Capital One credit card car and personal insurance question?
 

We're just about ready to rent the car for the 15 or 16 days we'll need it., probably from Auto Europe, travelling for 19 days.

I spoke to a Cap One rep, and it seems as if the coverage for both the car and personal medical, trip interruption, etc., will be sufficient. We have Cap One Aspire Travel card.

We have limited car ins. experience, and I'm concerned because I don't know the questions to ask. It all sounds great, but I don't want to miss anything. I do know I have to decline the insurance at the rental company in order to activate Cap One.

The only other time we rented a car was in Ireland, and we took all the insurance from the rental company as I know Ireland can be an excluded country, we didn't want to take any chances.

Also, I usually buy medical insurance, trip, etc. because I'm afraid NOT to!

Does anyone know of any reason NOT to go with Cap One only. Any caveats?

I am a bit of a chicken about not taking insurance from home, but I'm thinking it's ridiculous to take extra if Cap One is enough. No point in paying for the same thing twice.

Firstly, be sure to read the Autoeurope pickup voucher to include the items under the heading <b>Your rental excludes</b>.

Secondly, many people use the Visa/MC coverage offered by their credit cards. The coverage is secondary coverage meaning that you pay for all costs related to a loss and the card insurance will reimburse you for what they determine to be a reasonable amount. This may or may not cover your loss entirely.

Thirdly, if you have an AmEx card, consider their rental car insurance. At only $25 per rental period, you receive complete walk away coverage in the event of loss. It is the best deal in rental car insurance that those from the USA have available (I assume you are from the USA as you do not have a country listed in your profile).

I'm Canadian.

" The coverage is secondary coverage meaning that you pay for all costs related to a loss and the card insurance will reimburse you for what they determine to be a reasonable amount. This may or may not cover your loss entirely."

This is not what secondary coverage means. Secondary means that if you have rental car insurance at home you must file with them first and after they pay or deny then the Visa/MC coverage kicks in. In other words you have a claim on your pesonal insurance even if they pay nothing LOL! If you don't have primary car insurance then it becomes primary and works just like any other insurance (For example, none of my friends who live in NYC have a car so they don't have personal car insurance)

This appears to be the link to the Aspire coverage detailed information. It does have a good description of the trip cancellation/interruption coverage

http://www.capitalone.ca/media/doc/c...e-travel-world

And not every Visa/MC is secondary. Mine isn't. Since it's a free benefit of the card it's cheaper then best deal mentioned above. Readubg the policy on the link I posted it appears this may primary also

I am not sure if the AmEx plan is available to those outside of the USA. Here is the link for anyone who might be interested in taking a look:

https://www295.americanexpress.com/p...do?source=CCSG

Those from the USA generally do not qualify for plans offered by these companies but Canadians may be:

https://www.icarhireinsurance.com/
https://www.questor-insurance.co.uk/

This company offers rental insurance coverage for those living in Europe:
http://www.insurance4carhire.com/

I am not sure if the AmEx plan is available to those outside of the USA. Here is the link for anyone who might be interested in taking a look:

https://www295.americanexpress.com/p...do?source=CCSG

Those from the USA generally do not qualify for plans offered by these companies but Canadians may be:

https://www.icarhireinsurance.com/
https://www.questor-insurance.co.uk/

This company offers rental insurance coverage for those living in Europe:
http://www.insurance4carhire.com/

<i>Secondary means that if you have rental car insurance at home you must file with them first and after they pay or deny then the Visa/MC coverage kicks in.</i>

Could you please let us know specifically which US auto insurance company extends primary insurance coverage to their customers renting cars outside of the USA?

Those terms are really by Visa or Mastercard, not the specific bank, usually. So Cap One terms for a platinum-level visa won't be any different ahn other companies' platinum-level visa. In fact, whe you get the coverage terms for that kind of stuff (buyers protection, car rental insurance, etc.) after signing up for one, you will note that they don't say Cap One on them, they say Visa or Mastercard. It's a general brochure.

The main reason would be if you don't want to go through the hassle of dealing with the credit card and your own insurance company, or don't want any of that to count on your own policy. Because it is secondary coverage so the claim will go to your own insurer first. And that could affects your rates if they pay out, but for a foreign country, your own insurance likely won't be useful, anyway. I would think hassles with any insurance company are about the same. The card coverage does not include liability, of course, or bodily injury.

<<Secondly, many people use the Visa/MC coverage offered by their credit cards. The coverage is secondary coverage meaning that you pay for all costs related to a loss and the card insurance will reimburse you for what they determine to be a reasonable amount. This may or may not cover your loss entirely.>>

That isn't what secondary coverage means. It means they only pay after your own insurance pays whatever it owes. For foreign countries, your own insurance probably won't pay anything, so it becomes primary in such a case.

I think generally the auto rental company works with them and doesn't expect you to pay the full bill before you get settlement. And any insurance may have limits on what it pays out, they won't pay more than the car is worth. This is not different from any insurance policy, card or not.

<i>I think generally the auto rental company works with them and doesn't expect you to pay the full bill before you get settlement. </i>

Have you actually made a claim through a credit card insurance plan? If you haven´t, this is what happens: your card is charged for the loss by the rental company, the credit card insurance arm, either from Visa or MC, makes an inquiry (the card issuing bank is not involved) and determines a reimbursement amount which is eventually credited back to your card. The paperwork can be extensive and the time delay for reimbursement lengthy. If you have a <i>déclaration de main courrante</i>), the process can be sped up. At a minimum, you should have a <i>constat</i> completed at the accident scene.

The primary insurer, the entity who initially covers the loss, is you through your credit card, as no US auto insurer typically extends coverage to those driving outside of the USA under their normal policy coverages.

The AmEx plan is primary and replaces the coverage you would have had, but will not have, from your normal hometown provider. In the event of loss using the AmEx plan, your credit card is never charged for the loss.

This could vary by country and it´s possible that Canadian or Australian credit card coverage is primary. That´s why it is very important for posters to indicate their country in their profile.

Last time I checked the Amex insurance was not available to Canadians. ;^(

Call AutoEurope on their toll free line. Our last rental in France was through them and they had a special price including full insurance with a zero deductible. It was a good deal. When the car had about 3,000 euros of damage it cost me not a cent.

Regarding medical insurance, you're right. You can't claim with 2 companies for the same thing. But the Cap One may only be with regard to injuries in a car accident. If so, it is prudent to buy a separate medical plan. Be sure to check... if you have a group plan in may also include travel insurance.

I always make sure I have not just medical evacuation insurance, but coverage that will cover transportation to MY choice of hospital in my home country. I believe that's called repatriation insurance.