Collision Damage Insurance - Save your money

Doesn't work everywhere, though. Many exclude Ireland, Italy, and other places.

Before committing to your credit card for collision coverage, read the small print on the CC contract. I did on mine, and I would never rely on it. The credit card company doesn't just pay the claim. You have to pay to claim and then try to get reimbursed by the credit card company. They can require you to produce any documentation they ask for (whether it exists or not). Imagine yourself trying to deal with a rental car company in Europe, probably in a foreign language, on long distance phone calls, requesting documentation that might have another name in their language.

Somebody on this website once wrote in that she was denied reimbursement because of some technicality (didn't have enough balance on her card?). Remember, credit card companies are not in the business of paying insurance claims.

I should have also mentioned to read the terms of the CC provided coverages before opting for this alternative. In some countries it is NOT available and some countries insist on non-CC insurance through the lessor, such as Italy. The claims go through an insurance company affiliated with your card and in both cases, they contacted the lessor, obtained the forms and provided any translations necessary. Yes it did take additional time but to me, it was worth it.

I've used credit card insurance coverage in the past, but too much of a hassle so I now just take the CDW offered by the rental firm. A few points.....

• Credit card coverage for rental vehicles is often provided by a third-party insurance firm. In order to find out specifically what is covered, it's necessary to read the fine print of their contract.
• I've seen a few cases where damage to the rental car was denied by the credit card firm due to a technicality. In one case, the renter drove on a non-paved section of road. The CC firm deemed that to be driving "off road" and denied the claim. The rental firm said their insurance coverage wouldn't have had a problem with that, but the CC firm wouldn't budge. As I recall, the renter was on the hook for about $15K. Again as I recall, the CC firm in that case was AmEx.
• Most insurance coverage does NOT include things like tires or glass. Any damage to those and the renter pays.
• As mentioned previously, it's compulsory in Italy to take at least part of the CDW offered by the rental firm.

The insurance aspect is one reason I try to use trains as much as possible in Europe.

There has been more than one posting on this site about the horrid stories of credit card insurance not stepping up when necessary. Always because of the super fine print. I would not rely on general credit card insurance coverage. AE is different.

I rented a car from Europcar in France (Chamonix) a couple weeks ago. I made the reservation without insurance because my Capital One Mastercard covers it. When I got there, the agent insisted that French law required auto insurance on every car and that the coverage provided by credit card was not acceptable. He added around €100 to the rental fee for insurance and told me that my maximum liability under that policy was €850, for which he put a hold on my credit card. He said this was a new directive his office had received from Europcar just that month.

Just remember that to get the Amex good insurance you need to sign up in advance -- but at $20 for the entire rental it seems worth it. Last used in France in 2012, though.

Rental car insurance coverage, and lack thereof, is in a constant state of change. I rented a car in France on May 12th from Europcar at the Basel airport and was not told I needed to purchase any additional insurance. Seven days later I rented a car in Germany and had no problem denying their additional CDW insurance.

I now longer just depend on my CC for insurance coverage. Like a previous poster mentioned, there are certain parts of the car and the rental that a CC will not cover such as tires, side mirrors, undercarriage, roof and, most of all, loss of use (when a car is being repaired it cannot be rented out). My travel insurance covers not only me but my car and any airline complications. It's worth the peace of mind.

BTW, on my most recent rental I checked to see if I have a spare tire. Nope, only a can of air.

I used to manage rental fleets for a major automobile manufacturers' captive financing company.

Most peoples' comp and collision will cover rental cars in most countries. You'd have to check your policy or with your agent to see if you're covered. Sometimes the old Iron Curtain countries and Italy are excluded, however.
If you're covered on a "gold" credit card or AMEX, it's secondary to your personal auto insurance policy.
What really gets me is that most rental car outfits charge you for CDW coverage, however they're self insured and not paying any insurance company for comp and collision coverage. They're pooling the CDW funds internally to cover if vehicles come back damaged. Don't take the CDW and they'll come after you personally for damages and "down time" the car's being fixed.

Last time I rented in Italy, the CDW was actually very fairly priced. That almost makes me think the Italian Government has mandated the prices of CDW in lieu of it being required coverage. Where the rental car outfits get you is by selling a secondary insurance that covers "lost items" if stolen. They add this coverage automatically--and renters have to specifically exclude it when they pickup the car.

