# Car Insurance - What do you do?



## Lucky Larry (Feb 28, 2012)

When I rent a car I do not buy the insurance from the car rental company relying on the CDW coverage from the credit card I use to pay.  The coverage provided by the credit card covers the car but not bodily injury to us or, God forbid, anyone we might hurt.  

The rental firms coverage is very costly and, I think, doesn't cover bodily injury either.

What do you do for car insurance?  For Bodily injury protection.

Do you buy it from the rental company?  If you don't do you get supplemental insurance from somewhere to cover bodily injury?  Some might have really good health insurance that will cover them while traveling.  Some BCBS policies cover world wide.


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## nalismom (Feb 28, 2012)

I would check where you are renting from...some car rentals offer supplemental liability insurance w/o purchasing the CDW.  We just ran into this in Aruba where Aruban law dictates 50k of liability included in your rental rate but it only covers injuries to others not to you or your passengers.  We found Payless offered us the option of SLI for $8/day for 1M upgrade in coverage while others on the island did not.  Typically we don't purchase the insurance but we had a risk management person traveling with us which raised our level of discomfort if we did not purchase.

Your own car insurance should cover this if you rent within the US.


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## Timeshare Von (Feb 28, 2012)

I never take the car rental insurance package(s).

In Ireland, most credit card programs will not cover even the basic CDW insurance. World Master Card does for US and Canadian members.  So for our upcoming trip to Ireland, I got a World MC solely for this purpose.

It is quite a racket over there with insurance, however.  I will pay approximately $40 for the privilege of not buying their CDW insurance.  Additionally they will put a $2,500 charge (not hold) on my card until their car come back undamaged or the World MC pays off for any damages incurred.

The CDW and Super CDW coverages are outrageously expensive.  My $200 car rental would become over $400 with the CDW and nearly $600 if I bought the S/CDW.


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## x3 skier (Feb 28, 2012)

Never bought Rent-a-car company insurance. Between my own and the credit card, I feel well enough insured against the very remote problems that Might happen. 

If it was Uzbekistan or Ulan Bator maybe, but I would not likely be driving there anyway.  

Cheers


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## Lucky Larry (Feb 28, 2012)

Coverage in the US and Canada are covered by my car insurer, GEICO, and others I've had in the past so that is not a problem.  

Outside the US and Canada the rules are different and you must research them.  It's good to know that World MasterCard covers Ireland and its cost is much less than the high priced insurance offered by the rental company.

With our next trip overseas, the car I got via Autoeurope.com came with the CDW and it was still the lowest cost by hundreds that I could find.  The price I got for Europe is cheaper per day than the the car we're renting in Arizona.

I guess I never realized that the credit card coverage overseas was only CDW and not bodily injury.


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## WinniWoman (Feb 28, 2012)

Lucky Larry said:


> Coverage in the US and Canada are covered by my car insurer, GEICO, and others I've had in the past so that is not a problem.
> 
> Outside the US and Canada the rules are different and you must research them.  It's good to know that World MasterCard covers Ireland and its cost is much less than the high priced insurance offered by the rental company.
> 
> ...





There is a whole discussion on this in the Europe section. I was advised by many TUG members to take out the maximum coverage offered by the rental company for an upcoming trip to Scotland. I am bracing myself for the expense!


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## retailman (Feb 28, 2012)

I thought like most of you, until someone hit me in a Dollar rental in Oelando.
They tried for 2 years to exstort funds from me, They claimed deminished value ,on the balance after insurance paid and selling the car at auction. I
had my insurance call and write letters but, stiil got the theathing calls. Know one
should have to go through that.


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## nalismom (Feb 28, 2012)

Larry- if you are renting with autoEurope they often offer both the basic insurance pkg and the upgraded pkg which obviously is a little more.  Your credit cards should cover CDW and Theft up to 50k if you don't want to purchase the insurance depending on which countries you are traveling to.  

We have used AE 2x - once with the basic and the second time with the extended coverage - again because we were sharing driving amongst 3 couples and rented a van and one of those couples is the same risk manager we traveled ith to Aruba last month.  She has seen horror stories due to this resulting in financial or near financial ruin.  She does not work for an insurance company buts deals with this all the time.  I highly recommend some coverage in Europe.

Retail man- your experience is pecisely what we wanted to avoid.  This last time in Spain our van was sideswiped in stopped traffic by a motor scooter except we didnt even realize it until we got to our destination 2 hrs later.  I freaked but thankfully the van did not have major dents - only minor with lots of blue paint from the scooter.  My husband was able to get the paint off.  Even though we had full coverage I didn't want to spend time dealing with this.


