American Express Membership Rewards - Premuim Car Rental Protection - $75,000 or $100,000 coverage?

I am going to sign up for the Premium Car Rental Protection (PCRP) available with my SPG AMEX card. There are two coverage levels available; $75,000 at $19.95 per rental or $100,000 at $24.95 per rental. I only rent cars like the Toyota Camery so the car isn't worth even $75,000. Is there a reason we should purchase PCRP at the $100,000 level? ^ :td:

BTW, We don't own any cars so don't have auto insurance, we do have medical & life insurance.

What the Plan Covers
The $100,000 coverage level with a premium of $24.95 covers:
Up to $100,000 of primary damage and theft coverage for the rental car.
• Up to $100,000 of Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage.
• Up to $15,000 per person of excess coverage for Medical Expenses.
• Up to $5,000 per person of excess coverage for personal property, maximum of $10,000 for all. For Florida Residents, up to $15,000 per person of excess coverage for personal property, maximum of $25,000.

The $75,000 coverage level with a premium of $19.95 covers:
• Up to $75,000 of primary damage and theft coverage for the rental car.
• Up to $75,000 of Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage.
• Up to $7,500 per person of excess coverage for Medical Expenses.
• Up to $2,500 per person of excess coverage for personal property, maximum of $5,000 for all.

Not in my opinion.

...only rent cars like the Toyota Camry so the car isn't worth even $75,000....We don't own any cars so don't have auto insurance, we do have medical & life insurance.


Two thoughts:

1. If you rent outside North America, in Europe for example, a car may cost more than you realize depending on the exchange rate. I wouldn't pay extra on every rental to protect against this possibility, just something to think about when you travel elsewhere.

2. This policy does not provide liability coverage.

Does the Premium Car Rental Protection plan cover damage to other vehicles or injury to another person?

No, the Premium Car Rental Protection plan does not provide liability or any other coverage such as uninsured motorists, damage to any other driver’s car or the injury of anyone or anything. You may request liability coverage through your Car Rental Company

Inasmuch as you have no other auto insurance coverage you should probably discuss your exposure with your homeowners' insurance agent to understand if you have coverage though that policy.

The OP should also examine what, if any, auto rental LDW is provided free of charge from whatever credit card(s) would be used to rent. Many gold and platinum credit cards provide complimentary LDW if the rental is charged to the card. That coverage is usually limited to cars with a MSRP of $50,000 or less, so a car like a Camry should be covered. Be aware that some -- but not all -- cards will not provide the coverage if a free-day or dollars-off coupon is used in conjunction with the rental. And some cards will not cover the car rental company's "loss of use" charges unless provided with detailed fleet utilization logs that some rental car companies may refuse to provide, or "administrative fee" charges. But it's not clear that Amex's premium car-rental coverage covers these charges either, so a little investigation may be in order.

And if the OP's personal insurance does not provide coverage for third-party liability when driving a rental car, I would strongly suggest purchasing the rental car company's supplemental liability insurance (SLI).

The OP should also examine what, if any, auto rental LDW is provided free of charge from whatever credit card(s) would be used to rent. Many gold and platinum credit cards provide complimentary LDW if the rental is charged to the card. That coverage is usually limited to cars with a MSRP of $50,000 or less, so a car like a Camry should be covered. Be aware that some -- but not all -- cards will not provide the coverage if a free-day or dollars-off coupon is used in conjunction with the rental. And some cards will not cover the car rental company's "loss of use" charges unless provided with detailed fleet utilization logs that some rental car companies may refuse to provide, or "administrative fee" charges. But it's not clear that Amex's premium car-rental coverage covers these charges either, so a little investigation may be in order.

IME, AMEX is better at this than the other (free) products. Although the fact that the other free products are secondary coverage only isn't relevant in this case (since they'd be de facto primary--but for others reading this thread, be sure to understand that!), the fact that it's a paid product seems to make UFAC (the company that underwrites the coverage) more willing to assist you. AMEX/UFAC's policies as written are now pretty much in line with the other card coverage underwriters' (they didn't used to cover loss-of-use until shortly after I made a huge stink at them for that a couple of years ago--I like to claim responsibility for that change! ;)--but they do now, subject to proof from utilization logs, and I'd have to read again, but I think "valid" [whatever that means] administrative fees are covered as well), but they're more likely to go ahead and pay those costs than the free products are.

It's exceedingly difficult to get a copy online of the actual T&C surrounding the PCRP (other than the abbreviated one posted at the AMEX website). After much looking, I found one, but it's not on the computer I'm on now. I'll see if I can post a link.

