Help with car rental info

I always buy the maximum rental insurance through the rental car company. Recently in Spain I got a scrape on the side of my rental car (bad directions from my Spanish host when I was navigating a very tight parking space by a cement pillar). When I turned the car in, I didn’t have to do any paperwork and had nothing extra to pay. Incredibly easy and a load off my mind. I believe if you choose insurance through your credit card you will be required to pay for damages at the time you turn in your car and then wait (and hope) for reimbursement later on. It’s simply not worth the worry for me.

A fair number of people report using their credit card insurance but the real test comes when you have to make a claim. There have been reports here of severe problems with getting the credit card to step up. Credit card insurance is not always primary and that can create a different set of problems. The trouble with a third party insurer is that it is easy to point to the other guy as responsible. You are in the middle and the rental company has your credit card. Years ago in the states my son had a problem with cc insurance covering a parked rental car that was raked by another car during the night. I personally would not trust my credit card company in Europe.

Hi. We've rented in Europe with Hertz, Avis, and Sixt, and all have been fine. Of nine rentals, we have always used our free cc card insurance. On those nine rentals, we had one where there was damage to the car. The rental company emailed us damage details (photos and repair estimate), which we then forwarded to our cc card (Chase) claims dept. After a few weeks, we got a check in the mail from Chase that covered the damages. Enjoy your trip!

What country are you renting in and what credit cards do you have? In countries where it's allowed (ie. not Italy or Ireland and a few other exclusions) we use the American Express supplemental insurance that runs $15-$22 per rental rather than per day and covers high value vehicles as well as 'loss of use'. Fortunately we haven't had to file a claim with them, but the reviews from those who have are quite good.

I’ve had the misfortune of medieval buildings attacking my rental car on two occasions in France. Both times I was covered by my Visa credit card. The rental company charged my card for the repair costs to the vehicles. Once I complied with the filing requirements, I received payment from Visa. This can sometimes be a long and frustrating process getting the necessary paperwork and then waiting for it to be translated. The only things for which I was charged but not reimbursed were any administrative or non-repair charges.

Now, I opt for zero deductible from the car rental company if the added cost is reasonable. I’ve not had to make use of it yet but it’s reassuring that all I have to do is return the car and get charged about €50 for an administrative fee. Europcar is my rental company of choice in Europe.

Note that the car rental policy also has limitations, which may be greater than the credit card policy.

I use the $20 Amex insurance (not avail in Italy) because I have never heard a bad word, and it also covers theft from car and medical costs from injury to occupants of car.

Getting car rental agency insurance = throwing $50 bills out the window while driving down the highway.

We always decline the extra insurance from car rental and use the CC insurance. Only time we've had to use it was in TX my husband ran over a raccoon late at night which did a surprising amount of damage. All ended up being covered just fine between our regular insurance and CC. It did involve several phone calls and a little paperwork, but saved us $$$. Usually the insurance offered by the rental companies is pretty outrageous!

I've also always used the free cc insurance when renting a car in Europe. The one time I had a flat tire due to narrow English roads, the coverage from Visa worked just fine. As others have said, there is some paperwork involved, but it sure beats the outrageous prices for CDW insurance from the rental companies.

Only time we've had to use it was in TX my husband ran over a raccoon late at night which did a surprising amount of damage.
Probably did a lot of damage to the raccoon.

For 30 years traveling in France I always relied on cc insurance, since rental agency insurance was absurdly costly. The one time I had a minor incident (blew a tire) I was never able to collect. But I continued to use it until last year, when I saw that by renting Hertz through Auto Europe, the rate was very reasonable for no-deductible insurance. And this time, for April, I've again rented Hertz through AE, no deductible and coverage for everything (e.g., tires, etc.), and the rate is actually lower than I've paid in the past for no CDW coverage. Why I don't know, since the corresponding rental from Europcar through AE would have been about double.

Car rental CDW insurance (and personal car insurance) never covers tire flats, so I'm surprised to hear that some CC insurance does. Sometimes there's a car rental agency add on just for flats and roadside assistance, though, say $4 a day.

I played with Auto Europe with an upcoming rental, and I also ran into the "lower with insurance than without," but on closer inspection the one way fee was toggling on and off, so if I picked the the basic CDW and the "change your rate by minus $10.10 a day" but the total for the whole rental went up even with the lower rate.

Car rental CDW insurance (and personal car insurance) never covers tire flats

Maybe that once was true, but for my upcoming rental in France with Hertz, though Auto Europe, tires, wheels, and glass are covered, with no deductible. There was also an option for a $1500 overall deductible, which presumably had no coverage for any of those things, but the difference in rates was small.

What your credit card covers varies by country. Be sure to get info specific to where you are renting/driving.

Auto Europe, tires, wheels, and glass are covered, with no deductible

So what they are doing is bundling the extra protection for flats and also extra protection for theft from vehicle into one super policy whereas normally you would have to pay 3 different daily rates.

But in a sample rental (next week) Caen to Tours, this super protection is $100 more for a 3 day rental, while the Amex premium protection would be $20 for the same coverage except you would be responsible for flats.