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## Kagehitokiri2 (Mar 2, 2012)

there is another card that offers primary coverage now, since diners club still cant be applied for in the US


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## Jimster (Mar 2, 2012)

*AMEX*

Amex has a service that will provide coverage every time you rent for a fixed price (something like $29) and that is good for an extensive rental period.  Also the Continental card from Chase provides PRIMARY coverage.


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## bogey21 (Mar 2, 2012)

Jimster said:


> Amex has a service that will provide coverage every time you rent for a fixed price (something like $29).....



Back when I traveled a lot I had the Amex plan automatically cover all car rentals.  It was *primary coverage* and back then I think it cost $19.95 per rental, not per day.  When I rented directly from a car rental company the insurance clicked in automatically.  If I rented using Priceline, I had to call and make sure it was activated.  

George


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## mbh (Mar 2, 2012)

*AMEX Coverage*

Used it many times. $24.95 per rental. Primary coverage. Not good in a few countries (i.e. Israel, Ireland). Must use AMEX card for the rental.


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## cindi (Mar 2, 2012)

I use the AMEX insurance as well.

It is $19.95 per rental.

Gives me additional peace of mind.


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## elaine (Mar 2, 2012)

just got the Amex extended coverage offer in the mail. If you use your Amex to rent a car, it's $24.95 flat rate for up to 42 days. If you don't want the coverage (say on a 2 day rental), then make sure you don't use your Amex for that rental. Excludes Australia, New Z, Italy, Isreal, Ireland amd Jamacia. We are going to subscribe to use it for 12 day rental in Kona, 7 days in Europe, 7 days in Aruba, not using for 3 days in Florida.


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## JudyS (Mar 3, 2012)

Last I checked, Amex offered both a $19.95 per rental plan and a $24.95 per rental plan. The $24.95 per rental plan has a higher amount of coverage, which is useful for premium cars such as sports cars. 

I have occasionally purchased the Amex premium insurance, but mostly I just rely on the free damage insurance from my credit card companies. I thought the main insurance issue with rental cars (at least in the US) was damage to the car itself, not liability for injuries.

Is liability for injury really an issue when renting a car in the US? If you own a car at home, doesn't your regular auto insurance provide coverage for injury liability? Also, I thought most car rentals automatically provided some form of insurance for injuries. In most states, I don't think the car rental company could get a license plate for their cars if the cars didn't have some insurance for injuries.


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## WinniWoman (Mar 3, 2012)

JudyS said:


> Last I checked, Amex offered both a $19.95 per rental plan and a $24.95 per rental plan. The $24.95 per rental plan has a higher amount of coverage, which is useful for premium cars such as sports cars.
> 
> I have occasionally purchased the Amex premium insurance, but mostly I just rely on the free damage insurance from my credit card companies. I thought the main insurance issue with rental cars (at least in the US) was damage to the car itself, not liability for injuries.
> 
> Is liability for injury really an issue when renting a car in the US? If you own a car at home, doesn't your regular auto insurance provide coverage for injury liability? Also, I thought most car rentals automatically provided some form of insurance for injuries. In most states, I don't think the car rental company could get a license plate for their cars if the cars didn't have some insurance for injuries.



I think the big issues arise when renting outside the US. Then, you really need top notch coverage, including personal liability. I wouldn't take any chances overseas and would buy the top plan through the car rental co. You can't trust the credit card co. plans - too much fine print and exclusions. You could do a lot of property damage or even kill someone - heaven forbid!


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## dougp26364 (Mar 4, 2012)

Lucky Larry said:


> When I rent a car I do not buy the insurance from the car rental company relying on the CDW coverage from the credit card I use to pay.  The coverage provided by the credit card covers the car but not bodily injury to us or, God forbid, anyone we might hurt.
> 
> The rental firms coverage is very costly and, I think, doesn't cover bodily injury either.
> 
> ...



I never take out the CDW from the rental car agencies when traveling domestically. I always take it out when traveling abroad, just because I don't want the hassle of coordinating coverage in case of an accident. Twice while traveling abroad (Scotland and Ireland) it's come in handy. I really dinged up the wheel covers (hub caps) in Scottland and in Ireland, I popped two tires (flattened two tires). Those two tires alone were over $500, covered 100% because I took out the most expensive CDW available PLUS, they arranged and paid for the tow truck.

For health insurance coveage when traveling abroad I go to Insuremytrip.com and purchase a policy for the amount of time we'll be gone. They have some really good comprehensive medical plans for foriegn travelers. Domestically my own health insurance provides coverage.

