go up and we'd pay the difference for her so it's not ideal, but surely that's better than the amount we could be in for without insurance.

And I didn't realize our rates will jump and be seen as an insurance "gap" whenever we move back to the States! Darn, wish I had known that, guess it is too late now after 3 years to do away with the "gap." We could've bought a cheapo clunker and left it parked at mom's just to pay the insurance and have a continuing policy. Wonder if it's worth it to do that now? Probably too late to avoid the higher fees...

When I lived in the US and was insured in the US on my parents policy as a named driver, I was insured to drive any of their vehicles (and my own because they were joint owners with me) however, when I tried to rent a vehicle I could not use their policy for my rental car because I was not the primary policy holder.

When I lived in the US and was insured in the US on my parents policy as a named driver, I was insured to drive any of their vehicles (and my own because they were joint owners with me) however, when I tried to rent a vehicle I could not use their policy for my rental car because I was not the primary policy holder.

Thanks for that info; there goes that bright idea. Oh, if only we'd kept a car in the States!

Thanks for that info; there goes that bright idea. Oh, if only we'd kept a car in the States!

Or gotten your UK license 

i rent quite a few cars here in the usa..........they always ask me if i want to purchase insurance........i dont because i currently have full coverage but couldnt you get the insurance with the car rental company when you rent.....not sure about that one just a thought

Oh I never thought of this small print...

We are renting a car in Austin but I still have a valid Texas license, house in Austin and I am still the primary insurance holder for my truck that my sister now has and she is a listed driver.  If you stop having insurance in the states to get back on is expensive as they see a "gap" which is why I remain on there so if ever we wanted a rental car or ever moved back it would be extortion to get a policy.

I did ask Gieco (this is my current policy) and I am covered for rental since I still have a valid US address and license.

If you hear different please let me know as we are renting with Avis
 

I used to work at Avis/Budget in Austin (at the airport).  Tell everyone howdy there for me when ya go! LOL 

All you have to do is purchase the insurance through the car rental company when you go to pick up your rental. It really is the easiest route.

Steph

I used to work at Avis/Budget in Austin (at the airport).  Tell everyone howdy there for me when ya go! LOL 

All you have to do is purchase the insurance through the car rental company when you go to pick up your rental. It really is the easiest route.

Steph

But, if she used her UK address in order to get the insurance included at highly discounted rates on her car rental, and used a US driver's license, would she have invalidated the rental agreement which states you must have a license from the country in which you live? They would rent her the car -- but would they pay up if she had to make a claim?

But, if she used her UK address in order to get the insurance included at highly discounted rates on her car rental, and used a US driver's license, would she have invalidated the rental agreement which states you must have a license from the country in which you live? They would rent her the car -- but would they pay up if she had to make a claim?

Ahhh now I see your dilemma Scooby. The address on your driver's license.. is that your Mom's address or one that you no longer have any connection to? If that is your Mom's address, I would use that address. They really want the address to track you down in case the car is never returned. (Believe it or not, it happens quite a bit. Ohhh the stories I could tell ya!) As long as you can still be reached through that address, it shouldn't be a problem. If you can't be reached through that address, then is your husband travelling with you? If so, the car can be rented in his name and you can be an additional driver (free in most states if you're married). That's assuming that your husband has a UK license.

I don't know what rental car company you're planning on using, but I recommend Avis and Budget (they are sister companies). If you have an accident, you fill out a simple 1-page form and catch your flight and they take care of everything.

Btw.. If you call any rental company 10 times, you're likely to get 10 different answers unfortunately. Each state has different laws towards rental cars. Each rental agency will have different company rules as well. Sometimes they will have different rules for each region.

Calling the 1-800-number (or main number) will put you into their call center and likely not give you the correct answer you need. Calling the local agency will get you a sales person or two or three who are there to sell you insurance cause they are paid commission on it (most often). So guess what their answer will be.  

Steph

Btw, foreign licenses and insurances are not the main problem that foreign renters encounter when renting in the USA. You HAVE to have a major credit card when renting and it can't be a debit card cause they are usually won't go through due to fraud prevention. That's the number one reason I have seen foreign renters having to catch a taxi.

Steph

After a certain amount of time living out of country, would that make the American licence invalid? In the UK, you'd  have a year to change it over to a UK one, right?

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022561