Rental Car Insurance

[Gatordoc50]

There seems to be conflicting opinions on whether insurance should be purchased on rentals. Any thoughts?

 

[RockyMtn]

Check your personal car insurance. They may cover you. Some credit card companies will also cover you if you use their card to pay for the rental.

If you are in a foreign country I would but the insurance.

 

[steelyman]

I think (at least some) credit cards cover rental car insurance.

 

[brett]

We never do. Even overseas.

First of all, check with your auto insurance provider. Chances are you already have it.

Second, if you have a premium credit card, check to see if insurance is provided and type of vehicles it covers.

Lots of margin for the car rental companies here. And often commissions for the agents.

 

[Gatordoc50]

My DD rented a car from Atlanta airport recently. She called ahead and got a rate or 180 dollars for 5 days. When she showed up to pick up her car, the attendant gave her the option of Basic or Premium insurance. She chose Basic and was charged an extra 50 dollars a day. I was upset that she wasn't told that it was optional. They have you sign/ initial on a computer screen and fold up the printed contract with a million other papers to deceive you. Who can you trust anymore? Geez.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I think for all the cards we own we have to decline the rental company's insurance in order for it to be valid.

Our personal car insurance covers rentals in the U.S. but not Europe. Our credit card insurance covers the car in Europe but not loss of use or liability.

We had a rental car damaged in the UK and the insurance from our credit card covered it. It was interesting because the rental car agency charged us something like $600 for a minor rock chip. We argued over the amount but what can you do when they have your credit card number and you have a plane to catch? We contacted the credit card company when we got home. They had their adjuster contact the rental car company. The amount was reduced to ~$100 and the credit card company covered it under their insurance.

However if I had to do it over again in Europe I'd get the rental car insurance because our car insurance policy doesn't cover us there and our credit card insurance is limited in what they will cover. In the U.S. we decline the rental car insurance because we are covered between our car policy and the credit card company policy. I think we might be subject to the loss of use but I figure we save money over the long term by self insuring on that front.

 

[Gatordoc50]

I think for all the cards we own we have to decline the rental company's insurance in order for it to be valid.

Our personal car insurance covers rentals in the U.S. but not Europe. Our credit card insurance covers the car in Europe but not loss of use or liability.

We had a rental car damaged in the UK and the insurance from our credit card covered it. It was interesting because the rental car agency charged us something like $600 for a minor rock chip. We argued over the amount but what can you do when they have your credit card number and you have a plane to catch? We contacted the credit card company when we got home. They had their adjuster contact the rental car company. The amount was reduced to ~$100 and the credit card company covered it under their insurance.

However if I had to do it over again in Europe I'd get the rental car insurance because our car insurance policy doesn't cover us there and our credit card insurance is limited in what they will cover. In the U.S. we decline the rental car insurance because we are covered between our car policy and the credit card company policy. I think we might be subject to the loss of use but I figure we save money over the long term by self insuring on that front.

I have always rejected it but after doing some research I found that the Rental companies charge administrative and loss of use fees that sometimes exceed what your insurance will cover. I will continue to reject it and take my chances but am wondering if that is wise for those with limited resources.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I have always rejected it but after doing some research I found that the Rental companies charge administrative and loss of use fees that sometimes exceed what your insurance will cover. I will continue to reject it and take my chances but am wondering if that is wise for those with limited resources.

That is a good point. You have to be able to self insure on the loss of use coverage if you don't have that otherwise insured before you decline the agency coverage.

We decline rental car offers for Lincoln town cars or similar type cars even when they are offered at midsize or lower rates. The agents think they are doing us a favor giving us a nice car at a cheap price when they have a surplus of high end cars in stock, but we don't want to rent anything that is more likely to get stolen, broken into or subject to high repair bills or loss of use fees.

 

[PokerGrumpy]

A couple of years ago I got a rewards credit card and I specifically looked to cover the car rental insurance situation. I found one and have been using it for just about everything ever since. When I get to the rental counter and they promote insurance they don't push very hard because I have that "don't bother wasting your time" look in my eye.

I'm not going to advertise the card I got but I do have to tell you that I was really disappointed when I didn't get a free Viking helmet or a Welcome note personally signed by Alec Baldwin.

 

[JoeWras]

Just make sure you really check the car you get, and report damage before hand. Sometimes they will ding you for that "rock chip" that already existed.