FWIW, I finally got it confirmed (in writing!) from AMEX/UFAC that the PCRP does indeed cover rentals booked and prepaid through PL/HW. Manual intervention is needed to ensure the coverage is activated (i.e. call them after the PL charge goes through and tell them to add the PCRP premium). I actually got it confirmed three times, since I sent them three emails (spaced a few days apart when they didn't reply to my original). Then I got three replies (also spaced a few days apart) about two weeks later. So it seems their email turnaround time needs some help, but they do answer emails.

And if the OP's personal insurance does not provide coverage for third-party liability when driving a rental car, I would strongly suggest purchasing the rental car company's supplemental liability insurance (SLI).

I would as well, even in states (NY, NJ, and perhaps a couple of others, IIRC) that require the rental agency to provide mandatory primary liability insurance. Third-party liability, if included in the rental, will most certainly be at the state minimum requirements, which is not enough to protect you unless you are literally penniless and have no future.

It's exceedingly difficult to get a copy online of the actual T&C surrounding the PCRP (other than the abbreviated one posted at the AMEX website). After much looking, I found one, but it's not on the computer I'm on now. I'll see if I can post a link.

Here's that link I found to a PDF with the full T&C of the PCRP:

www.rushrentacar.com/download/decline-AMERICAN.pdf

Thanks for posting the PCRP - I particularly like the section on dismemberment. It's nice to know the severance should occur above the joint :eek: . (See what years of watching CSI does to ya???)

Right now I leaning towards NOT buying the AmEx PCRP and just using the standard AmEx coverage you get when you decline the CDW. Here is my logic- We don't own any cars right now so AmEx becomes primary. I know, possible headaches if we have to file a claim but in 25years of car rentals we have never had any damage.

I will probably buy the Liability Insurance Supplement because I'm not sure our homeowners would cover. That's another forum I guess!

Right now I leaning towards NOT buying the AmEx PCRP and just using the standard AmEx coverage you get when you decline the CDW. Here is my logic- We don't own any cars right now so AmEx becomes primary. I know, possible headaches if we have to file a claim but in 25years of car rentals we have never had any damage.

I will probably buy the Liability Insurance Supplement because I'm not sure our homeowners would cover. That's another forum I guess!

I also do not own a car, and I have done just what you are proposing to do. A couple of things to keep in mind:

1. If you ever use a discount coupon for a rental, be sure to use a credit card that still covers you for the LDW. In my experience, the MasterCards are very good about this; the description of coverage even specifies that you will still be covered, even if a coupon is used, as long as at least one full day's worth of rental charges are charged to the card. I'm not sure what Amex's current policy is about this, but I find it comforting that MasterCard specifically addresses the situation in the written summary of coverage.

2. Some association/organization discount codes limit one's liability in the event of theft of, or damage to, a rental vehicle. For example, using the AARP discount code at participating U.S. locations (typically corporate-owned Avis locations) will limit the renter's responsibility to $5,000.

Thanks for the tip about AARP codes limiting liability! We have AAA & I will check that. This might be the reason we finally join AARP though!

Thanks for the tip about AARP codes limiting liability! We have AAA & I will check that. This might be the reason we finally join AARP though!

FYI, here's a link to AARP's car-rental page, showing the participating companies. Each one offers different discounts/coupons, so you would have to click on each company's box to see the particular deals currently available:

http://products.aarp.org/travel/car_rentals/

Thanks for the tip about AARP codes limiting liability! We have AAA & I will check that. This might be the reason we finally join AARP though!

Note the term "liability" as used by guv1976 is not referring to third-party liability. That term gets used a lot, and it gets confusing.

He means that your exposure in the event of loss or damage to the rental vehicle is limited to $5,000. In other words, you get free LDW with a $5,000 deductible.

The AARP code does not include third-party liability protection.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

Thanks for the tip about AARP codes limiting liability! We have AAA & I will check that. This might be the reason we finally join AARP though!

Note the term "liability" as used by guv1976 is not referring to third-party liability. That term gets used a lot, and it gets confusing.

He means that your exposure in the event of loss or damage to the rental vehicle is limited to $5,000. In other words, you get free LDW with a $5,000 deductible.

The AARP code does not include third-party liability protection.

Actually, the AARP Avis code does provide third-party liability as well, but it's a paltry amount (25/50/10, I believe). Avis used to provide AARP renters with 100/300/25 third-party liability, but they reduced that coverage to the current lower limits a couple of years ago.