Credit Card Travel Insurance Unwrapped: Rental Car Insurance
Today we are introducing the next article in our series about credit card travel insurance for travel advisors. Our series offers a detailed view on every travel insurance component that comes with credit cards, and today we talk about rental car insurance.
Rental car insurance comes with many U.S. credit cards. In fact, it is one of the most frequent features but, unfortunately, the one that offers tons of opportunities for mistakes and misinterpretation.
What is rental car insurance that comes with credit cards?
The common name, rental car insurance, is a misleading term. The correct name of this protection is car rental – collision/loss damage insurance, or collision and damage waiver.
Unlike, a true car insurance policy, this protection typically covers only the following:
- Damages
- Theft
- Valid towing charges (with some limitations)
- Loss-of-use (the lost opportunity of a rental company to rent out the vehicle while it is being repaired)
The costliest aspects of a car accident are NOT covered by the collision and damage waiver. These items include but are not limited to 3rd party liability (damages inflicted to another party’s properties such as vehicles, houses, etc.) and accident benefits/personal injuries.
Apart of that there are a number of other exclusions such as excluding some vehicle types or operating the vehicle outside of publicly maintained roads.
This coverage, in most cases, is secondary. This means that it covers expenses in excess of those payable by any other insurance plan (e.g., your own personal car insurance policy) or other source of reimbursement.
What aspects of rental car insurance are the most important?
It is important to pay attention to two aspects of rental car insurance:
-
Days covered. This is a number of consecutive days of a rental period when car is covered. Many U.S. credit cards cover no more than 15 or 31 consecutive days of car rental.
-
Maximum vehicle value covered. Expensive and exotic vehicles are typically excluded from this coverage so if somebody tries to rent out a Ferrari, Porsche or even a high-end model of BMW or Mercedes, the card will not cover these. The maximum value of a vehicle that is covered is defined by MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) in the vehicle’s model year. Typical values are $50,000 for low-end credit cards and $75,000 for high-end credit cards.
Some credit card rental car insurance policies come with a small add-on, offering protection for belongings that might be stolen or damaged from the rental vehicle.
Aside of those two components, it is very important to remember that credit card rental car insurance DOES NOT provide any third-party automobile, property damage, or personal injury liability insurance.
Which credit cards offer rental car - collision and damage insurance?
Rental car insurance is one of the most frequent features on credit cards (probably next to purchase security and extended warranty). Nearly half of all U.S. credit cards offer it.
Here is a list of credit cards in the U.S. offering this coverage. More information about rental car insurance coverage on nearly every major credit card can be found through our tool at TravelandCards.com
| Bank | Select Individual Credit Cards |
|---|---|
 |
American Express Cash Magnet Card American Express Gold Card American Express Green Card American Express Rose Gold Card Amex EveryDay Credit Card Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card Blue Cash Everyday Card Blue Cash Preferred Card Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card Blue from American Express Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card Hilton Honors Card Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card The Platinum Card from American Express |
 |
Bank of America Premium Rewards Visa |
 |
Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card from Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card from Chase Chase Freedom Flex MasterCard Chase Freedom Unlimited VISA Credit Card Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Credit Card Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa Credit Card Chase Slate Edge Visa Credit Card Iberia Visa Signature Visa Card from Chase Starbucks Rewards Visa Card from Chase United Club Infinite Visa Card from Chase United Explorer Visa Card from Chase United Gateway Visa Card from Chase United Quest Visa Card from Chase |
 |
Costco Anywhere Visa Card By Citi |
 |
U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve VISA Infinite Card U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold AMERICAN EXPRESS Card |
 |
USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express Card USAA Preferred Cash Rewards VISA Signature Card USAA Rate Advantage VISA Platinum Card USAA Rewards American Express Card USAA Rewards VISA Signature Card |
 |
Hotels.com Rewards Visa Credit Card from Wells Fargo Wells Fargo Platinum Visa Card |
What is the right insurance solution when renting a car?
It is very important to understand that none of these credit cards would cover 3rd party liability and personal injuries in case of an accident. Thus, even using rental car insurance from a credit card does not offer full protection.
Our recommendation is to ensure that your own car insurance has an additional feature/rider called rental card insurance rider, which basically extends all your car insurance coverage (including 3rd party and accidental benefits) on rental cars.
If you do not have a rental car insurance policy, you might consider reviewing the insurance policy that a rental agency offers. But you need to carefully read the rental contract and understand your coverage.
If a rental agency only offers a collision damage waiver/loss damage waiver, none of your medical costs will be covered.
Travel advisors in the U.S. use our TravelAndCards tool to find out if their clients have rental car insurance on their credit card and advise them to use their own car insurance policy where possible as it typically offers more extensive coverage. This benefits both sides – travellers are well protected and have peace of mind, and travel advisors can differentiate their service by providing valuable advice.
Contact us if you are interested in equipping your travel agency and your travel professionals with this unique tool.
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