Separate car rental insurance?

[mecllap]

Has anyone purchased rental car insurance for the Caribbean (Cayman Islands) from a company other than the car rental place? If so, how did that work out? What company did you buy it from? I'm thinking I might want a little more as a back-up in case my credit card company has changed their policy, and I do need to double-check on my regular car insurance to see if their rental coverage includes out of USA. And of course I don't want to pay the exorbitant rental car company rates!

I guess what I'm asking, is does anyone have a recommendation for (or against) an independent rental car insurance policy/company?

 

[Kola]

Last year I bought extra insurance from the car rental firm in Cayman Isl. because IMO the alternative of being personally responsible for possible damages could have been MUCH, MUCH more expensive. The bottom line is that you never know what charges you may be faced with unless you actually have an accident, at which time it's too late to consider options. Be aware that an independent local insurance agency may, or may not, provide the protection you need. I always doublecheck the terms of my credit card insurance when considering car rental abroad. Any additional costs, if warranted, are simply part of my car rental costs, not unlike local taxes, drop-off charges, etc. Unless you are renting for a long time (like a month or more) I would consider potential savings not worth the risk.

K.

 

[isisdave]

If you buy trip-cancellation insurance, sometimes you can include car rental insurance as an option. I use Travelex, and I'm pretty sure it's available, seems to me it was about $8 a day. See the sticky at the top of the page on travel insurance and check our some providers.

 

[philemer]

AMEX, assuming you have a certain type of AMEX credit card, offers great auto insurance coverage. See https://www152.americanexpress.com/fsea/travel/car_rental/osbn/product.do

 

[TubTub]

There are lots of really interesting sites with useful car insurance info such as this one on types of car insurance and this one is really good for car insurance news. Hope these help!!

 

[Jaybee]

We have rental insurance with AMEX, but we don't have a business card, just a lowly Hilton Blue Card, but when we rent a car with our AMEX card, we're charged a total of $17.95 for coverage for the entire rental.

AMEX, assuming you have a certain type of AMEX credit card, offers great auto insurance coverage. See https://www152.americanexpress.com/fsea/travel/car_rental/osbn/product.do

 

[donnaval]

Thanks for this info about the Am Ex option. We have a Costco AmEx card and didn't know about this option. Very economical for peace of mind!