Do not listen to AVIS!

[DiveMaven]

We arrived on Saturday and when we picked up our rental car from AVIS they told us to always leave the windows rolled up and the doors locked...even at dive sites. I clarified that THREE times with them, telling them that I'm just asking for broken windows and they confirmed their directions saying the insurance wouldn't pay if the car was unsecured.

Okay, you probably already guessed what happened. This morning we headed out early to dive Red Beryl, and against all of my common sense, I followed the AVIS rules....oh yeah, we came back from our dive to a broken drivers window and everything rifled through. They made off with my husband's dollar store glasses that were out of sight inside his hat (they left the hat). We headed back to AViS quite angry that this completely preventable incident happened, but at least we found out the insurance we bought would cover it. We had to make a police report, then were able to get a new car. Ironically both the AVIS lady and the police officer said NOT to secure the vehicle at dive sites. Duh, we knew that! Apparently AVIS employees aren't supposed to say anything about rolling up (or not rolling) up windows at dive sites.

Clearly we'll following the normal Bonaire rules with our new truck....windows down, doors unlocked, and nothing of value in the vehicle while we're diving.

Diving was good today: Eagle Ray, Sting Ray, Hawksbill Turtle, and Sea Horse to name a few! Looking forward to another couple of weeks of diving....and no more car drama!

 

[Dan]

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Doctorfish]

I'm a bit surprised that you listened to the AVIS employee. The trucks at Buddy Dive have a sign posted on the dash warning not to lock up or leave anything in the vehicle.

There have been numerous threads here and on Bonaire Talk warning about the consequences of locked cars and closed windows. Sorry that you had to take the time out of your holiday to have to deal with this issue.

This is also an argument for supplemental insurance.

 

[wwguy]

Like supplemental policies, some rental car insurance policies are carried by 3rd-party insurance companies who refuse to pay claims against unsecured vehicles or items stolen from them.

For example: The American Express Premium Car Rental Protection policy clearly states that theft claims will only be paid against "secured" items that have been stolen. "Secured" items are defined as those locked in the trunk or locked in the seating compartment, with all windows fully closed, and all persons absent the vicinity of the rental car. They also require that there be visible signs of forced entry and that a report be filed with the appropriate law enforcement agency prior to filing a claim.

I'm just speculating but it's my guess that the insurance coverage sold by Avis contains similar wording. (I can't imagine why it wouldn't from a pure insurance business perspective.) If so it's not surprising that Avis employees are obligated to communicate the requirement to secure the vehicle to their customers who purchase their insurance coverage. It's not about common sense from a Boniarean perspective. It's about good business practices by the insurance companies. Covering items pilfered from unlocked vehicles is plain silly from their perspective, and I tend to agree.

Of course you can ignore those instructions and leave the windows down as per typical Bonaire tourist best practice. (That's what we do too.) But if something goes missing from your unlocked truck you're pretty much SOL with your insurance company unless you're a good liar.

 

[Mathieutn]

Wouldn't you love to have James Bond's Lotus just one time.

 

[DiveMaven]

We never leave anything of value in the vehicle, but that clearly doesn't stop the thieves. Today we were at Vista Blue and my husband's dirty, salty t-shirt and our mesh bag with our baby shampoo defog and sun screen were stolen (windows open, doors unlocked). This is our 5th trip to Bonaire and the only time we've been hit by thieves....twice now! If this trend continues, Bonaire will fall FAR down our list of places to go for our next international dive trip, and that makes me very sad since I love the diving freedom.

Doctorfish, we are well familiar with the "rules" of leaving the windows down and doors locked since that's what we've ALWAYS done, but the AVIS employee was emphatic, so against our better judgement we listened.

 

[Stoo]

I think you pretty much have to go by what AVIS says, especially if you have their insurance. I suppose asking them to just "jot that down" on the paperwork might not be a bad thing...

I haven't been to Bonaire in decades, but we rented a VW "Thing" when were there. I didn't have a roof, or windows or doors for that matter. Needless to say, we didn't leave anything in the thing while we were diving.

We followed the "all open" advice in Curacao and someone stole the battery out of our Toyota.

 

[Dan]

It seems like a lot of things have changed since the last time I was there in 2006. Back then, we rented a truck, threw our dive gears on the bed of the truck & drove from Captain Don's Habitat to various dive sites around the island without any incidents. We did leave nothing in the truck & kept the truck unlock & carried the key with us. No truck battery was stollen. I guessed we were lucky.

 

[kelemvor]

Too bad it takes so much time out of your day to deal with a broken window. Enough insurance claims and I bet the insurance companies would convince bonaire law enforcement to start dealing with the issue. Unlocked means unnoticed and unreported to anyone.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Sounds like one is "damned if they do, damned if they don't" (follow what the rental agency requires). I agree with @wwguy's speculation. Avis contracts all over the world might have that same boilerplate "secured" language in the fine print, and poorly trained but well-meaning employees might open their mouths about it. If this is indeed the case, then if you obey the contract you risk the hassle of a broken window and five bucks for new sunglasses. But if you use your judgment and do what everyone on Bonaire does, then you violate Avis' terms (again, assuming the speculation about the contract fine print is correct), and there might conceivably be some circumstance under which you end up on the defensive. (I can't think of any, since no one in their right mind leaves valuables in a Bonaire rental vehicle, but maybe there is such a circumstance.)