De mystifying car rentals in Ireland

No experience with these companies but last May we rented in Ireland from Avis using a Visa card. No extra coverage is required. Visa does cover all the necessary insurance for Ireland. We got them to send us a letter confirming that but didn't even need it. There were conversations all over this forum last year about getting the super coverage and insuring through a third party and it's not necessary. Check with your credit card company before you pay extra.

Am Ex used to have a program where you paid them and got very comprehensive rental car insurance before your trip.

I always thought Ireland was on the must-buy-insurance list?

phred, I am under the same impression that you are, that you need to take out all the car insurance you can in Ireland and your credit card insurance will not cover you. That being said...Carolynn, after reading your comment I went back and read a "new benefits" email that I recently received from our Citibank MasterCard. NOW, it seems like our card will cover us up to $100,000 if you refuse insurance from the rental agency ( I believe that was the amount). I am going to call the Credit Card Company to make sure. They even mention that some countries will require a letter of proof and has a number to call to inquire about the letter. Carolynn, since you were recently there are the roads as scary as I have read about? On the Dan Dooley site they mention that in the last few years the government has spent millions improving the roads but still the country roads can be narrow.

Thank you both for your input!

If that is true it will be a huge savings! I am very pleased about that prospect.

A couple of things to consider with use of any CC coverage:

• Typically the terms require declining all insurance coverage, but some countries require some type of liability coverage (not CDW) that may be bundled with other insurance and not covered by your CC. Some have reported difficulties in sorting out if their CC covered them in the end or not, being that the mandatory acceptance of Liability may have voided the coverage.
• While one might think that calling your CC company might be a good idea to assess your coverage...I have been given misinformation, and so have many others, by random "customer service" people reading off a script. I would try to get the number of the company that actually handles the insurance for the credit card and talk to them. Maybe not any better, but at least closer to the topic than the CC Company.
• Regardless if you are covered or not, if you choose CC and have issues with a claim by the rental company, they will simply charge the amount on your card and it is your responsibility to seek reimbursement from the CC company and their carrier. Either you or them make it right in the end, unless they get reimbursement from the rental agency in the case of unjustified charges. You may also have to pay the amount, or incur interest, until claims are settled. I would try to find some feedback from some that have been through the process and determine if you might have further concerns.

In the end, like many things and like all types of insurance, it is a gamble. There is no difference in good or bad insurance, or no insurance, except cost, until you need to use it.

I hear you loud and clear Paul. This is a major grip I have with taking out any insurance. I want to see it in writing and not depend on a "representative " that is reading from a script. We usually take insurance out from AAA when we travel abroad and I am finding that in most cases they are the secondary insurance. We r checking with our health insurance company AGAIN to confirm they cover us outside the country....they are suppose to but I don't think they cover things such as (heaven forbid) transporting a (deceased ) body home. Geesh I long for the days gone by when I did not even worry about insurance. We will be making numerous phone calls tomorrow and trying to make a good decision. It could be that things are changing because our CC just recently added additional benefits. Thanks for your input.

I've got some great credit cards-including the Capital One No foreign transaction fee cards and a couple more Platinum level cards. That being said, I will likely sign up for all the insurance I can through the car rental agency in Ireland. Maybe, the CC coverage will be fine, hopefully I won't need to to test it, and I don't have money to burn. But, for the expense versus the liability, it's worth the peace of mind.

Have not yet decided what to do about the car insurance. We did spend the better part of the morning looking into "travel insurance." I still need to verify with our Credit Card Company, but it looks like we will have dual coverage if we take out Travel Insurance through AAA. Our CC now seems to cover a lot more in the way of trip interruption, etc. HOWEVER! Even though our Health insurance covers us no matter where we are if it is an emergency or illness of an urgent nature (not sure what definition they use for urgent but I don't plan on seeking medical assistance unless it is necessary) they do not pay to (god forbid) transport a body (deceased) back home. And we do have to pay the medical expenses ourselves and then get reimbursed by our health insurance. I am sure when you are in a foreign country, no matter what insurance you have or what travel insurance you have you will probably need to pay the expenses up front and then be reimbursed. I guess it is true, insurance is something you pay for and hope you will never need. At this point we will probably take out the minimum (additional) coverage through AAA just to have peace of mind if one of us dies we can get the body back home. That being said I am sure if something does happen it will be a process to get reimbursed...not that we won't get reimbursed...it will just be a process.

Off to research car insurance! Stay tuned!

Car insurance, foreign health and medical evac are all separate items. Don't assume you can get a package.

check a site like Squaremouth to see insurance options. I strongly recommend some kind of medical evac.

phred, good point. I think a person needs to know what their own Health Insurance covers, what coverage their Credit Card gives them, etc. and fill in the blanks that are important to them with additional insurance. Our own Health Insurance covers us in case of urgent or emergency care...we pay up front and are reimbursed by our insurance company. In case of a broken foot...no problem...just put that on the credit card and get reimbursed. In case of a heart attack???? Well, I am sure arrangements would have to be made and you won't know what to do till you have to deal with something like that. Same thing with the car rental, I see no reason to pay for duplicate coverage. Reg the medical evacuation, we are taking out a small comprehensive policy through AAA just for that coverage and in the case of death we will be covered for having the body transported home. Will we have over lapping coverage? Of course but that policy will fill in a few blanks and I think the cost is $188 for the two of us (63 & 74). Again, everyone has different concerns and coverages best advice is to educate yourself.

We just got back from Ireland in March and we rented a car through Hertz. I used my Chase Freedom card and had gotten a letter from them stating they cover rental cars in Ireland. I declined all insurance through Hertz (which you must do if you want Chase to cover damage). We DID DAMAGE our car.... $1000 worth to the front bumper. They charged my card the $1000 when we returned it and I filed a claim with Chase and the claim has just been paid. I don't know if this helps but thought I would share because I was very nervous about not taking the insurance through Hertz - but it would have cost us $500 for a week of insurance. So I am glad we waived it and it all turned out just fine.

We have rented from Budget.ie on both our trips to Ireland. It includes all the insurances. When you get there you can add on Tires and mirrors. We have had a great experience both times and will be using them again in June! Book through the Ireland websites you will save $$ that way :) Enjoy your trip!

Thank you waulylee for that bit of information! Nice to hear someone actually used their CC insurance (sorry about the mishap though) and had a positive result. We are going to waive all the super duper insurance and use the insurance through our Credit Card. I see no reason to pay for something we already have. If you can't afford to have a 3,000 euro hold on your card or have them charge your card for any damage you might incur while waiting for your credit card company to reimburse you this might not be the way to go. It seems reasonable that it might take 4 -6 weeks for them to send you a check, Again, everyone has to decide for themselves but for us ......we are going with our Credit Card coverage!