Hi all - quick question on renting a car in Spain. We're picking one up in Seville, using it for 4 days, then returning it in Granada. The credit card that we'll use provides damage insurance, so we're planning on turning down any offered by the rental company. Question is - have any of you been asked to provide a Certificate of Insurance to the rental company? (We're renting with Budget)
Thanks so much for the help!
Something to consider-- relying on the CC may not be the best idea. We rented a car in Spain, and yes, my AXP card supposedly covers most incidents. However, it's one thing to rent a car in Los Angeles vs Europe. We don't want to be taken advantage of, but we bought all the insurance we could through the rental company (Hertz). Roads are narrow, scooters everywhere, bikes, small parking spots, winding roads-- I'm glad we had full coverage. All we needed was a broken off mirror, a dented fender, or something else -like a hit and run.. or we hit something. We saw someone returning a car who didn't have coverage and they were arguing, unsuccessfully, about something about the back end with the rental car return person. It's your call of course, but you will be made to sign their iron clad paperwork.
We relied on our credit card insurance for Spain (and every car rental we've ever done) We have insurance both thru our AMEX card and our Chase card. I can't recall if we were asked for a proof of insurance in Spain, but we have been asked for them in the past. I believe there is a link on the AMEX and Chase websites. However, I've called customer service for both and have had the proof emailed to us.
There are two things that are very important:
1. It should be the driver's credit card that is used and any payments or holds on that rental need to be made on the card that you are using with the insurance.
2. If there are any damages to the card, you likely will have to pay. Save any receipts to be reimbursed by your credit card.
I know of a few people that have had minor damage in Europe and the credit card insurance paid with little to no drama.
We scraped a car mirror wall in one of the white cities on a tight road. I mentioned it when we returned the car and was told that it was normal wear. THat's our only experience with car damage with a rental car.
@MoR, do you know what coverage the driver had, if any? Perhaps he didn't have the credit card coverage. Its hard to know.
Many people use CC coverage and have been perfectly happy doing so. Just be certain you know what is and isn’t covered. Pay particular attention to normally optional coverages (vary by company) to know if they are covered. Optional coverages could be personal injury protection, roadside assistance, tire and windscreen damage, and believe it or not, theft. Liability insurance is mandatory and included in the rental price.
The rental car company may ask for proof of insurance, so as Jules mentioned, contact your CC company and have proof sent to you.
At my age we spend the extra money and get zero deductible. If anything gets damaged I just drop it off and walk away.
Mo R exaggerated the driving conditions to make the point that things can happen. Cities can be a pain to drive in, but once outside of cities, towns, and villages, there is little traffic. Regarding parking, if you know where you’re visiting you can look up parking lots before going over. There are free parking lots in most places, but you need to know where they are since they are seldom marked. You may need to walk an extra five minutes to reach the center of town, but you can save some money.
JulesM-- I have no idea if they had coverage or not. We were just happy to get on the shuttle and to the airport. The argument was very lively, let's say. I didn't see any apparent damage, but there must have been an issue.
I wasn't happy with AXP on our last trip when we asked for reimbursement for a trip delay. It took me 2 months to get reimbursed plus alot of hassle after an original decline. The fine print is something else! I know this event isn't the auto insurance they offer, which I do use and pay $19.95 for each car rental in the States. But, having a covered issue and getting such a hassle taught me to not rely on them for our "big" trips. So I go to other insurers for trip insurance and in Europe we will use the rental car insurance. I just don't want to tie up funds, and have my time and energy stolen by jumping through hoops.
I'm glad to see that it worked for you. We were on some streets where I just closed my eyes! (my husband was driving!)
We have been traveling Europe for 37 years some by trains but some by car. I would always use my CC insurance coverage until you guessed it, I had an accident. I am not going to go through that again. It was almost a year before it worked itself out but there were times I would think I bought the rental company a car. Now I rent only through Auto Europe (Pick one your comfortable with) and always by zero deductible. Probably for the last 25 years we had only a couple of minor dents and scratch and we just smiled and bid them goodbye. Friends say I am crazy for not using my CC. My reply is if I can't afford a few extra dollars, I have no business being there. Please don't turn down their insurance. When you rent the car online just pay for the zero deductible.
Thank you all so much for the lively discussion on rental car insurance! We will be wiser for considering all your experiences, advice, and encouragement. We've had our own adventures renting cars in foreign places before (especially Ireland!), and will be fine I'm sure with our car plans for Spain. We got a letter to carry with us from the CC today. We really appreciate hearing from you all, and wish your travels by car or whatever are safe and enjoyable.
Thanks again.
