No Primary Car Insurance -- Will Visa or AE cover my rental?
 

I'm waiting to talk to a rep but thought I'd throw this out there.

I don't own a car , that's why I need to rent one. Obviously I don't have an existing car insurance policy. Since the coverage that credit cards offer are generally called "secondary" does this mean that they won't cover me at all? (The first rep said they wouldn't cover me at all.) I believe I was told many years ago that if I didn't have a car insurance policy at all, then the CC insurance acts as my primary insurance.

Any experience with this?

The CSA said if I don't have auto insurance, American Express would serve as my primary insurance covering THE RENTAL CAR. If I'm involved in accident, they won't cover the car I hit, just the rental car.

So if I deny Liability insurance, it puts me at risk of being sued if I damage another person's car or hurt someone. I will hope that awful scenario doesn't happen -- when I get to the rental car agency, I'll see how much liability costs.

Take the FULL coverage; it is worth it IF the worst should happen and it will be a small price to pay if nothing happens. Just consider it part of the cost of renting the car.

To get your VISA or AE to pay; make sure you follow their specific rules. Most people don't know all of those rules [and there are LOTS of them]. That includes using their card for reservation purposes, paying the entire cost of rental with card, having the car at least one day [may be different # of days depending on card]and not having the car MORE than a certain number of days.

Also, make sure the car is rented separately from any hotel that you may be using; that is, not part of a package.

I know all this because I fought for 5 months with Mastercard to get them to pay for damages to a rental car. I finally got them to pay, but it was a nightmare. If you want specifics on my plight, I will find the thread on here for you to read.

Hope this helps...
Debi

Yes, Fishee, you need to talk to the CC issuer about the specific coverage.

It is called "szecondary" when it specifies that it will cover only what your primary provider won't cover.

Since you have no primary provider then I would agree that you may be better off taking the coverage offered by the rental car agency.

Yes, I know it is "expensive" and yes I know some people say it is a "rip off" but those latter folks have something to compare it to (their own insurance rates) and you don't,

In the grand scheme of things how much money have you SAVED by not owning a car and paying for it, its maintenance, insurance, parking, etc. And how often do you need to rent a car?

IMO if it is "that often" that this is a real deal-breaker perhaps it is time you thought about owning a car.

Good luck.

Agreed -- call the 800 number on the back of your credit card and ask specific questions. Take notes during the conversation and ask for the person's name or other identification.

I meant to add this:

IF you meet all of the card's requirement and you do not have car insurance [as is your case] they will act as primary.

In my case, because we did have car insurance, Mastercard acted as <i> secondary</i>. Since I had a bill of $683 from car rental company, MC paid my $500 deductible that my car insurance policy had. I chose not to report this to car insurance and was left to pay $183 myself.

My understanding is that if I didn't have car insurance, MC would have paid the entire amount.

Dukey makes good points that you do not have daily car costs so that in the big picture, you are still coming out way ahead if you take the full coverage from the car rental place and pay the costs.

Again, it is worth it just to save the hassle of dealing with CC company IMHO.

And per Gekko -- don't just get the info from talking to someone on the CC 800 #. Ask for a printed copy of the rules to be sent to you. The rules are intricate and detailed and lots of them. You may be able to find it online too. I know that you can find it on AE, but be careful that you find the terms for your EXACT AE card, because there are lots of AE cards and the rules and benefits vary greatly.
Debi

As Debi said, just buy their insurance. It is so worth it.

CCard coverage is secondary to your own insurance. However if you don't own a car and insurance, the CCard coverage becomes primary.

Visa only covers a rental of 15 days or less. Amex will cover up to 30 days.

fishee, where are you renting the car?

Amex will email you their complete description of coverage if you call and ask. You should read it to understand exactly what is and isn't covered. I assume all other credit card companies will do the same.

As you discovered already, credit card coverage does not include liability. Depending on what state you're renting in, the rental may come with basic liability. This may be just the state's minimum requirement. Consider purchasing additional liability from the rental company.

Renting today in Chicago from Enterprise -- i'm trying to put off buying a car, I seem to need one a couple times a month like when people visit and when I go shopping.

I may purchase the liability since AMEX stated they'll cover the rental car, (I also have medical insurance). thanks

Fishee, if you only need a car a couple of times a month I would KEEP putting it off and I own two cars!

When people come visit tell them they can stay free with you but in return they have to rent their OWN car!

Agree to uderstand what liabiity comes with the car. Some states have mandatory liabilities as low as $10,000 - useless if you have a major accident - or a minor one with an expensive car - or there are injuries.

We carry $300,000 since there are a lot of big budget cars in this area. IMHO carrying less than $50,000 is really asking for trouble unless you're judgement proof (that is, have no assets).

Sadly, I have no assets and I have a modest income as a teacher.

Does that make me &quot;judgment&quot; proof? I'm leaning towards just getting the legal limit. thanks again.

You are NOT judgement proof! Modest income doesn't matter; they can and will place a garnishment on your wages if you lose a lawsuit. Any income is subject to a garnishment.

Judgment proof might limit the millions in P&amp;S they come after you for after a major wreck with injuries in which you are at fault. It will not protect you from claims by insurance companies to recover their damages.

If you are at fault, they will look to you to recover actual damages, auto damage, rental for their policyholder while their car is in for repairs, and any medical they pay. They will do it, too. I know...:( I did. We tracked those darned things for years, if necessary, until they were paid off. The minimum I'd insure for would be 100,000 liability and even that is low, unfortunately.

Fishee: Keep in mind that if your card does provide rental car coverage and it is primary because you do not own a car, I would guess that such coverage is NOT broad enough to cover consequential damages such as loss of use if you, for example, total the car and the rental car company suffers damages because they can't rent the vehicle to another person. I would suggest that you request the rental car coverage offered by your card in writing and then make an evaluation based upon the facts. The best idea would be to purchase the &quot;bumper to bumper&quot; coverage which is the broadest coverage so you don't get stuck paying damages that are uninsured.

If you decide to rely on your credit card, be sure to decline CDW on the rental contract. Different cards have different coverages. My CITI card had better coverage than my AMEX card in Mexico and both had better coverage than the rental company's CDW. As others have said, even if you use the card as primary, you will most likely still need 3rd party liability.

If fish rented from Enterprise, they probably scared her into buying twice the coverage that is needed. They won't let you step into one of their cars unless they have gotten you to buy their waiver, or pay a hefty upgrade price. They are trained to fatigue-you-to-death.

Here are the phone numbers to call to check on exactly what is covered by your particular card:

AMEX 800 338 1670
VISA 800 847 2911
MCard 800 622 7747
Diners800 346 3779

Article here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...p;pagewanted=2