International rental car insurance

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cadreamer2015
Posts: 1536
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 1:52 pm
Location: North County San Diego

International rental car insurance

Post by cadreamer2015 »

What do other members think about getting rental car insurance when traveling abroad? I never purchase the insurance from a car rental company here in the U.S., but have my doubts as to whether or not my personal car insurance would cover a loss in Sweden (where we are traveling in June). Does anyone have any experience or advice to bring to bear on this question? Any thoughts on whatever backup insurance there might be through my credit card company?
De gustibus non disputandum est
adamthesmythe
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Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:47 pm

Re: International rental car insurance

Post by adamthesmythe »

If you have an American Express card, rental car insurance is included and primary with the exception of a small number of countries. (That, oddly enough, mostly start with the letter I). My solution is to use the AMEX card and not fly into Italy.
billern
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Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:08 pm

Re: International rental car insurance

Post by billern »

adamthesmythe wrote:If you have an American Express card, rental car insurance is included and primary with the exception of a small number of countries. (That, oddly enough, mostly start with the letter I). My solution is to use the AMEX card and not fly into Italy.
This is only true for certain AMEX cards so check your terms and conditions before assuming you are covered. Call the customer service and they will connect you with one of their insurance agents who can explain your coverage. I did this last time and was very pleased with the customer service and the information they provided.
Topic Author
cadreamer2015
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Location: North County San Diego

Re: International rental car insurance

Post by cadreamer2015 »

Thanks, I will give my credit card companies a call and find out exactly what coverage I have for driving in Sweden.
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texasdiver
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by texasdiver »

The good AMEX insurance is their premium car rental insurance and you have to activate it. I think you can do it with any AMEX card. Basically you pay between $20-25 per rental (up to 42 days) for what is pretty comprehensive worldwide coverage. Once you have signed up for it AMEX notices when there is a car rental charge on your card and automatically adds the extra insurance coverage and charges you for it. Since it is a 1-time charge and not a daily charge it tends to be much much cheaper than using the car rental insurance, especially if you have a multi-day or multi-week rental. For a 1 or 2 day rental it may be a wash in which case I'd go with the rental company.

[Suggestion which bypasses the AMEX cardholder agreement removed by admin LadyGeek]
Crow Hunter
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by Crow Hunter »

I am sorry. This isn't related to your question at all.

I am an engineer and when I read your user name. I thought it said CAD Reamer 2015. :shock:

I realized just a second ago it was probably meant to be California Dreamer 2015 and I had a good laugh.

Interesting how people filter what they see. :twisted:

Had to share. :D
Topic Author
cadreamer2015
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Location: North County San Diego

Re: International rental car insurance

Post by cadreamer2015 »

No computer aided design for me!
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jeffyscott
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by jeffyscott »

Visa and MC, like Amex, coverage is also world wide excluding the exceptions that each company lists. I don't believe any exclude Sweden.

Your personal auto policy probably does not cover you for liability or anything else in Sweden. If you have an umbrella, that probably is world wide liability coverage. Credit card coverage, even Amex premium, is only for damage to the rented vehicle, not liability. Of course, the rental company is probably required to have their own liability coverage.

We used Visa and relied on their coverage to rent cars in Norway and Germany on our two trips to Europe. I also took a copy of our umbrella policy along with us in case the rental company required any proof of liability coverage (they did not).
Leeraar
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by Leeraar »

I use Amex car rental insurance. It costs $24.95 per rental, up to 30 days, and works in most foreign countries.

https://www295.americanexpress.com/prem ... ge/home.do

L.
You can get what you want, or you can just get old. (Billy Joel, "Vienna")
killjoy2012
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by killjoy2012 »

I've driven in ~8 European countries, all renting through Auto Europe, all declining Theft Protection & CDW on the contract. All charged to my Visa Signature cc that provides primary coverage when the rental is placed on that card. It is critical, and somewhat counter-intuitive, that you decline all TP/CDW on the rental... or Visa coverage doesn't apply. Unfortunately, I had to use the Visa coverage in 2013 when I picked up a stone chip on the windshield in Scotland, that then spidered the next day. Visa was great to work with and reimbursed all of my cost.

