# Renting car abroad using credit card's Rental Collision/loss damage insurance



## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

We have Auto Rental Collision/loss damage insurance with both TD Gold select Visa and CIBC Platinum Mastercaed.... Not sure which one to use..... was wondering any one has good or bad experiance with credit card's Auto Rental Collision/loss damage insurance ?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Read the fine print well. Usually you have to pay the deductible and there are limitations. I have the td travel, and we were required to go through our car insurance at home first (it is supposed to be covered) and the credit company and car insurance kept us going back and forth.


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## NorthernRaven (Aug 4, 2010)

I've done this a few times in the past, with an old Aerogold VISA. One thing I'd suggest is tucking away a paper copy of the relevant part of the credit card agreement dealing with the CDW insurance. It will have the phone number, not only for reporting damage, but in case your rental company abroad gets sticky about waiving their own CDW. I don't know if there's a good way of determining which card is better - you'd need to know who's providing the underlying service, and even then who knows if bad stories about company X are just random bad luck or indicative of higher hassle levels.

Most of my foreign rentals were when I didn't have a vehicle back home, but yeah, definitely check how your own car insurance extends (or doesn't) to foreign rental CDW. Same with 3rd party liability - many countries are like Canada and require rentals to have a decent minimum (say, $1 million). But in the US many states have laughable minimums as low as $15,000-$25,000, and the liability add-ons often run $15-$20/day!


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## bayview (Nov 6, 2011)

Depends where you going. In the USA, they "understand" the CDW benefit associated with Canadin credit cards ( CC ).

In Europe, the Canadian CDW benefit is NOT accepted in every place. Ireland certainly not.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

bayview said:


> Depends where you going. In the USA, they "understand" the CDW benefit associated with Canadin credit cards ( CC ).
> 
> In Europe, the Canadian CDW benefit is NOT accepted in every place. Ireland certainly not.


We're going to Europe (Amsterdam). From my previous experience in Frankfurt, Canadian CDW accepted by all rental companies except Dollar/Thrifty that was outsourced to Turkish company (forgot the name) and there were millions complains about them. We rented via Budget/Avis and everything was fine with our CDW. I rent always via autoeurope.ca and in Europe Liability Insurance is always included in price. The question is which credit card to use (as I wrote in the 1st post), we naver had any issues with rental cars and I just wondering with which credit card CDW insurance is easier to work in case something happens


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## bayview (Nov 6, 2011)

Sorry Gibor, personally I don't know which card co is best. I was just trying to highlight just beware of the CDW restrictions applicable and coverage varies between issuers and between countries involved.

Two years ago a rental co in England charged me about £170 for a broken tire. It was a merry go round with my card issuer which was the right dept to file my CDW claim. In the end i just let it lapsed due to annoyance with my issuer and also eventually procrastination on my part. So can't help you here. 

Hope you get the feedback you need from here and/or the other forum(s) you posted in.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

I called cc company to ask and Mastercard seems to work in Switzerland. They transferred me to the insurance arm to check since international law is different. I strongly suggest everyone to do that. Then there's also insurance problems that might arise if you drive qcross borders in Europe.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

Make sure you reserve and fully pay for the rental on one card. I did some research on this last summer when I rented in Europe. Getting free days or using coupons could invalidate the coverage. Something in the fine print about paying the full cost of the rental.

If driving to other countries, make sure they are covered.

My work colleague always pays for the rental insurance. She knows she is getting ripped off, but it buys her piece of mind. One time she had a bad accident with a rental. She dropped off the keys and just walked out.


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## bayview (Nov 6, 2011)

I too decided to pay for full coverage. It significantly raises the daily rental charge per day, but it buys great peace of mind and makes the holiday so much more relaxed, especially when driving on opposite sides, in the countryside and different terrain.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

bayview said:


> I too decided to pay for full coverage. It significantly raises the daily rental charge per day, but it buys great peace of mind and makes the holiday so much more relaxed, especially when driving on opposite sides, in the countryside and different terrain.


If I book through 3rd party agencies like autoeurope.ca you can also have full coverage, but it's not really full, as not you credit card insurance company, but some other company like Allianz Insurance will give you coverage and they also have deductible.... maybe you can buy really full insurance at rental desk , but it will cost really expensive


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

As others have mentioned, beware the distinction between collision/damage and liability (third party liability). The credit cards with collision/loss do nothing to protect from third party liability, like when someone else sues you for damage you caused.

Read the insurance certificate for your credit card carefully and phone if you want clarification. Here are a few sticky points I've noticed over the years:

1. What is the deductible? It should be zero for Canadian visa and mastercard policies
2. Are certain things excluded? e.g. tire damage or windshield
3. Some rental companies, like Thrifty, will charge you for loss-of-use. For the duration a car is being repaired, it will be treated as if you've rented it and this can add up to a lot. Make sure your insurance covers this.
4. Note that in case of damage, you'll have to pay the rental agency long before the insurance reimburses you. This could be thousands of dollars so consider whether you have the liquidity to make this payment.
5. Expensive cars and luxury cars are generally not covered
6. Large vehicles may not be covered either. I rented an SUV once that seated more than the maximum outlined in the insurance.
7. For any significant damage you think exceeds $100, file a police report. Police hate this, but it will make your insurance process smoother.
8. If there's damage, take thorough pictures for insurance evidence

I use both my MBNA mastercard and my CIBC visa for car rentals in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US. In every case I use the card's collision insurance, and purchase the rental agency's 3rd party liability insurance.

I've only experienced damage in Canada so I haven't tested the foreign claim procedure. My domestic claim was very smooth through RSA (Royal Sun Alliance), the underwriter. Someone ran into my parked car, causing thousands of dollars of damage. My rental was with Enterprise and my visa card had an RSA policy. The insurance claim was about as smooth as I could hope, which is now why I try to always rent from Enterprise and use that same visa card.

Doesn't really answer your foreign rental question, but check your policy description and phone them. I had asked my card's insurer about US, AU, NZ and these seemed to be covered just fine, as long as I took care of 3rd party liability seperately.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> I've only experienced damage in Canada so I haven't tested the foreign claim procedure. My domestic claim was very smooth through RSA (Royal Sun Alliance), the underwriter. Someone ran into my parked car, causing thousands of dollars of damage. My rental was with Enterprise and my visa card had an RSA policy. The insurance claim was about as smooth as I could hope, which is now why I try to always rent from Enterprise and use that same visa card.
> 
> Doesn't really answer your foreign rental question, but check your policy description and phone them. I had asked my card's insurer about US, AU, NZ and these seemed to be covered just fine, as long as I took care of 3rd party liability seperately.


Thrifty/Dollar in Europe are absolutely worst rentals.... I rented before in France and Germany with Enterprise and Budget/Avis, everything got smooth... but 
yes, I'd like to know if anyone "tested the foreign claim procedure". 3rd party liability from my experience is always covered by rental company and included in price.... Before i rented , i also called credit card guys and they assured me that everything is covered and no deductible. The problem can be with minor damage to car like scratch or crack in window... rental company will charge you (and because you have to fly back, no time for negotiations) and have no idea how to deal with Credit card insurance department in canada


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I had a claim on CIBC Visa in Spain. They insisted on a receipt for the repair. I had settled the repair on that CC when we returned the car. Europcar would not respond to my repeated requests for documentation. It was 169 euros. The credit card receipt was deemed inadequate.

If I had to do it again, I would get the car fixed before returning it. (Or take out local insurance, even though much more expensive.)


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