Do I need to purchase any of the insurance offered with our rent car? Our credit card offers insurance for theft/collision for the rent car but no liability. We are renting in Edinburgh, Scotland for 6 days.

Most American issued auto policy do not cover you abroad. The credit card will provide some insurance protection. Depending on which rental company you are using you can get Liability coverage at a (relatively) inexpensive price. Check Travel Guard or Access America type insurers to see what they offer.

Most credit card companies require you to decline the rental company's coverage, if you want the CC company to cover you.

Some car rental companies may not cover you if you have taken drugs(including prescription meds) or were breaking the law when you were in an accident(illegal U-turn, speeding, etc).

Also , some rental companies that provide you with "free insurance" have a deductible.

It pays to read the fine print.

The problem with the credit card coverage is that you have to pay for the damage up front and then get the credit card company to reimburse you.

As an alternative, when you pick up your car you can usually buy supplemental insurance (in France it's called Super CDW) from the rental agency, which drops the deductible (which can be quite hefty) down to nothing. It adds a bit to the rental cost, but it makes it hassle-free--no arguing over scratches and dents, you just drop off the car and leave.

When I had a claim on a rental car my credit card company dealt directly with the rental firm.

I did, call my CC company, immediately, to find out what I needed to do to process the claim.

The CC company insurance division acted just like any insurance company.

Please check with your dredit card company! Though my credit card company prominently displayed "European Coverage", when I called them they informed me that the coverage was only good for up to 14 days. If my contract for rental was for 15 days my insurance was null and void - even if I had an accident on day 1 they would not cover it! Get the straight scoop from the horses mouth. All cards are different as are all policies - and make sure you have some liability insurance.

When we rented through AutoEurope we had planned to use our CC insurance, but between my self and my travel partner with different cards, each policy covered different items. None were the same.

We decided to go with the insurance from the car rental agency which didn't add much to the cost - we were already renting an automatic - and we bought the liability at the desk which was pennies actually over a 14 day rental period.

Check our what your CC policy does and doesn't cover and then decide what you want to do. But I'd go with the rental agency coverage, and do check their coverage in detail, as well.

I always buy the additional coverage through Travel Guard. It is about $7 a day but there is no deductible. Many policies have a $500. deductible so check into it. I swear by Travel Guard.

Please check the actual insurance requirements in Scotland. We carry so called "green card insurance". This has often been the only document we had to produce at a border crossing. International drivers license?

Thank you for all the good info. I'm going to chase some of these down.