CAR RENTAL - Portugal and Morocco - Physical Damage and Theft Coverage

I've utilized this benefit twice. The only thing not reimbursed were some administrative charges by the rental company, otherwise I was totally reimbursed. Make sure that your total rental is on one card.

If you are concerned about what you were told on the phone, ask them to send you the cardholder agreement ( or where to find it on their web version so you do not have to spend 30 minutes searching for it) and find the benefit info in writing.

I, also, have used the benefit, and had no problem getting reimbursed in a timely fashion. The only caution I would give is that you should check that nothing is excluded under "physical damage." I once considered just going with the insurance offered by the rental company. I scotched that idea when I read in the fine print that windows, tires, and the undercarriage were excluded.

Read the rental agreement very carefully if you are tempted to drive on an unpaved road (I'm thinking Morocco here). If that is prohibited (as it is in the US) and you have a problem on an unpaved road, you will probably find yourself without any insurance coverage, because you will have been in violation of the rental agreement.

The other coverage you need to have is "Out of Service." If the damage is severe enough to take the car out of business - Who pays for the business lost. Rental companies are great at hitting you with that.

I personally would be reluctant to depend on cc coverage. We have had several postings here about cc not stepping up to the coverage (In all fairness, others have posted that it worked) And one personal experience when our son had the car side swiped in a parking space and cc refused to cover. It was a very technical reason that I don't remember now but it was expensive. We now use the additional coverage provided by the Am Express card for a single rental fee.

I would like to thank everyone for their valuable replies / feedback.

Has anyone else had experience with reporting claims to Visa for "damage and / or theft" ??

Many Thanks

I've often seen the "no unpaved roads" restrictions on forums like this one but for me the language when I've rented is actually "no unmaintained roads" which means that gravel or even bladed earth roads are OK. Anyway check the language of the contract, and also check the credit card language.

As an aside, even if you have credit card coverage it may not be honored by the rental agency in Morocco-- it isn't honored in Mexico.

Our son was using VISA in Chicago and they refused to pay for very technical reasons in the contract. I personally would not trust a cc company. It winds up being a three-way, finger pointing discussion. You are responsible to the rental company, the cc insurance is response to you and not the rental agency. The rental company does not have to deal with and does not deal with you cc company. The rental company doesn't have to supply any work or information to the cc company. They should respond to you but it is an another language, your home, and they are in Europe. What is your leverage? Then you have to deal with your cc company in the US. This is one area where being cheap may be counter productive. There have been some real horrid stores posted here about cc companies not paying.

I scotched that idea when I read in the fine print that windows, tires, and the undercarriage were excluded.

Also other exclusions that are common: vandalism, wind damage (falling branch), storm damage (hail and water) are often not covered by expensive CDW but are covered by the no deductible cc coverage. So paying a lot more doesn't mean less exposure to risk or more peace of mind.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/travel/rental-car-insurance.html?_r=0

For overseas driving, I buy this insurance and decline additional insurance from the rental car companies.

https://feeservices.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do