I've used borrowlenses.com and lensrentals.com. They've both been great, no complaints at all. With the cost of shipping, it's best if you plan to use it for a week or more though.
Yep. I always got the insurance. They come in a box with really thick foam all the way around. I think all the lenses I ordered also had hoods and cases as well. I plan to rent again the next time I go someplace like Yellowstone. Nothing like having a 400mm lens when you need it without having to own one.
lensrentals.com rocks! I've used them for every photography trip and have been really happy with them. I've rented about 8 different types of lenses depending upon what type of shooting I want to do and found some I want to buy, others I only wanted to use just once. They've also been great with advice on what kind of lens to use for your type of camera, what you want to shoot, etc. They will also deliver to your destination-I'm flying to Utah in October instead of my usual car trip and they are going to ship my lenses to a FedEx location in St. George so I can just pick them up when I get there.