Car rental insurance question

[havaneselover]

I'm renting a car in a few weeks when my car goes in for body work I'm paying for the body work and car rental myself (didn't want to make a claim--probably a dumb decision but it's too late now to claim it). I haven't rented a car in ages so I'm trying to figure out which credit card to use to have the best insurance. I have a Costco Amex and an Amex Blue Preferred and a Capital One Visa. I know Amex has something you can sign up for and for $24.95/rental it improves their coverage. I guess the difference is secondary vs. primary, but I'm not really sure what that means if I get in an accident and it's my fault. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Lisa71]

Our regular car insurance covers a rental car so I would call them!

 

[pigletto]

Our regular car insurance covers a rental car so I would call them!

Ours does as well so I would agree, check with your own provider first to see what you are covered for in a rental.

 

[sarahk0204]

And coverage is usually available from your insurance, regardless of the reason for the rental, so it shouldn't matter whether or not you are making a claim. As far as the insurance company knows, you could be renting a car for a long weekend (or a Disney trip!)

 

[havaneselover]

And coverage is usually available from your insurance, regardless of the reason for the rental, so it shouldn't matter whether or not you are making a claim. As far as the insurance company knows, you could be renting a car for a long weekend (or a Disney trip!)

Thanks! I'll call Geico. I know it's complicated because one is primary and one is secondary. We used it once when a windshield on a rental got cracked and the credit card picked up the repair plus the cost of the rental being out of commission. I know the insurance Avis offers will be overpriced. Just trying to make sure I use the credit card with the best coverage. I think figuring this out will require some phone calls.

 

[Pooh2]

We were thinking of signinup up for an Amex card for that $24.95 rental car insurance. We need to look into it further, but I think we read that with that coverage, you do not need to have any claims against your own insurance? It takes over as the primary and covers any damage?

 

[havaneselover]

We were thinking of signinup up for an Amex card for that $24.95 rental car insurance. We need to look into it further, but I think we read that with that coverage, you do not need to have any claims against your own insurance? It takes over as the primary and covers any damage?

That's what I saw too. It may be worth the $25 for the peace of mind. I'm only paying $160 for a rental for a week, so another $25 won't kill me.

My mom actually had an accident in a rental when she was visiting me a few years ago. She backed into my mailbox. My mailbox won. I think they used a Platinum Amex to pay for the rental but it seems like they still had to pay a decent amount out of pocket. After paying $1,600 for body work for minor damage done in the parking garage at work (a minivan door is a really bad place to have damage done), I don't want to worry about paying for damage to a rental. And my luck has been pretty crappy lately.

 

[usd2bmd]

Please, Please, Please check with your insurance Carrier before signing anything or agreeing to buy the insurance when you rent. Most auto insurance will cover you (and the car) if you should get into an accident as if you were driving your own car.

Too many people buy the insurance when renting and don't need to. Save your money. I do work for an insurance company so I am speaking from experience.

 

[havaneselover]

Please, Please, Please check with your insurance Carrier before signing anything or agreeing to buy the insurance when you rent. Most auto insurance will cover you (and the car) if you should get into an accident as if you were driving your own car. Too many people buy the insurance when renting and don't need to. Save your money. I do work for an insurance company so I am speaking from experience.

No worries! I'm definitely not buying from Avis. Just trying to decide between paying with Amex or visa signature and if Amex whether I should pay $25 to upgrade the coverage to primary.

 

[Pooh2]

No worries! I'm definitely not buying from Avis. Just trying to decide between paying with Amex or visa signature and if Amex whether I should pay $25 to upgrade the coverage to primary.

Same here.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

While most insurance will extend coverage to a rental, it does mean you have to file a claim. This means you pay your deductible and possibly see a rate increase for filing a claim.

I will also caution that rental car companies can add on extra charges when their car is damaged that insurance companies do not cover. (Because it's not part of personal auto insurance) Some of these charges are loss of use or depreciation. This means that if the car is in the shop for two weeks being repaired they may have the right to charge you for that time since they could not rent it. This may be something your cc will cover while your personal auto insurance does not.

