bettyo70

I did not realize that my VISA card actually covers all car rental insurance abroad (theft, collision, damage...). I paid for all these things when I rented a car in Sicily. If only I had been more informed before I left, I could have saved this money. Oh well...live and learn!

LarryJ

Be advised. You have misinterpreted the Visa insurance coverage on auto rentals in Europe. The Visa coverage is CDW only. That means only the rental car is covered; not the other car or cars, not personal injury, not personal property. You have no liability coverage at all. Also be advised that the Visa insurance is secondary which means that if your own car insurance covers you in Europe the Visa coverage is only liable after your primary insurance pays. You will probably find that your insurance at home does not cover you in Europe but you need to check. Also you should know that with some rental companies your Visa coverage is void in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica and New Zealand.

The insurance provided with Visa and Mastercard is minimal and widely misunderstood.

Larry J

Europewithkids

Visa coverage in Europe is primary if you are not a resident of the country you are renting in. If you want to know what is covered, contact Visa or Mastercard and ask them to e-mail you a description (detailed) of the coverage. I did this with Visa, Mastercard and AMEX for my upcoming European trip. Visa had the best coverage and it applies to all personal cards so far as I can tell. The coverage offered is quite good. It even includes loss of use charges that may be assessed by the rental company. There are restrictions (31 days rental or less, for example) and liability/personal property are not covered, although these will be covered by your personal auto insurance. If you want more info. on the Visa program, try going to this link:

http://www.usa.visa.com/personal/car...old.html"

rex

I have understood that with rare exceptions, credit card coverage for rental car liabilities is indeed void in Italy and Ireland. I think Italian law specifies this - - insurance can be provided by an Italian company only (I'm sure this makes settlements, both in and out of court, much easier to enforce). But of course, this goes hand in hand with the fact that the "coverages" are mandatory in Italy.

Best wishes,

Rex

cmt

I got inconsistent info from my credit card company--everything from saying that nothing is overed for rental in Europe to saying that colloion/theft is covered. I requested another copy of written info, which I haven't received yet. Though I got very inconsistnet answers, my understanding from the pieces I've put together is that the Visa gold card covers collision, but not theft. I'll be renbting a ar in France. AutoEurope's fee covers liability. AutoEurope's rep told me he thought my Visa Gold should cover "everything" else and that I shouldn't have to buy the extra insurance. I don't think that's quite true ut it may be partly true.

bobthenavigator

I agree with Rex--not Italy and Ireland.

yipper

It is my understanding that if you are in a car accident and using the credit car insurance, your card will be charged up to its' max until the matter is resloved. This can take many many months. You are unable to use your card during this time, but you still need to make payments. There is a lot of hassel getting things resolved. This happened to one of my friends. It took almost one year to settle the matter. We buy the insurance as we want to "walk away" and not have any head aches. I try to travel on a budget, but this is one area that I do not skip.

Europewithkids

Visa covers theft. The point about a car rental agency charging your card for the damage may very well have merit. I called Visa and the rep. told me that she believes I would have to make the payment and then get reimbursed when the claim is settled. However, she said each issuer may do things differently (some may not charge) and she suggested that I call the issuer to see how they handle these situations, which I will do. By the way, take a look at what the insurance from the car rental company actually covers. I have seen where even THAT coverage is limited and you have to pay even more for full coverage.

isabel

This topic has been widely covered here so if you want a few hours worth of reading just do a search.

As you can tell just from this one thead, there are lots of "opinions". While most fodorites give excellent advice on lots of issues, on something this important I think everyone should call their credit card company themselves and get it in writing. Having said that, here's what I've discovered after extensive research.

1) The coverage provided by Visa and MC is for collision/damage and theft. It is not for liability BUT that is included in the cost of every rental agreement I have ever seen. The "optional" insurance is the CDW (collision/damage) and THAT is what the credit card companies cover.

2)If the rental car were stolen or damaged the rental car company would put a hold on your credit card (up to the amount of the damage/value of the car, which is more than most people's credit limit). Therefore if you are going to use their insurance it would be wise to have another credit card as well so you could continue charging things on the remainder of your trip. It may take a few months to get it all straightened out during which time you could not use that credit card. However, you would NOT have to pay those charages and be reimbursed. If you have more than one credit card this is not a problem.

3) In Ireland VISA does NOT cover you. However, Master Card does and they will send you a letter stating that if you ask.

4) If you pick up the rental car in Italy many (most) car companies will not accept the credit card insurance so you have to buy it from them. This is not the credit card company's policies but the car company's. However, if you rent a car in another country (say Germany) and drive it into Italy you would be covered by the credit card insurance were you to have an accident while in Italy.

5) Given the fact that the CDW insurance can amount to several hundred dollars added to the cost of the car rental, the credit card company insurance is a sound economic move, provided you understand it. If you've enough money that a few hundred dollars makes no difference to you, then buying the extra insurance may be worth it to avoid the possibility of having to spend a few hours collecting and mailing in paperwork.

Curious

isabel is right on!!!!!! Been there, done that! The settlement only takes a few weeks. In the meantime, once you contact Visa or Master Card, your charges are "frozen" so no payments or interest is necessary/added on.

Curious

Europewithkids

Thanks Isabel. That mirrors my information. You are correct -- get it in writing. I have written coverage documents from Visa, MC and AMEX and made my decision on which card to use based on which offered the best coverage. For my purposes, that was Visa.

sandi

And every Visa card policy is different. Different for Classic, Gold, Platinum. You've got to get the written contract for whichever card you carry and read them. One will cover fire, another might not and it goes on and on. And then there are some countries where your credit card won't do you any good.

Since we don't own a car, so don't have insurance, we took what AutoEurope provided (surprisingly it
only added $50 to the total rental cost), and bought supplemental Personal Liability Insurance. And, of course, those little extras you pay for when picking up the car, like second driver, airport tax and something else, which didn't amount to but about $20.

You've got to read all the credit card policies and still ask questions so you're not surprised by surprises.

HappyCheesehead

as a further note: for Ireland, CDW is covered only by Gold or Platinum cards, and there are a few other restrictions- call 800 MC ASSIST

bobthenavigator

Well said Isabel--I think you nailed it.