What About The Insurance On Your Rental At The Aisle

[LvsTnk]

What do you really need and what don't you need? Those prices can get up there if you take all the insurance. Any info would be great!

 

[Chuck S]

Insurance laws vary by the state you live in and your coverage. Check with the agent that handles your car insurance. Ask him if your covered for driving a rental car. In most instances you'll not need the additional insurance.

 

[jctwizzer]

With Emerald Aisle, your insurance choices are already in the computor so you don't need to decide as you go out.

 

[pbhunt]

Definitely, check with your auto insurance agent at home. Also, many gold and platinum credit cards, and American Express will provide the additional coverage on a rental car when you charge the rental to that card.

 

[LvsTnk]

I am gonna have my DH call our agent, I think I need to change what we have on our card! The rates aren't bad until you add all the insurance in!

 

[DebbieB]

I declined all insurance on my Emerald Club application and have never been asked about it on check-out. Even before I had EC, when I went to the counter they asked if I wanted insurance and I said no and they didn't push it any farther.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I worked at a major rental car company for a few years and learned a few things:

Check with your agent/insurance company. If you have collision and comprehensive coverage on your own car, chances are your coverage will transfer to a rental, as long as your other car isn't being used. In other words, if Junior is staying at home and will be driving your car while you're in Orlando, and you're also renting a car, your insurance would technically be covering two cars at one time and may not apply to the rental. If your home car is sitting you're probably o.k. Again, this varies by insurer, so check first.

Then call your credit card companies and ask if they cover damage to rental cars. Just because you have a gold or platinium (or even "titanium") card doesn't mean anything. Some "high end" cards offer this coverage, some don't, and some "basic" cards offer it, too. The credit card companies change these types of perks all the time. Ask about restrictions and exclusions -- sometimes they don't cover vans, pick-up trucks or SUVs. There are also often limits to how long they'll cover -- if you're vacationing for more than two weeks, your credit card may not cover that long.

Two things that are generally common to all the credit card coverage offers: You must refuse the car rental company's coverages, and the credit card will only cover what isn't covered by any other insurance. So if you have collision or comprehensive on your own insurance that transfers to the rental, the credit card will only reimburse you for your deductible.

If the person you talk to doesn't seem to have all the answers to these questions, ask to be transferred to the department that handles these issues. I talked with three different people before being satisified but the peace of mind was well worth the extra few minutes.

If you find a card that offers the coverage you like, list this on your EA application (or contact them to have the credit card listed changed to this one). That's what I did and I now rent with confidence that I am fully covered.

I may not mind paying my deductible to get my own car fixed, but I wouldn't want to pay it to get some rental car fixed (that I'll never see again). I sold lots of Collision Damage Waiver in my day with this line. If you know in advance you're fully covered, you won't have to consider this.

Please be aware that if you have an accident in a rental, whether you claim you're at fault or not, your credit card will probably be charged for the damage while the rental company investigates. Your card company will likely have some way to make sure you aren't charged interest on this amount while they process the paperwork for the coverage they offer. It takes time, so be patient.

 

[Beckles]

Originally posted by Stinky_Pete
... the credit card will only cover what isn't covered by any other insurance. So if you have collision or comprehensive on your own insurance that transfers to the rental, the credit card will only reimburse you for your deductible.

The one exception to this is the Diners Club card, which provides *primary* insurance on rental cars and will pay before anyone else (unlike most other credit cards which are only *secondary* to any coverage you already have). This one feature of the card alone makes it worth the $80 annual fee (there are many other great features, including getting 60 days to pay the bill, like AMEX it's a *charge* card, not a *credit* card, so you have to pay the balance in full).

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I've been out of the industry for a while and had forgotten about the Diner's Club being primary. It's such an uncommon card in this country that I honestly hardly ever saw one.