 

[Lewisc]

While most insurance will extend coverage to a rental, it does mean you have to file a claim. This means you pay your deductible and possibly see a rate increase for filing a claim.

People need to check with their insurance agent and not rely on well meaning posters on an anonymous internet board.

Most insurance may cover a rental but that doesn't do you any good if your policy doesn't.

Some companies/some states treat a claim the same as they would a claim on your auto policy. That means you won't have collision coverage on a rental car unless you have collision coverage on your personal car. It also means you'll be subject to your deductible. Some states damage to a rental car is treated as damage to the property of others. In that case coverage applies even if you don't have collision or comprehensive coverage on your personal auto. It also means your collision deductible isn't applicable. Claim is treated the same as if you failed to stop your personal auto and destroyed a fence.

The OP didn't want to make a claim on his policy for damage to his car. He might consider the AMEX primary coverage. I'm assuming he has some valid reason for not filing a claim and needs to avoid filing a claim if at all possible.

 

[havaneselover]

People need to check with their insurance agent and not rely on well meaning posters on an anonymous internet board. Most insurance may cover a rental but that doesn't do you any good if your policy doesn't. Some companies/some states treat a claim the same as they would a claim on your auto policy. That means you won't have collision coverage on a rental car unless you have collision coverage on your personal car. It also means you'll be subject to your deductible. Some states damage to a rental car is treated as damage to the property of others. In that case coverage applies even if you don't have collision or comprehensive coverage on your personal auto. It also means your collision deductible isn't applicable. Claim is treated the same as if you failed to stop your personal auto and destroyed a fence. The OP didn't want to make a claim on his policy for damage to his car. He might consider the AMEX primary coverage. I'm assuming he has some valid reason for not filing a claim and needs to avoid filing a claim if at all possible.

Just like having good rates. No accidents or tickets on my record. I'll call Geico but I'm leaning toward Amex for primary.

 

[Pooh2]

We are interested in the Amex coverage because our personal auto policy has a $1,000 deductible so would like to avoid have any claims. A thousand bucks added to the cost of the vacation is a huge hit vs. $24.95 for Amex coverage.

 

[LoriKutchey]

For peace of mind we always get the primary coverage thru Americanexpress, if there are issues that arise the rental company deals with Americanexpress and there is no claims against our own auto insurance.

 

[Plumeria9]

We were thinking of signinup up for an Amex card for that $24.95 rental car insurance. We need to look into it further, but I think we read that with that coverage, you do not need to have any claims against your own insurance? It takes over as the primary and covers any damage?

I have that option, and we did have to use it a few years ago. My DH decided to drive up really hard on a gas station driveway, and hit the tire so hard on the side of the driveway that the tire went flat. He called the 800# for the plan and it was taken care of pretty easily. Although I was really annoyed that he was that reckless. I think it's a good deal, because if anything happens to the car it's 100% covered and doesn't touch your everyday coverage. Especially good for longer rental periods because the cost doesn't go up w/ the number of days. HTH.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

People need to check with their insurance agent and not rely on well meaning posters on an anonymous internet board. Most insurance may cover a rental but that doesn't do you any good if your policy doesn't. Some companies/some states treat a claim the same as they would a claim on your auto policy. That means you won't have collision coverage on a rental car unless you have collision coverage on your personal car. It also means you'll be subject to your deductible. Some states damage to a rental car is treated as damage to the property of others. In that case coverage applies even if you don't have collision or comprehensive coverage on your personal auto. It also means your collision deductible isn't applicable. Claim is treated the same as if you failed to stop your personal auto and destroyed a fence. The OP didn't want to make a claim on his policy for damage to his car. He might consider the AMEX primary coverage. I'm assuming he has some valid reason for not filing a claim and needs to avoid filing a claim if at all possible.

The OP had already indicated they were checking with their carrier. I was simply alerting the OP to a downside of relying on their insurance since other posters had mentioned it.