I am renting a car as part of the Rail & Drive train pass. I am wondering about purchasing rental car insurance. Should I do it prior to coming to France through a Company such s travelguard? Or, will the credit card insurance cover me even though I already paid for the rental though the rail/drive pass, because typically you need to purchase the rental with your card in order to be covered.
Thanks.
You need to contact your credit card company about this. Not all cards will cover you and if this is the case, you should take the insurance offered thru the rental car agency. In the event of a crash, if you're not covered, you will pay dearly in the event of a crash.
I always just bite the bullet and pay the agency for their highest level of coverage - "super CDW" or "zero deductible" or whatever they call it.
Yes, it adds to the expense, but I've had bad experiences where I had tried to use my credit card's so-called "insurance", had a minor scratch while a car was parked, and had nothing but a long string of hassles and runaround from the credit card people. The "coverage" provided by my credit card ended up being utterly useless, and a big headache to boot. I learned my lesson.
I buy the maximum coverage offered thru the rental agency, shrug off the extra expense, and drive away with no worries.
YMMV.
Echoing what David has said above: Over the last few years on this board, I've noticed that a significant number of travelers (note that I don't say many, or most, or all, but a noticeable number) who
1) have had an "incident" (and actually have had to see how good their CDW coverage),
and
2) who used their credit card coverage for CDW,
have, in fact, reported hassles and/or problems.
In contrast, travelers who have paid the extra (a significant cost) for the CDW and/or super CDW from the rental company, have not reported hassles.
You never know how good your CDW coverage is until you have to use it.
The CDW coverage offered by the rental companies is a significant cost. There is some evidence in these pages, going back a couple of years, that it may be worth it.
Another alternative to investigate: Travel Guard sells renter's collision insurance at affordable rates ($9/day plus a one-time $3 service fee covers you up to $35,000, $250 deductible, tel. 800-826-4919). It's valid throughout Europe, except in Italy and the Republic of Ireland.
If your car-rental company doesn't honor this coverage, and you have to buy other coverage to replace it, Travel Guard will refund your money. Oddly, residents of Washington State aren't allowed to buy this coverage.
Be careful!!! I had a terrible experience in France a few years ago. Paid for car insurance as recommended by my travel agent. Had a fender bender accident and found out it was $1000 deductible. Had to pay $1000. Here's the clincher. Had i NOT purchased the insurance, my VISA coverage would have paid for 100% of the cost!! But because I purchased the policy, VISA was considered "secondary" insurance and not covered.
The bottom line is: Check your credit card coverage before you buy insurance. Just be sure you ask for all the fine print (i.e. must use the card to rent the car, no trucks, etc. etc.)
Good Luck!
I went to France and Belgium in April. I arranged the rental car and paid in advance from the US. When I arrived in Paris, they agent asked if I wanted the CDW insurance and I declined, thinking that my credit card would cover any accident. The agent then said that I would need to have the complete cost of the car charged to a credit card before I could take it! I decided to pay for the insurance, an extra 200 plus euro.
Two days later, I collided with a fence post which damaged the car extensively.
I turned the car in in Brussels, without seeing an attendant, and flew home.
A retainer of a few thousand euro was charged to my credit care, but, since I obtained the insurance, 100% of the retainer was refunded within two weeks.
Lesson learned: Get the insurance OR verify that your credit card covers you in Europe!
Buy all the insurance coverage (top coverage) offered by the rental agency. Use your credit card as backup. Better safe than sorry.
