Not quite sure what to check...customer service by phone was (as always) rather clueless, and seemed to have only a vague idea what foreign countries are So a while back had them send me a copy of the actual insurance certificate. Damage up to the value of a rented car, plus admin fees and reasonable loss of use, is covered worldwide, provided

• Reserved with and at least 75% paid by the CC
• Extra CDW from car rental agency declined (and damage covered only up to level of any compulsory included CDW I can't decline)
• Rental no more than 31 days
• Special cars (e.g. trucks, premium cars) excluded
• Do have to call specific number provided within 48 hours of an event leading to a claim, i.e. not sit tight and then just push it on them when rentalco decides to bill me a month later.

None of the potentially nasty exclusions that seem standard on rentalco CDW in some countries, e.g. negligence/DUI, single-car accident, gravel roads, windshield damage, etc.

This is for a Canadian HSBC Premier MasterCard - thought it was rather standard for Premium cards. Note does not include liability coverage, but a) the rentalcos themselves have some liability insurance, b) in NZ wouldn't most things fall under the uniform car accident coverage scheme anyway, and c) I carry (for other reasons) a personal umbrella liability policy on my homeowners' insurance.

Bizarrely, I also have a US HSBC Premier Mastercard, They were equally clueless on the phone but couldn't even send me the insurance certificate ("we'll have to look into that"...and never did). So even though it's not as good in terms of fx, I use the Canadian card for car rentals.