toedtoes

I always decline the CDW with the rental car once I confirmed with my insurance company that I'm completely covered for rentals.

Nohomers - Even without the rental car's insurance, the rental company should pay for flats, mechanical problems, etc. That is not the same as an accident.

During one trip, I had a flat tire on a Saturday night (actually, one flat and two punctured tires - the fourth tire had an indentation where a bolt had been, but it fell out without doing harm). When I called the car rental, I was told to call the Auto Assoc. to put the spare on, take it in to get repaired and bring the bill when I drop off the car. They deducted the full amount from my rental when I returned it. The main thing to do is call them BEFORE doing anything.

mrwunrfl

lakeside77, you wrote "My regular insurance completely covers me in a rental just like it would in my own car."

Your liability insurance covers you in a rental just like it would if you were driving your car or my car. Do you also mean that you are also paying coverage for collision damage to rental cars through your regular insurance? If so, then you wouldn't need it if you use the amex insurance, right?

Dukey

Some folks do not want their own insurance carrier to be rersponsible for their rental insurance in case there is an accident because they fear their insurance rates will go up.

What you also need to know is whether or not your credit card is serving as primary or secondary insurance for your car rental.

if it is SECONDARY that means any claims will first be referred to your primary auto insurance acrrier if you have one and the credit card will cover any balance.

You should note this in the instructions received with your CC whether or not this is true or ask the CC issuer when you call them.

nohomers

"Even without the rental car's insurance, the rental company should pay for flats"

Then why do rental companies try to sell additional coverage for tire and windshield damage? My understanding is that tire damage is not covered by the damage waiver.

Bill_H

What you also need to know is whether or not your credit card is serving as primary or secondary insurance for your car rental.

if it is SECONDARY that means any claims will first be referred to your primary auto insurance acrrier if you have one and the credit card will cover any balance

I agree with Dukey, you should sort this out ahead of time ... the credit card we had been using offered 'secondary' insurance, meaning we would have to go thru our carrier first and pay the deductible, which was not exactly what the credit card company's advertising implied

Fodorite018

lakeside--A few years ago we did get stuck with the loss of use fee. Our carrier was great about it, but after that ordeal we will not use Avis again.

lakeside77

mrwunrful - What I'm saying is this...Yes, my regular collision, liability, etc. with the car I own carries over to the rental car, too. I'm not paying any kind of additional rental car insurance. However, the AmEx coverage will be $24.95 per rental and it's primary to my regular insurance. So when I'm in unfamiliar areas, I like the cushion of knowing that if I have a wreck and it's my fault, the AmEx coverage will take care of it - and my regular insurance rates won't be affected.

joeyi

having been through this ordeal with a rent a car on the big island of hawaii let me say it was a huge hassle and lot of time spent on my part to get it taken care. the credit card company took care of what my car insurance didn't but it was many hours on the phone. Master card was the credit card company. plus they wanted to charge for damage that was already there but we had done the walk around before we left the car lot and had them detail any previous damage. when we went back we took out the full insurance, it was a lot extra but it was worth it to me not to have to worry about that potential problem again.

toedtoes

Nohomers - my guess is they've found a way to charge customers more for something that has been standard maintenance. None of the rentals I've ever gotten asked if I wanted "tire and windshield damage" coverage. It's always been part of their responsibility (like mechanical issues) as long as it wasn't connected to an accident.

mpkp

I was wondering if any of you took the AMEX insurance that charges a flat $19.95 or $24.95 per rental not per day and becomes primary insurance. I was thinking that might be a good compromise between the very expensive rental car insurance and provide peace of mind. And if anyone ever actually needed the insurance and what the results were.

Thanks

maj

Topping for last question.

Also, has anyone had a problem with coverage from the rental car company (CDW I guess). We've always relied on our personal insurance but have recently dropped collision because of the age of our cars. We're renting through Hertz (and it is on our Amex card). Will check with our insurance company and also check out Amex, but would appreciate any further comments on this -- really can get confusing.

PeaceOut

I always decline the additional insurance charge at rental car agencies, because Allstate assures me we are covered when driving rentals.

Our Visa Mileage Plus card is from Chase. We returned a rental car to Fox, in Los Angeles, and discovered a taillight was broken. We figured the valet did it, because we didn't.

I called Visa and they took care of it easily. It was only a $100 charge. Visa told me they take care of any expenses up to my car insurance deductible, which is $500.

No extra charge on my Visa card for this insurance.