As for credit card coverage... once again - this coverage covers the damage to the rental car.. and there is some basic coverage for liability included with the rental .. but its not very high.
The credit card included coverage you're talking about does not cover 3rd party liability generally speaking... (the damage to other people's property or person) That could be extensive and it's NOT covered by most credit card protections or by policies like those from PC Financial
Travel Insurance.
In some states, the minimum amount of property damage coverage required by law (and therefore what is included with your rental car) is very low.. as low as $10,000. In fact, that IS the minimum in the state of Florida and that IS what car rental companies in Florida include with their rentals. That is woefully inadequate.
Further, Body Injury Liability is totally optional in the state of Florida and in almost all cases
IS NOT be included with your rental. Check with your rental car company for details.
NO credit card program that I am aware of offers 'Body Injury Liability' coverage for third parties injured by your driving. Nor does it offer Property Damage Liability for other parties.
[EDIT: Even the American Express Platinum Card only extends coverage to the rental vehicle itself -- nothing else.]
Obviously, even an accident where nobody is seriously injured could easily exceed that coverage. If you are deemed at fault and the other party has to go to the hospital even overnight, you're looking at being on the hook for as much as $15,000 in emergency care costs and probably some loss of income, pain and suffering and god knows what else. NONE of which would be covered by PC Financial's insurance or a credit card's coverage.
You should talk to your insurance agent about what happens if you get in an accident and someone sues you for a half a million dollars. They can provide the best answers...
I have full coverage.. with million dollar liability AND the full rental car coverage from State Farm. My deductible is 250$. At 25$ a day for the loss-damage waiver at the rental car counter, I'm better off financially to gamble that if I'm in an accident it will exceed 250$ in damage and just use my insurance. Have you been to a body-shop recently? You can't break a tail-light for 250$ these days.
If I REALLY wanted to protect my own coverage from an accident claim, I would use get the Collision Damage Waiver (roughly 25$ a day) from the rental company / or use the Credit Card coverage for the CDW.. and the Extra Liability Protection (between 12 and 15$ a day) from the rental company. Obviously that would easily double the cost of the rental or more... That's not worth it in my opinion.
The rental car coverage option from State Farm was 25$ for a full year... not per trip... it's more coverage and it's less money. In my case, it covers the car AND all third party liability to property OR personal injury.
If you currently do not have ANY liability insurance, to protect your assets & future income from a claim by a third party, you should absolutely purchase the Extended Protection from the rental car company and either consider the Collision damage waiver or find a credit card that will cover the rental vehicle itself.
Knox
I'm now just starting to look at rental prices for December so I'll check both Canadian and U.S. rental sites when looking.
