Credit cards often offer rental car coverage, yet it may be hard to understand their individual policies. Many secondary policies require filing a claim with your personal auto insurer before credit card benefits take effect.
Some cards provide primary coverage at a fee that may be substantially less than purchasing coverage at the car rental counter. To compare policies of major card issuers in this regard, WalletHub conducted extensive analysis.
Coverage
Credit card rental car insurance varies considerably by card. Most provide primary coverage if you decline additional coverage offered at the car rental desk; others only secondary. Some cards even provide personal effects coverage, which provides protection if personal items in the rental car are lost or stolen.
Many policies exclude renting high-value luxury cars, off-road vehicles and motorcycles; others do not cover rentals through person-to-person car sharing services such as Turo. Therefore, make sure to read carefully the policy details prior to renting any unique vehicles.
Many credit cards offer additional insurance benefits, including purchase protection, return protection and trip cancellation insurance. Some cards even have exclusive perks available only if paying with points or miles; be sure to read your card’s fine print to determine whether any such benefits will apply when renting a car; most credit cards only cover rental cars for up to 31 days at once.
Exclusions
Some credit card car rental insurance policies exclude specialty vehicles such as trucks, open-bed vehicles and exotic or antique cars from their coverage. Furthermore, these cards typically do not cover rentals made through peer-to-peer car-sharing services like ZipCar or may not cover rentals outside the country; the exact list of exclusions depends on which issuer your card belongs to – for more details consult your card’s benefits guide carefully to understand which coverages apply on every trip.
The top credit cards with car rental insurance provide primary collision damage waiver coverage, an invaluable perk that allows you to file claims quickly without using up all available resources. Travel-focused cards often offer stronger protection, such as Chase Sapphire Reserve which offers primary coverage up to 42 days; that is significantly longer than average! Most cards also provide secondary coverage; find more details in your card’s benefits guide or by calling customer service.
Deductibles
Some credit cards provide primary rental car coverage with high limits. They handle claims directly for you so your personal auto insurer won’t find out and raise rates as a result; this type of coverage typically applies only to premium cards.
Credit card rentals car insurance typically serves as a secondary policy. It covers items not covered under your personal auto policy and typically requires you to file a claim with both insurers before credit card coverage kicks in.
Your credit card rental car insurance may cover personal items such as laptops or cameras that are stolen from the vehicle, though its coverage might not replace an expensive item. Furthermore, most policies exclude antique or exotic cars, cargo trucks and large vans for rental through peer-to-peer car-sharing services like ZipCar. In these instances it might be worthwhile considering upgrading coverage instead.
Filing a claim
Many credit cards provide primary rental car coverage that doesn’t exhaust your personal auto policy, such as Chase Sapphire Reserve’s primary collision damage waiver coverage of up to 31 days when paying with their card.
However, most credit card rental car coverage is secondary in nature and to make a claim you typically require supporting documents such as the rental agreement, photos of the vehicle, accident report and repair estimate.
To ensure that your credit card’s rental car coverage works in harmony with your existing auto policies, read through and update its benefits guide and terms and conditions online regularly. Specifically, its travel assistance provider’s phone number should be included; they will help file claims on your behalf. In addition to car rental coverage, some credit cards also provide trip interruption/cancellation/roadside assistance/medical evacuation coverage.
