Since my very basic AmEx card doesn't have car rental insurance, I signed up for this program. It is activated when you use your card to rent a car . $24.95 ($17.95 for Calif. residents) per rental.
https://www295.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do?intlink=premiumprotecthub_browsepromos_pcrpmonitoring&inav=PROT_TRAVEL-Car_Rental
We rented a car through kemwel for our trip to France last Fall. The car was rented through Europcar. There was damage done to the car, which was our fault. We received a charge on our AmEx bill for just over $900, including foreign exchange fees as the damage was billed in euros.
All I had to do was dispute the charges on my account (did that online) and the charges were suspended pending investigation.
Then I filed a report over the phone with The insurance division that handles AmExs rental car coverage. I could have done it online, but it was easier for me to do it on the phone. This was done the first week of November.
AmEx handled the rest of the work. I was notified every 30 days of the progress (or lack thereof, as Europcar was not providing any paperwork to them). Each monthly AmEx statement indicated the amount still suspended.
I was notified today that all of the charges related to damages, fees etc had been credited to my account and that I had a zero balance with no money due.
Great service on AmEx's part and it was the best $24.95 I ever spent. Not a penny out of my pocket and no hassle. Very different than another rental claim through VISA. That was months of hassle and work on my part to get them to pay.
AmEx Premium car rental insurance
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DebitNM; Same thing happened to us in Germany a few years ago. We were on the AX $19.95 plan.
We had to wait until Sixt provided all the information, but AX kept us informed.
Our damage was 2000 euros, everything covered to zero deductable except 'loss of use'.
But AX worked it out with Sixt and we had <Not a penny out of our pocket and no hassle>
It's great when AX becomes the primary insurer.
I think using Visa or MC you have to go through your own insurer before the CC takes over.
Interesting is that I don't think they cover NH residents any more, but I'm grandfathered in.
Utah in April and Spain in August with this auto insurance.
We've got the same coverage but have never had to use it. Nice to know it was worth it.
DebitNM,
Thank you very much for the information. I'll definitely be using it on my upcoming trip to the UK/Ireland.
I wish I had known about this a few years ago, as my last rental car in France was monstrous, as they were out of what I had reserved. $300 euros later.... (Peugeot 505 Station Wagon was like driving a truck in tight places.)
Be carefull, as AX may not cover insurance in Ireland. Not sure. Easy to check.
The AX clearly states it does NOT cover several countries including the usual "I" countries: Ireland, Italy, Israel.
Thanks, DebitNM. I've used the AMEX plan a few times but fortunately haven't needed it. Glad to know that it works well.