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Car rental companies always try to sell you about a dozen different insurance policies. Which ones of these do you actually need if you have a credit card like the Sapphire Reserve or AMEX Platinum and if you have car insurance on your own car?
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Some CC will cover your primary insurance deductibles, others provide nothing.
How often do you rent cars?
What coverage do you have on primary vehicles ? (some people only carry liability, that would not cover collision or comprehesive claims to a rental car (Theft / vandalism...))
I rent frequently, so have an extra 'binder' on my primary car insurance for covering rental cars ~$5/ month.
I keep one of my primary cars covered for full coverage (to also cover rental cars).
Some rental car companies will not accept your personal insurance.
Your USA insurance will likely not cover rental cars outside of USA. Or possibly in some select USA states, or for interstate travel using rental cars. (I have only had this issue in FL)
Car rental companies always try to sell you about a dozen different insurance policies. Which ones of these do you actually need if you have a credit card like the Sapphire Reserve or AMEX Platinum and if you have car insurance on your own car?
None. Rental car insurance is a rip off if you have your own insurance and collision deductible waiver on a credit card.
People don't realize that renting a car without insurance can bankrupt you. Rental companies have clauses in there that shields them in case you get into a major accident. If your personal auto insurance doesn't have rental you better make sure it does. If you kill someone or causes dismemberment in an accident even no fault of your own you will have to declare bankruptcy or else face even more litigations.
OP, I assume you're referring to the premium rental car insurance via the Amex Card, which you pay $25 per rental period (up to 30 days) for (less in a few specific states)? If so, keep in mind that this insurance, while good, is only collision/theft coverage if I recall correctly and not liability. It also doesn't cover certain vehicle types, though that wouldn't be a problem for the overwhelming majority of renters.
When I rent a vehicle, I tend to not use my own personal auto, but go with the premium Amex rental coverage or just the rental company collision coverage if it is cheaper.
No, the Amex coverage/rental collision coverage doesn't cover liability, but I figure that if you have to choose one, collision is a safer bet as you'll have collision costs likely regardless of whether you are at fault, especially if you're a generally safe driver.
Rental agencies will have their own liability policies on their vehicles even if they don't advertise it, but it'll likely be set at the state minimum. You'll hear folks push for renters to get liability coverage as a lawsuit against you could end up costing you millions, but I question how many actually ever get liability coverage for anywhere close to that amount anyway regardless of whether they have through their own policy or via the rental agency? And most states have pretty low minimums comparatively.
People don't realize that renting a car without insurance can bankrupt you. Rental companies have clauses in there that shields them in case you get into a major accident. If your personal auto insurance doesn't have rental you better make sure it does. If you kill someone or causes dismemberment in an accident even no fault of your own you will have to declare bankruptcy or else face even more litigations.
Part 2 of your statement is true for anyone that gets sued over the policy limits too. 100K limit and you break someone's neck, then you will owe any judgment over the 100K limit. So if you have insurance or not and have a million dollar judgment against you then the end result is the same, your screwed.
On a smaller scale, you wreck a rental then you owe the repair AND loss of use. So lets say you crash the car, $5000 in damage. Now it takes 30 days to fix the damage and get the car back on the road. The rental company is entitled to the 30 days of lost income, so $40 a day X 30 = $1200 gets tacked on to the $5000 in damage, you now owe $6200.
A buddy was involved in a case about 15 years ago. He turned his leased BMW in, was sharing a car with his girlfriend and renting when he traveled for work. NEVER bought insurance, but since he didn't have a car, he didn't have insurance anymore either! The girlfriend never even added him as a driver to her policy. He failed to connect the dots and wrecked a Ford Taurus. He ate the claim, but was stunned at the amount he owed.
Technically what the rental company is selling you is not insurance - it’s a waiver (they stressed that in training). Probably the best one you can get is the waiver for the car, especially if you’re doing any kind of long trip. The personal coverage always seemed sketchy to me - it’s been so long, I can’t remember the details, but I believe it covers you and any passengers in the vehicle should they be injured in an accident, but IIRC does not cover for anybody else. Our third option was personal belonging coverage which was basically a theft thing. It’s also worth noting that rental companies basically make nothing on the actual rental, their profits come from the additional services.
The loss damage waiver for the car is the major one to have.
Car rental companies always try to sell you about a dozen different insurance policies. Which ones of these do you actually need if you have a credit card like the Sapphire Reserve or AMEX Platinum and if you have car insurance on your own car?
AMEX Platinum gives you $75,000 in extra coverage, don't rent a Lamborghini and you should be fine.
The problem is different rules/coverage, etc. and can vary within the issuing company. AMEX is one example. Different coverages (if any) from card to card. I know one card that has great coverage in the US and Canada only. Be careful. CVhack your card rules and limits.
i used amex's coverage that another poster mentione. i paid 20 bucks for the duration of the entire rental up to 30 days (some states are a little more or less)
car rental insurance from the rental agency is a total scam.
if you have car insurance you're covered under it anyway for a rental but I get the amex insurance because if i do get in an accident it's primary insurance so my regular insurance company won't raise my rates.
I had to use the amex insurance once and it was super pain free. they did tell me i would have to pay for loss of use while the car was being repaired since they didn't cover it but I never heard anything about that again from them or the rental agency so I never paid it. My guess is amex asked of proof for their rental logs and argued on my behalf that they had a ton of similar available cars not rented out so they didn't actually lose money while it was being repaired.
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And most states have pretty low minimums comparatively.