My last car we rented had so many dings and scratches I ended up having 3/4ths of the little damage sheet covered and annotated. This was in a dark garage where I had to provide my own flashlight to see the damage.

Just be careful. Even if you have insurance (we had both credit card and that covered by our insurance), it is a pain and there is the issue of deducible, etc., etc.

 

[Moemg]

I always decline the insurance and I was in an accident in a rental car . My credit card covered what my car insurance did not including deductible .

 

[brett]

If do need to check with your credit card folks. Our insurance has been good in all of the foreign countries that we have driven in BUT you do need to check not only country but type of car. And our own car insurance also covers us for NA and most other countries.

For instance, my credit card does not cover rental of pickup trucks or certain high end vehicles.

There have been significant issues reported to the media about the Budget location at Vancouver Airport regarding claiming for minor damage. The local news ran a story along with so insights from former customers. Not good. Apparently this is the practice of some franchisees.

 

[samclem]

The credit card-provided insurance for rental cars overseas can be very limited. I joined a program with AMEX that charges me $25 to provide very good coverage whenever I rent a car--$25 covers the insurance for a rental up to 90 days. It's a lot cheaper than the insurance at the rental car counter. I don't use this card when renting a car domestically, because my other charge cards provide adequate coverage in the US.

If I had an accident, I anticipate that this third-party insurance would introduce a degree of hassle that I wouldn't have if I'd bought insurance at the counter, but the savings is worth it to me.

+1 on checking for damages and getting it documented before driving off in the car. This is especially important overseas (Europe), where there seems to be a cottage industry in charging renters a lot for small damage that may or may not have existed when the car was rented. Look the car over carefully and in good light, especially the glass and body panels. When you turn that car in and have to catch a plane the folks at the rental car office know they have you at a significant disadvantage if there is any dispute about pre-existing damage.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We actually did get the chip while we were driving the rental car. It was just the amount for repairs that was at issue.

On another forum I saw where a renter caused $11K in damage to a parking structure with a moving truck, and the renter's car insurance didn't cover the truck rental because it was over a certain weight limit. I mentally filed that as something to check into next time we need to rent a truck.

 

[travelover]

.........
On another forum I saw where a renter caused $11K in damage to a parking structure with a moving truck, and the renter's car insurance didn't cover the truck rental because it was over a certain weight limit. I mentally filed that as something to check into next time we need to rent a truck.

Credit card's insurance is similar - some won't even cover a SUV or 4x4.

 

[steelyman]

I had no idea of these restrictions. Good to know!

I've rented cars in Europe but I'm sure those were on an AmEx corporate card.

Next time, I will check. I usually go for midsize.

 

[travelover]

I found these articles useful. Some credit card don't cover loss of use, some appear to.

Rental Car Insurance: Which Credit Cards Have You Covered

Another, more general article: Car-rental firms, insurers vary on loss-of-use policies - Los Angeles Times

As for credit cards, Visa is said by travel experts to be more generous when it comes to paying loss-of-use charges than MasterCard and Discover. American Express takes such things on a case-by-case basis.

 

[mystang52]

Some 5 years ago I had a minor fender bender with a Hert rental. My credit card covered the physical damage, and Hertz tried to coerce me into that loss of use, AND some other gobbledy-gook charge. I dared the adjuster to sue me, and that was the last I heard from them.

 

[kevink]

This is the clearest article I have found on the topic:

Credit Card Car Insurance | Million Mile Secrets

The bottom line, at least for me: read all of your coverages carefully and make sure you have adequate liability insurance.

 

[itsmyparty]

I too had a fender bender while up in Canada...someone hit me from behind. Had not purchased insurance from them..because of c.c., etc. so they wanted me to pay for repair andlost rental income upfront and deal myself with my ins. Co. Ultimately they dropped the whole thing ... They never explained, but assume it had something to do with them and guy who hit me already being covered by gov't no fault insurance. Just glad Ididnt have to go thru a fight with them...co. Was Hertz rental in B.C. In the meantime..purchased a car rental insurance offered by American Express...$25 a yr and $25 per rental...covers all drivers. One thing...one thing is never know how good any insurance is til you have to use it. Next mo. Renting again for a few days...in BC again..this time with Avis....noticed that the cost to add their ins. Doubles the cost. So once again...have to carefully check car for scratches, dents they don't record ...so I dont get charged...feel like they will try anything to make more $!