I don't know how Amex coverage compares. May be worth checking into.

To my knowledge/experience, your US auto insurance is worthless when renting abroad.
Oliver
Posts: 264
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:49 pm

Re: International rental car insurance

Post by Oliver »

I believe Milage Plus explorer card provides free primary insurance. The card costs $50 after the first year but gives you a free checked bag on united flights and no markup on international purchases. I believe it does not include any liability coverage.

PS You should get a signup mileage bonus.
PPS verify international coverage.
Lynette
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by Lynette »

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Last edited by Lynette on Sat Jan 12, 2019 3:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
Leeraar
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by Leeraar »

Lynette wrote:I bite the bullet and purchase full coverage from the country in which I am renting the car. If I have an accident, I would rather have a local company deal with the issue than having to negotiate it from the US. Of course, this makes the rental far more expensive.
Lynette,

I am very confident in the AMEX coverage, and have had nothing other than excellent service from AMEX with foreign car rentals. For some obscure reason, their coverage is not available in a few countries like New Zealand.

L.
You can get what you want, or you can just get old. (Billy Joel, "Vienna")
Lynette
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by Lynette »

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Last edited by Lynette on Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
Leeraar
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by Leeraar »

Lynette wrote:Leeraar, would you use AMEX for car rental in South Africa? I am going there on vacation in December and will be renting a car. AMEX cancelled my credit card because of non use. I am intending to change banks and get a new credit card but I have to unfreeze my credit report cards first. I found that I could not even use my AMEX card for some transactions here - think my Michigan licence so I did not use it.
Yes, I have used AMEX in ZA many times. Not that I have ever had an insurance claim, but AMEX has been very good in resolving some billing issues.

I make sure to use the AMEX card for the rental itself, and I am pre-enrolled in the insurance. They recognize a car rental and automatically bill the $24.95. I also make sure that I rent the car through a US-branded company like Hertz, Avis, or National, etc. One issue is that when you decline the rental company insurance they may put a large reserve on your card, several thousand dollars.

I have the Costco AMEX card, and have been very happy with the AMEX customer service. They have always backed me on billing disputes, including a fraudulent charge in South Africa.

L.
You can get what you want, or you can just get old. (Billy Joel, "Vienna")
adamthesmythe
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by adamthesmythe »

Lynette wrote:I bite the bullet and purchase full coverage from the country in which I am renting the car. If I have an accident, I would rather have a local company deal with the issue than having to negotiate it from the US. Of course, this makes the rental far more expensive.
This is why you want to use credit card insurance. You want the kind that's primary (that means they do not try to contact your insurance company). If you do significant traveling this benefit can make it worthwhile to pay for a premium credit card.

The exception is the small number of countries that are not covered. These include for AMEX Italy, Israel, and Ireland (and a few others). In those countries I DO pay for the insurance from the rental company.
Professor Emeritus
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by Professor Emeritus »

Leeraar wrote:
Lynette wrote:Leeraar, would you use AMEX for car rental in South Africa? I am going there on vacation in December and will be renting a car. AMEX cancelled my credit card because of non use. I am intending to change banks and get a new credit card but I have to unfreeze my credit report cards first. I found that I could not even use my AMEX card for some transactions here - think my Michigan licence so I did not use it.
Yes, I have used AMEX in ZA many times. Not that I have ever had an insurance claim, but AMEX has been very good in resolving some billing issues.
L.
One interesting twist in ZA is that tire and windshield coverage is separate from the usual Collision damage coverage.
I go to Kruger National park a lot and I always rent cars with full coverage.
The reason is they will come wherever the car is and fix it.
I blew a tire rolling over elephant dung (Acacia thorn when right through the sidewall, ruined the tire)
Budget sent a mechanic with a new tire all the way to Satara from Nelspruit to fix the car (4 hour drive each way) .

I loved filling out the insurance form on "cause of damage"
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jeffyscott
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Re: International rental car insurance

Post by jeffyscott »

Visa has the fewest exclusions and cards issued by Chase apparently now have none.

http://thepointsguy.com/2015/04/chase-i ... xclusions/
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