CAR RENTAL ****please read, may save you a lot of money!

I have been burned by credit card insurance before. Declining the CDW leaves you completely vulnerable if the credit card insurance decides not to pay, and there are too many technicalities through which a claim can be denied. I'll stick with the rental counter insurance.

I have rented a ton of times in Europe and usually declined those insurances. I did have an issue in Ireland when both a friend and I were drivers... I left and she still had the car and damaged the mirror and they did charge my cc $150. I have used the Amex extra insurance and also taken the full insurance when they were going to put the huge hold on my cc in the Caymans.... at this point there is just so much hassle I want to deal with, so I will just figure in that full insurance and think of it as part of the rental, and not an 'extra.'
The freedom of having a car is still worth the cost to me, so I will just make life easy and cut costs elsewhere.

Yes, each of us have to decide what we want to deal with and whether it is worth the cost. After speaking with my Credit Card Company directly and with Dan Dooley I am very close to deciding to waive the cost of the insurance. The trade off would be filling out paperwork to save roughly $450. I have a high credit card limit so a $3,000 euro hold does not really effect me. When we started looking into car rentals I was set on all the insurance coverage I could get but after investigating I am changing my mind. Over the years I have learned to weigh all the facts before making a decision and what is right for my circumstances may not be right for yours. All Credit Cards may not offer the benefits that mine does so again check with your CC company and talk to the car rental agency. This holds true for Health Insurance coverage also. Our insurance covers us for urgent and emergency care and I am not even thinking twice about having to fill out paperwork for health issues. We have rented cars countless times in the US and never once have we taken out the additional insurance, our insurance covers us no matter what car we are driving and I suppose if we had ever been in an accident there would have been paper work to fill out.

When in a foreign country I like the insurance that let's me hand them back a steering wheel and walk away! If you are in an accident and even though your cc covers you, you may not just be able to walk away at least without the rental agency receiving their money - either from you or your insurance company - read the fine print as they may not want to wait for your cc insurance to settle and may require you pay the total amount and you get reimbursed from your insurance. That may require a REALLY high limit on your cc. Some countries will detain you until the damages are paid. Too much hassle for me - I'm on vacation. The rules are very different elsewhere than they are in the US for US drivers. In the US we always decline the insurance as our cc coverage is great - in a foreign country I will be subject to their rules so I pay for the peace of mind.

Christi, I understand the beauty in being able to walk away but everyone needs to decide for themselves. AS I mentioned in the post, they will put a hold on my credit card for 3,000 euros. I have no problem with that and Dan Dooley already stated that if the damage goes above 3,000 euros they will only charge my credit card 3,000 euros and will deal with the Credit Card Company for the rest. I am covered by my own health insurance for personal injury and all rental agencies in Ireland have to carry 3rd party personal liability. We have never had a problem with renting a car in the US but there are hidden agendas there as well. If you don't take out the rental insurance your insurance may pay to fix the car but will your insurance pay the $$$ the agency is losing because the car cannot be rented. You best check with your insurance on that one. And you stated your CC had great coverage for car insurance but you may not realize they will be the secondary insurance after your primary insurance....at least that is how it works here. Sometimes we think we know what we are covered for until we find out what we are really covered for :)

I too, buy all the insurance the car rental company offers. I like to hand them the keys, and walk. To many what-if's in cc coverage for me.