As for primary coverage on CC's, I don't understand why anyone would pay AMEX and additional fee when Dinners Club includes it on every renatl without the extra fee. Chase Banks United Explorer card also provides primary coverage without the extra fee. Dinners Club has a $135/year fee for two cards (me and my wife) and Chase Banks United Explorer Card has a $95/year fee but also provides up to two check bags for two passengers and priority boarding on United flights.


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## rock-burner (Mar 13, 2012)

Well buying insurance from the the rental company when renting a car is not really a wise decision. So you should shop around to find a comprehensive insurance coverage to fit you in.


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## NiciMeyers84 (Mar 26, 2012)

JudyS said:


> Last I checked, Amex offered both a $19.95 per rental plan and a $24.95 per rental plan. The $24.95 per rental plan has a higher amount of coverage, which is useful for premium cars such as sports cars.
> 
> I have occasionally purchased the Amex premium insurance, but mostly I just rely on the free damage insurance from my credit card companies. I thought the main insurance issue with rental cars (at least in the US) was damage to the car itself, not liability for injuries.
> 
> Is liability for injury really an issue when renting a car in the US? If you own a car at home, doesn't your regular auto insurance provide coverage for injury liability? Also, I thought most car rentals automatically provided some form of insurance for injuries. In most states, I don't think the car rental company could get a license plate for their cars if the cars didn't have some insurance for injuries.



Like you I usually just go with my credit provided insurance, I can't remember if the last time I used Amex or not - but I know it's important to get coverage no matter what - when traveling with a friend, she backed into a pole she couldn't see and her rental coverage (luckily) picked up the tab. 



rock-burner said:


> Well buying insurance from the the rental company when renting a car is not really a wise decision. So you should shop around to find a comprehensive insurance coverage to fit you in.



Okay, I was reading over what comprehensive car insurance covers - does it only pertain to cars you personally own? Or can you get coverage for a rental as well?


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## PStreet1 (Mar 26, 2012)

Just yesterday, we added American Express Premium coverage to our cards.  Because we have two addresses, I discovered why people have posted such different amounts for the American Express charge.

The cost varies by state.  It's cheaper in California than it is in Arizona.  The coverage that is included in the American Express card (for no additional charge) is any rental up to 30 days in length, $50,000 insurance on the vehicle in comp and collision--and American Express is a secondary insurer to your own insurance company.

The Premium car rental coverage (at additional charge varying by state of residence--$25.00 in Arizona) 
1.  covers a rental up to 42 days
2.  has $100,000 comp. & collision
3.  includes excess medical insurance for the people IN the car
4.  increased insurance for personal loss
5.  covers addicental death
6.  BECOMES PRIMARY INSURANCE.

You must decline Collision and damage from the car company and pay everything connected (including the reservation charge if there is one) with the American Express card.  You must buy your liability insurance from the car company, and that does not violate the "you must decline the car company's insurance" rule.

The company we're renting from in Spain includes the liability in the rate quoted, so we're set.


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## PStreet1 (Mar 26, 2012)

dougp26364 said:


> As for primary coverage on CC's, I don't understand why anyone would pay AMEX and additional fee when Dinners Club includes it on every renatl without the extra fee.... Dinners Club has a $135/year fee for two cards (me and my wife)



We used to be Diners Club people, but after running into a couple of car rental situations when they refused to accept Diners Club, we dropped it.

With American Express, we won't use the rental insurance enough to run up a $135.00 fee in a year.  When we don't want to trigger their insurance fee on the car rental, we'll just use a different card.


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## LisaRex (Mar 26, 2012)

I use the AMEX supplemental insurance.


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## wcfr1 (Mar 26, 2012)

Wow, I have been thinking about this Rental Car Insurance thing all day. How timely.

I am on duty at the Fire Dept. this morning and get dispatched to a car accident. Car is on it's side with the driver outside but the passanger trapped inside. Luckily no serious injuries but the entire roof of the car has to be cut off to get her out.

Turns out they are Canadiens on vacation here locally and were returning the car to the rental place. They were only 2 minutes from the lot and 2 hours from leaving on the plane. Have no idea if they had insurance but it had me thinking about it all day.

I never bought the Rental Car companies insurance myself. My understanding from my insurance company was that I was covered except for loss of income the rental car company may have for not having the car for up to 30 days.

I also assumed by just using my AMEX card I had some protection there as well. Didn't know you had to buy it seperately.


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## PStreet1 (Mar 26, 2012)

You don't.  There's quite a bit of insurance included just for using the card--but it's secondary to your own liability.  If you add the Premium insurance, it costs $25.00 each time you rent a car with the American Express card, but it covers everything but the liability--and it's primary.


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## scotlass (Mar 27, 2012)

*Loss of Use*

The Amex extended coverage also includes loss of use from the rental company.


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