Car rental insurance overseas

[explanade]

I was checking into what my credit card company would cover for an overseas rental.

My Chase Sapphire Preferred touts offering primary auto insurance benefit by declining CDW or any kind of insurance when you rent.

However, most countries require some kind of insurance as part of the rental and most booking engines these days, at least for overseas, always include "CDW" which doesn't necessarily mean the same as the CDW offered for US rentals.

More and more I don't see a way to book online without "CDW."

So I called Chase and they explained that in my case, the card would provide secondary insurance since New Zealand requires a minimum insurance for rentals.

Oddly, they said there was no limit on what the deductible coverage would be, which is this case is almost 3000 NZD or about $2100.

But one thing to note was that the insurance is only for damage to the vehicle or theft, not liability nor theft of belongings.

Has anyone purchased additional liability insurance for overseas rentals? No other country is suppose to be as litigious as the US but not carrying enough liability during a vacation may be as risky as not carrying enough liability coverage back home in the US.

 

[wanaberetiree]

I was checking into what my credit card company would cover for an overseas rental.

My Chase Sapphire Preferred touts offering primary auto insurance benefit by declining CDW or any kind of insurance when you rent.

However, most countries require some kind of insurance as part of the rental and most booking engines these days, at least for overseas, always include "CDW" which doesn't necessarily mean the same as the CDW offered for US rentals.

More and more I don't see a way to book online without "CDW."

So I called Chase and they explained that in my case, the card would provide secondary insurance since New Zealand requires a minimum insurance for rentals.

Oddly, they said there was no limit on what the deductible coverage would be, which is this case is almost 3000 NZD or about $2100.

But one thing to note was that the insurance is only for damage to the vehicle or theft, not liability nor theft of belongings.

Has anyone purchased additional liability insurance for overseas rentals? No other country is suppose to be as litigious as the US but not carrying enough liability during a vacation may be as risky as not carrying enough liability coverage back home in the US.

My understanding is that in Europe liability insurance is included into rent, and IIRC it had high limits. Check with a rental company.

 

[explanade]

Well, I'm looking at another rental for a future trip.

Curiously, I'm seeing a pretty low rate through Avis. Usually, I get better rates for overseas rentals from brokers like AutoEurope than booking direct with Hertz, Avis, Budget, etc.

Now typically, the rentals you book online through AE and other brokers always include CDW, so you can't take advantage of declining the CDW.

But in this case, Avis has separate options for CDW, Personal Accident Insurance (which pays $175k in case the renter is killed), Liability Insurance, Theft Protection.

The CDW is $64 a day, more than the car itself. So no brainer to decline it and either use my Chase Sapphire Preferred for primary coverage or enroll in the Amex Premium Car Rental Protection plan for $20 which covers the whole rental.

The concern is that Avis is trying to get you to pay extra for Liability Insurance. Does Spain not require liability insurance as part of coverage?

 

[braumeister]

I've been very happy with the rates I got from Avis on my last two European rentals. No experience with Spain so I can't help there.

As long as you fully understand what your own insurance covers and doesn't cover, and what your credit card covers and doesn't, then you're fine. The car rental agency will tell you what's required legally.

 

[explanade]

As it turns out my car insurance premiums are coming up. So I'll give them a call.

I doubt it covers personal liability for overseas rentals though.

 

[audreyh1]

US personal auto insurance policies may cover Canada, but not any other country as far as I know.