Germany Car Rental Insurance - The Fine Details

I have found that car rental places are getting stricter on what you can do regarding insurance. We used to show up and just say we have our own insurance (part of our travel insurance package) and it was no problem. Then it went to our travel insurance not being acceptable, but if I produced a credit card with insurance it was OK. ( still had the travel insurance and would have used it before the CC, since I had heard terrible stories about trying to get reimbursement from CC.s) When I booked this year (for Munich) , I did notice Autoeurope said I should get a letter from my CC company verifying I have insurance. I called the help number and the person said they were suppose to accept standard proof of coverage but that some customers had said they needed a personal letter and advised I get one. In the end, Hetz's insurance no-deductible was reasonable enough that I just went with that. One of my pet peeves with rental car insurance is that the inexpensive variety usually has a huge deductible and the no deductible has always been cost prohibitive. Of course, once you accept the car rental insurance, you CC insurance invalid and won't cover a huge deductible. In the end, the no deductible was $6.70 a day (about $160 for 24 days) We booked very early and accepted the insurance at that time. If you want to do your own insurance, do your due diligence (and it isn't always easy as the OP demonstrates). It is definitely getting harder. I have always been happy with Autoeurope and feel they do try to advise, but they are a third party and do not make the rules. The one time I was refused a car because of an insurance problem, I called their 24 hour help number and a man got on the phone, talked to the agent and then told me what to do. I got my car without paying for additional insurance.

I have found that car rental places are getting stricter on what you can do regarding insurance. We used to show up and just say we have our own insurance (part of our travel insurance package) and it was no problem.

I totally agree. I've been renting in France for several decades, and until the last few years had no trouble using credit card insurance. I even remember one time in Paris when I was asked if I wanted the CDW, and I told the agent that I think my cc will cover that; he said he thought so too. But the last few years the agents have gotten more aggressive about pushing me to get CDW, although still not demanding to see a letter like you were. Then the last 2 years I decided I had enough of the hassle and uncertainty, so I took the no-deductible all-inclusive coverage from Hertz through AutoEurope; it helped that the rate was very reasonable. And it came in handy when I backed into a wall in a village. On return the agent noted the damage, but I never saw a charge for it.

Credit cards offering car insurance is a North American peculiarity, I have never heard of cards anywhere in Europe offering it. Also insurance on your own car no way covers rented cars. So it is normal to have to buy insurance when you rent a car (or take the financial risk).
Catering for the small minority of renters who have this strange method of insurance is not high on the companies list of priorities. If they have had problems in the past, they have probably decided the best way is to demand written proof from the few customers who want to do this.

Not sure I'd call a rich nation of 325 million people, many of whom travel abroad a 'small minority of renters' even in a global sense of the expression. I'm actually not sure if American Express would issue a paper letter showing coverage, when we can just go to their web page, enter the credit card number being used, and have it show that the card is enrolled in their Premium insurance program. (And in multiple rentals in the UK and Germany with Hertz and Budget, we've never been hassled about saying we buy our own CDW or Super Cover through our credit card company)

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

Coverage is worldwide, except for vehicles rented in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, and New Zealand.

Up to $100,000 of primary coverage for damage or theft of a Rental Vehicle.

Up to $100,000 of Accidental Death or Dismemberment coverage ($250,000 for California Residents).5

Up to $15,000 for secondary medical expenses per person.

Flat rate of $19.95 / $24.95 per rental period, not per day depending on your coverage selection ($15.95 / $17.95 for CA Residents; $12.25 / $15.25 for FL Residents).

Selkie, The vast majority of people renting cars in Germany are Germans. the next group is people from other European countries. North Americans are a minority. Outside airports, many agencies probably don't see a North American from one week to the next.

Yes, I was making a point. I was also trying to counteract the mindset (probably unconsciously) of some tourists that facilities (car hire, hotels, transport) exist for the benefit of transatlantic tourists. They don't, they exist for the locals, and overseas tourists are benefiting as a bonus.

Credit cards offering car insurance is a North American peculiarity, I have never heard of cards anywhere in Europe offering it.

The high fee Amex cards do, but really for more for use in North America. The bigger rental companies in Europe tend to offer rates to residents with a degree of insurance (if not all the bells and whistles) included, usually to comply with local requirements .

Another option is to carry a copy of your credit card's terms and conditions printed online. It has the coverages.in black and.white. Ireland and Italy CDW charges are.mandattory. Italy's CDW premiums are very fairly priced,.however.

When renting cars in the U.S. and Canada, your regular car insurance policy usually pays and.the credit card company's.coverage is.secondary. CDW is not needed and rental car companies make a fortune off selling CDW--especially since they don't usually have any outside collision or.comprehensive insurance on the car. In the case of a wreck, they will be coming,back on your insurance company first.

As the OP stated, some rental card companies will not accept a "terms and conditions" statement that you either print or it comes with your card. They want something that shows your name and proves you have this insurance. I agree with a previous poster that this is probably because of some bad experiences they had trying to recover the money it took to fix their cars. While I feel the car rental place can make the rules (I am renting their vehicle after all) it is a change that many of us need to be educated about. Especially those of us who have been "renting for years". If there is one thing I have learned, things change and every time I go I need to do my "due diligence" and not assume that it will all be the same. I appreciate the original poster telling us their experience to bring some of us up to date on what is required. (For me, that is what a helpline is useful for).

What really annoys me is the vague language regarding the insurance verification. If they really don’t want to accept the CC insurance, then say so. The way this whole thing has played out looked like a “bait and switch” scam, meant to coerce renters into a very expensive addon. Pay the addon or have no car to rent. Nice choice at the start of your vacation. Also, the price of this coerced addon should be at the same rate they charge on line. The 25% premium is outrageous.

We rented from Gemut car rental and in doing my research I read their entire web page, which included suggestions for insurance. In it it stated that it is wise to get a letter of insurance confirmation through your CC, but it would only be valid if you used the particular CC to pay for your rental. It did not, however, state that I needed to include the countries I would be driving to BUT when I called my CC to confirm this and to get the letter of coverage, they told me I would need to include the countries.
I thought I would get a leg up and get the letter of confirmation early (like a couple months in advance). Nope, it stated on the letter that the letter of coverage was only good for 30 days.
SO, since we are leaving next weekend, I called again last week and got everything squared away. I am also taking a copy of our CC terms of coverage so hopefully all will turn out well!!