I have two questions. I know that I can use my Master Card and have physical damage covered, but I just spoke with my insurance company (USAA) and apparently liability is not extended from my US based USAA policy. I swear this is different than a few years ago!
If I, a US based resident with auto insurance, rent a car in Europe, how do I best cover liability?
If my DD, a UK based person with no auto & no insurance, rents a car in Europe, how can she best cover liability?
Does any of that change if we rent a car together? I would really prefer she drive in the UK, not me. The basic instincts are difficult to overcome on the ‘wrong’ side of the road.
I am assuming we each use the MC to cover physical damage.
If you have an AMEX card, purchase the PRIMARY insurance they offer --it does NOT come with the card for free. The cost is 20 or 25 dollars for the entire trip. Similar coverage is available from Allianz Global but Amex is simpler and cheaper. You sign up and every time you use the CC for a rental, they deduct the fee.
This is different from the secondary coverage of CC that leaves plenty of holes behind. It is also available for an extended period of rental. There are a few countries where the insurance does not work. I believe Ireland being one of them. It does not work well in Mexico as the local thieves insist on additional liability coverage or flatly refuse to honor the coverage or take 20,000 deposit.
Lastly, there plenty of cheap options for rental in Europe and all-inclusive packages with full coverage. If you can avoid renting at the airport, better deals will come.
Agree with @xiggi about coverage not being offered in Ireland. The last time I checked, there were six countries were AmEx would not extend the coverage and Ireland was one of them. I was surprised that Costa Rica was eligible since cars, pedestrians and livestock share the narrow, unlit roads after dark.
Hmmm, AMEX says:
Liability coverage not included**
Allianz also offers coverage, but not liability abroad
I wonder what people do for liability coverage? I talked to my homeowners and even an umbrella liability would not cover liability since there is no underlying auto coverage.
Renting a car overseas is such an agony, unless you simply buy the full coverage. That is what I do in Mexico because it ruins the vacation to start arguing for 2 hours with the guy who makes his money on the insurance and not the car. The antidote is to limit the use of a rental car to the maximum. But that is another story.
Regarding the liability, my understanding is that renting a car with Amex has a two prong system when you buy the PREMIUM one. Having a primary coverage moves everything to Amex. I also understand that the liability issue is tied to the free coverage that comes from paying with Amex. The free one is secondary meaning that your insurance covers the liability. I was told by Amex if you do NOT have insurance in the US or your company rejects the overseas coverage that the secondary is dropped and that Amex assumes the full cost. There are people who swear that the regular coverage becomes primary abroad. I have no idea is that is true.
Please note that there are many contradictory stories on the web about this. I have had two (minor) incidents in Europe. The first one was using the free insurance and I was charged my deductible when all was said and done. The second one was covered by the Premium insurance and I never saw any billing but only copies from Hertz charges. It was a full zero loss. The first one was not my fault: a truck lost a part and I hit it. The second one was entirely my fault as I hit a post in … the rental car garage, I swear that post jumped in front of me. The attendants could not stop laughing and for good reasons.
My recommendation would be to call the companies directly and ask what the simple liability coverage might cost separately. The cost might be low and give you peace of mind. That is the option that works in Mexico. The second one is to check with your insurance and check the fine print of the Amex Premium. They are extremely friendly and will send you a copy of the coverage at no cost and a proof of insurance via email or fax. If you do not think it looks like it is helping you, you can cancel before any charges occur. That or not using the Amex for the rental. The charge is per rental and you control that part.
PS It is also important to check what the coverage via the CC really covers and understand the limitations. They might be substantial. Also, declining the coverage with any CC might open the door for the rental agencies to swipe a large part of your credit. Better have a CC with a large credit.
I’m pretty sure liability insurance is mandatory in England and will be included in the price of your rental. The premium Amex option looks pretty good for the collision damage / theft part. Thanks for that info xiggy.
Examine the car before you leave the rental agency. If there is any visible damage…small scratch, dent, missing hubcap, have the agent note this on your contract. Otherwise, when you return the car, you might get charged for damage you did not do.
Check with your credit card, and if it does not cover the liability, you might consider getting a new credit card that does. Many times the basic card does not cover it, but preferred, or gold, or elite cards will have additional protection.
You may also want to be sure your credit card has the security chip in it, as some petrol stations are pay at the pump only, and will not work without the security chip.
The Amex coverage is a program you sign up for that covers as primary insurance for $25 with each rental as noted above. United Mileage Plus Explorer covers insurance as primary, no extra charge. As I am just dealing with a claim for a scratched bumper on a rental car right now, will let you know how it goes. When I called the company I asked if I needed to include my primary insurance on the form. They said no with the Explorer card.
Regarding checking the car over prior to renting. I asked to look at some scratches with the agent on exiting the rental ramp. The agent said, no big deal if under a certain size. Ramp was dark, I saw nothing bigger than that size so drove out. When they found those scratches in Phx, I was shocked. No memory of any scratching or damage, and I had not noticed that particular area far down on the bumper. Was it there before? I’ll never know, as they refused me that walk around with an agent, and unlike most rental agencies, did not have a damage form. And the ramp was dark.
We always buy the full coverage with the rental when traveling in Europe, expensive though it is, because it is nightmarish to haggle over a dent or other kind of damage with the rental company when you are trying to make it to the gate in time to catch the plane home. This is particularly important for countries where you are driving on the opposite side of the road. We got into a fender bender in Scotland AND drove our rental car into a muddy, newly ploughed field (one lane road, no turn outs nearby), so it was returned in a terrible state, but with full coverage they didn’t blink an eye, and we made our return flight. Big relief.
I just want to say that you guys totally rock. We are going to visit a kid in Europe very soon & had a reservation from Thrifty in Germany. Because of this thread, we looked into the details (we also have a USAA MC/insurance). We haven’t exactly figured out what we are going to do, but it is clear that we need a letter from MC specifying us by name as being covered for physical damage & that we should probably look for another rental company in Europe because 1) Thrifty has only a few locations so if there is a problem w/ the car it is hard to get resolved & 2) Thrifty is sort of scammy/difficult about their insurance stuff.
Most US based credit cards are chip and signature cards and even though they have the chips, they cannot be used with stand alone machines in gas stations,rail stations etc. In Europe, mostly they use chip and PIN cards that require the cardholder to type in a PIN to complete a transaction. Once, I asked someone to purchase rail tickets for me using his credit card and I paid him in cash.
A few US cards are starting the chip and PIN cards but they are still quite rare.
The AMEX is charged per rental so if I use it in multiple countries, I will pay multiple times, just FYI
I have a USAA chip & PIN card that worked in Europe
Try autoeurope.com for rental deals, we’ve seen cheaper rates than USAA and it seems that the liability is included with the basic insurance
@TatinG, I just received our new B of A Travel Rewards cards and they are chip and signature, how did you get a PIN? I will call them, and also call AMEX for the supplemental insurance option. Thanks to everyone for the info! Europe prices are so inexpensive for summer I don’t mind spending extra for insurance.