Very few people in the UK will have a standing insurance for hire cars - neither credit cards nor personal car insurance covers it as standard. So car hire to UK residents in the UK is generally done on an all-in basis. Compare this with the price for non UK residents without CDW and the prices don't differ that much and can be cheaper, although maybe there is a thought that the accident risk might be lower with those used too the UK driving environment. To avoid doubt I am not advocating misstating residence for cheaper rates.

Does anyone have anything to say in response to Chani's post? I rented from Europcar in France in April, and as I've done 20 or so times before, relied on my credit card for coverage. So I wonder if there has actually been a change in French requirements, or whether Europcar, or that Europcar office, was just making it up to get more money.

Re Chani's post
The law in France, and every other European country, requires third party insurance. That is insurance against damage or injury to other vehicles, buildings or other people outside your car. As it is a legal requirement it is included by default in all road vehicle insurance.

Collision Damage is insurance against damage to the vehicle you are driving. This is not a legal requirement, it is a matter between you and the car hire company. This is never (AFAIK) covered be credit cards in Europe. I suspect such cover is a US peculiarity.
Given this, and the language difference, I suspect in Chani's case either:
A) The car hire company though he was trying to cover the third party insurance with the credit card. This is not possible as it can only be done with an authorised insurance company.
or:
B) They had never heard of credit card insurance cover and would not accept it in lieu of French CDW. I had never heard of it until I started reading this forum.

CDW is NOT insurance.

It is a contractual protection which limits your liability in the event of damage or theft to the rental car. CDW has nothing to do with any injury or damage to you, your other passengers, the other car or its driver or passengers. It only deals with the damage to your rental car. If you hit somebodyand put them in a wheel chair and are sued for a couple million bucks, CDW does nothing for you. (But there should already be third party liability insurance which cover this)

I don't know if car rental company has fleet insurance to cover damage or loss to its own cars of the car rental company just self insures.m, But why would the rental company make a claim against its insurance, pay a deductible and have its fleet insurance go up, or eat a loss? In the fine print of your rental contract, the company can go against your credit card and make you pay all the damage up to the full price of the car.

That is the fear which convinces people to buy CDW. CDW limits your liability to a certain amount. But the CDW can still be a scary high amount up to $1000. That is the second fear which makes people pay even more money for super CDW or excess coverage to bring the limit of liability down to $0.

The CDW and the excess coverage is usually sold as an extra. When people compare prices, they usually just compare the basic daily rates and book based on that. The CDW and excess are added afterwards and is usually bought out of fear or ignorance.

In Italy, the CDW is mandatory in all car rental agreements. I don't know if this is a government requirement. All i know is that when you compare car rental prices in Italy with the mandatory CDW with a similar rental in another nearby country without the CDW, the total price is not all that different. When forced to have a level playing field of mandatory CDW, it seems that competition forces the prices down. To me, the CDW is probably not a necessary financial component for the car rental company, it is just an extra source of revenue if they can convince the renter to pay.

There are other options available, credit card, own car insurance or third party insurance. See the RS articles. Here is another article which explains that many people inadvertently chose CWD because of the language problem:

http://www.gemut.com/car-rentals/rental-car-tips-and-advice/922-avoiding-unwanted-cdw-charges-on-european-car-rentals.html

In Chani's case, possibly, it may have been a scam, a misunderstanding or miscommunication by either the desk person or the renter. When i checked out the Europcar France site, the CDW should still be optional, not mandatory.

You have to read all the fine print of your rental agreement and your credit card contract.

Obviously, if your credit card does not offer CDW protection benefits, then you cannot rely upon it.

But even with the CDW protection there are always exceptions. Rental contracts and credit card coverage amy be invalidated by a myriad of things, eg driving into Mexico, going off-roading etc. And there are certain things which are not covered, eg under-carriage damage, tire, windscreen etc. I believe that most North American insurance would not cover tire damage, or the deductible is so high that if you need to replace a flat tire, you effectively pay for it out of your pocket. But when people rent a car, the fear of a flat tire makes some people pay the optional tire damage protection, which usually may only be bought if you buy the CDW and excess... Once again it is fear of the risk which drives this part of the car rental business.