Car Rental in France--purchase additional insurance or rely on VISA

Your VISA coverage will be valid in France. Just be sure to read the coverage information carefully, so that you're aware of the exclusions, claims reporting procedures, document requirements, deadlines, etc. You don't want to have your claim denied on a technicality. Be aware that, in case of an accident, you may have to pay first and seek reimbursement from VISA afterwards.

Visa itself does not insure your car - another entity does. And understand that they will do everything in their power to deny a claim, so, as Tom says, be sure you have all the documentation you can get if there is a problem. It's tough to fight a denial if you don't have all of the paperwork.

I,personally, would not rely on the credit card insurance. There has been several postings over the past few years of nightmares when dealing with credit card insurance involving big claims. Might be ok for a scratched fender or a broken mirror but more than that it becomes a three way p.. match and you are in the middle.

I've rented many cars in many European countries and have never had an accident, but I still would not rent a car without the extra insurance. It's just not worth the "what if" scenario that would totally ruin my vacation.

This is a never-ending discussion on these forums. Some people wouldn't think of renting a car without buying the rental company's insurance, others wouldn't dream of paying for it. I'm in the latter camp, having relied on the Visa coverage many times, however now I use American Express Premium insurance which has a modest charge per rental with no deductible.

I wouldn't use reimbursment-based insurance from credit cards. I don't want to be on the hook for $ 50.000, and then have to deal with entities in both continents to have it reimbursed. A missing document might mean a second trip just to get a "long form copy of the police accident report", for instance. Moreover, without insurance bought from the rental company they have every incentive to try to charge you for the smallest of the scratch.

Buy all the insurance and insurance upgrades that the rental agency offers. You want to be able to hand them the keys and walk away without a deductible or hassles if something happens. Don't count on your VISA card as your sole insurance. Use it as a backup if necessary, but don't use this as your only insurance.