Which insurance to buy for rental car?

[Olav23]

Hi,

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum. I live in NYC, and have no car. I am going for vacation to FL and need to rent a car to drive across the state over an evening.

Which insurance should I purchase from the car rental place? I will probably use the EmigrantDirect mastercard to rent it, if that card in particular provides any insurance, I am not sure. I also have an AmEx that I could use instead if that provides any insurance benefits that the ED card doesn't.

What do you guys think are the definitely required coverage options?

 

[TromboneAl]

I confirmed that my Mastercard (through BofA) would cover it last time I rented.

 

[Martha]

Al, does the Mastercard cover liability? I thought they only covered for damage to the car. Generally, your own car insurance will cover the liability, but the OP doesn't have car insurance. So he will need to buy liability insurance somewhere.

 

[dbr]

When it comes to insurance it is a very good idea to verify exactly what is covered and to what extent. Blanket "it's covered" statements can be dangerous.

One example where your insurance may or may not cover expenses that may or may not be charged is that insurance may explicitly not cover loss of use charges that car rental companies may impose if you damage their car. Such charges are waived if you elect their collision damage waiver. Also I have seen insurance companies that cover the loss of use on the drivers own car insurance but at a $250 limit, so it was true that "it's covered," but the devil is in the details.

The OP does not have auto insurance so he will have to be very careful to clearly understand what credit card based coverage he does or doesn't have. I would be exceptionally worried about personal liability which might be handled by umbrella coverage from an insurance company if such applies to auto related liability. Also the collision damage waiver (which is a waiver and not insurance) may be worth the peace of mind even at the usual high cost.

 

[FinanceGeek]

Generally credit card insurance is secondary to your own coverage, so if you don't have any it would be primary.

But this may only be for the value of the car, and not cover liability, loss of use, etc.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I rarely own a car, and thus rarely have any auto insurance, and I often rent one.
The only coverage you NEED is the liability coverage, assuming you have health
insurance and rent with a CC that covers damage to the car, as most do. All other
waivers and coverages sell you peace of mind (at a high price). I consider
the loss-of-use etc. level of charges to be self-insured.

 

[landover]

I had similar question, Here is the link to http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/car-rental-us-short-visits-overseas-30538.html

 

[Florida]

The credit card should cover the collision insurance so you could waive that. Even worst case senario the responsible party is only laible for the value of the car.

Liability should be purchase at $1 million, I doubt the credit card covers that.

Umbrella policies are most always an extension of auto insurance so someone with car insurance probably does not have an umbrella.

 

[FinanceGeek]

The credit card should cover the collision insurance so you could waive that. Even worst case senario the responsible party is only laible for the value of the car.

Liability should be purchase at $1 million, I doubt the credit card covers that.

Umbrella policies are most always an extension of auto insurance so someone with car insurance probably does not have an umbrella.

Actually with most companies umbrella is an extension of homeowners / renters insurance, but they often require a certain minimal coverage level of auto to qualify to buy umbrella...