Car Insurance (to-day)
 

Hi I know that a lot has been written regarding this subject. :-(
To-day, I guess most of us wish to be more thrifty, also I noticed that the collition and theft deductible in AutoEurope are now 650 dollars each , way over the usual $200 some years back.
Of course I have a Visa which carries the theft collition insurance but frankly I do not know what to do.
HAs it been terribly inconvenient for those having used the insurance provided with their Visas.? I wonder , God forbid, if the car is stolen, are we supposed to pay up front for the whole car and then ask a refund from our Visa.?
Any good advice?

Um...could you clarify in plain English what your problem is, or maybe just explain it in Italian, which some of us can understand and reply in?

Come si dice?

I beleive Graziella is asking what the process is if you waive insurance with the car rental company using your credit card for coverage. Particularly, are you on the hook to pay for all the damage, perhaps the entire cost of the car should it be stolen or totaled until its settled with the credit card company?

Graziella, I don't have a good answer for that...fortunately I have not experienced any damages to a rental car when I've waived insurance.

These types of questions have come up recently and leads one to perhaps think if waiving insurance is worthwhile. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who's been in this type of situation.

> I wonder , God forbid, if the car is stolen, are we supposed to pay up front for the whole car and then ask a refund from our Visa.? <

Unfortunately, yes. I haven't had my rental car stolen, but i was rear ended in a parking lot once. The damage wasn't severe, but I did have pay the repair cost up front. My credit card re-imbursed me about 4 weeks later.

Patrick has quite a thread on this very subject that you should read. I would always,after reading his terrible experiences, buy the insurance.

Graziella, I just brought the last posting Patrick did regarding his problems with rental car in Wales to the top for you. If you click on his name you can read the other posting.

Actually I'm starting to change my tunes on waiving insurance...I'm headed off to the Carib in a month to an area where theft is a problem, that and its a 4wd truck, not sure thats even covered by the policy. Buying their insurance just seems easier, less hassle, yep more money but sometimes who cares. I may do that from now on in Europe too.

Traveler, I sure would, but if you don't check to see if the vehicle you are going to rent will even be covered at all (some are excluded) and also if the area you are going to is an area that you c.c. co. would cover.

Hi G,

You can read about Patrick's experience at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34535733

LoveinItaly,
I do check, I have a printed copy of auto coverage from all my credit cards and sometimes call them if anything is uncertain...however this time I did not because I opted for the car rental co. insurance so why bother. But wondering whether a truck was covered wasn't the reason I opted for their insurance in the first place. It was because of the theft and vandalism and the troubles I had read about from others who've had it happen and didn't take their insurance....I'd rather not have those additional hassles, its vacation I'd rather be able to relax.

Thank you Traveler863, Loveitaly ,Ira and all for helping me out to make a decision.
I shall take the Autoeurope insurance
because I know- don't we all?- what a nightmare it is to deal with insurance companies.

Sorry, but I don't know what a nightmare it is to deal with insurance companies. My claim for an accident in the UK was handled courteously and paid promptly by Hertz and Visa. My out of pocket cost for the insurance was zero, zilch, nada and the deductible was the same.

jsmith, I know we've talked about this before, and I'm not denying that it could be possible or even normal to have a claim easily settled. But for the record are you in the US dealing with the US Visa Enhancement Services who is then corresponding with a car rental agency in another country in Europe(AvisUK), for a car that was actually contracted through a wholesaler (AutoEurope), a police department in yet another country, and an argument about whether or not the car should have been declared a total loss or not?

Patrick, no I'm not. I just feel that your experience is not necessarily the rule and I'm sorry you feel threatened by the report of a good experience.

One other thought: if you're driving for 17 days or more, leasing from Renault or Puegeot is cheaper AND the cost includes ALL insurance. We've done this several times and the service is great, we get a new car, and they claim "no questions asked" if there is damage to the car. Check out www.renaultusa.com or www.eurotourbycar.com