Insurance - what to do
 

Guys, my Hokkaido trip is coming up shortly. I think I'm going to rent a car just to drive the Muroran-CTS-Sapporo-Otaru corridor, as I think driving on the expressway should be manageable with 95% probability this time of the year. However, I'm still taking the bus to the ski resort area.

So I want to have a firm understanding of what to do with insurance once and for all. I just perused posts #80~120 or so of this thread carefully, especially paying close attention to posts by our car rental expert Beep88. I'm hoping he could chime in again. But anybody else is welcome to advise.

I'm renting from an agency that doesn't have an English version of insurance info. So I'll link this one instead: Regarding Insurance - ORIX Rent a Car Orix's policy is very similar to the place I'm renting from.

Here's what I'm planning to do. Please tell me if I have the right thought process. I have a US-issued credit card. I'm very risk-adverse btw, but also want to save as much money as possible.
- I will probably decline the rental company's CDW (1080y/day), since it seems like all rentals in Jpn inherently include coverage for damage to my car and the 3rd party car (save for 50k yen deductible each for my car and 3rd party car) and my CC will cover the primary collision up to the total cost of the car/damage. The only benefit I get by accepting CDW is that it would exempt me from the 50k deductible for 3rd party damage.
- Even if I change my mind and decide to pay for the rental company's CDW, I'm not really losing anything by effectively waiving my CC insurance benefits. That's because the car rental's inherent insurance coverage + their CDW will offer everything my CC can, plus it will cover other things the CC does not (eg, liability or 3rd party damage and medical).
- I will decline the rental company's NOC, since that is most likely covered by my CC.

Generally speaking,

NOC is covered by CC.
3rd party is not covered by CC.

For short rentals, I buy the 1080 yen/day CDW and write "I decline CDW" on the contract to get CC coverage on the NOC. Not all rental companies sell NOC waiver. I usually rent from Toyota and the 15% discount with Hertz sort of covers the CDW.

But if you pay for 1080y CDW and yet write "I decline CDW," then that implies you're relinquishing everything that 1080yen entitles you to... including waiving of 50k yen deductible for liability (3rd party damage) which your CC would not cover. So then what's the point of paying 1080yen in the first place?

Wouldn't you want to do either of the following?
a). Decline rental car CDW (ie, don't pay 1080/day), have your CC cover primary damage & NOC, take a chance by risking responsibility for 3rd party damage deductible (50k yen).
- or -
b). Buy rental car CDW for 1080/day, relinquish CC coverage and take a chance by risking responsibility for NOC (20/50k yen).

well, "CDW" is not a term found on the legal contract, Also the statement is written in English. I would assume it has no legal meaning to the rental company. I don't know.

OK, I guess it's better to write "I decline Car Damage compensation coverage". https://rent.toyota.co.jp/eng/guide/insurance.html

or " I decline Vehicle Compensation coverage" https://nissan-rentacar.com/english/...insurance.html

I called my credit card company. Their policy is really solid. Their coverage is primary, and they cover up to the vehicle's original MSRP, as well as NOC and any and all deductibles. Makes you wonder what's in it for credit card companies to offer something like this in the first place.

Anyways, they told me they hadn't heard of or advised any customer to do anything like buy the rental car coverage but write "I decline CDW" or "I decline my vehicle's collision and damage coverage" or anything like that. So I appreciate all your advice, but I don't think I'll do that. I'm leaning towards just declining rental car's CDW. Let me know if anyone has any additional input on this.

Get a copy of the CC's statement of coverage and have it with you.. I once (~ 5 years ago, but still) had a rental company in Japan ask for proof of alternative coverage even though it was clear the guy at the counter couldn't/wasn't about to read it. They, not unreasonably, do want to guarantee that you have legal coverage.

AMEX Canada Platinum:

The Cardmember must decline the Rental Agency’sCDW, LDW or similar coverage offered by the Rental Agency on the rental contract. If there is no space on the vehicle rental contract for the Cardmember to indicate that they have declined the coverage, then they should indicate in writing on the contract “I decline the CDW provided by the Rental Agency”

Even if you decline everything, the max liability is 50k property + 50k car damage + 50k NOC . Hardly castastrophic for them to require "proof".

Can buy NOC coverage. Available from some rental providers (Times, Sky..)

Yes, I'm doing that.

Okay, but this is simply telling you how to make it clear that you're declining rental car company's waivers/coverage, so that Amex will cover you. It's telling you to write it out, if no other place exists on the rental contract where you are explicitly turning down the rental car CDW. It's not telling you that, if you write "I decline the CDW provided by the Rental Agency," then you get to retain AMEx coverage even if you had purchased rental car CDW with the intention of using some aspect of their coverage.

You called your insurer and made your decisions.

I called my insurer ( the adjuster specifically ), described all the coverages in the "CDW" provided by the rental company, listened to the insurer's points of view, and followed their advice. Obviously our policy terms are different.

There is no place on the contract to decline CDW that is identical to (no more, no less) the credit card coverage.

I don't understand what you're saying. Whose max liability are the numbers you list? What currency? The driver? The rental company? The CC company? Liability in Japan can quite scary without coverage.

I think what he/she is saying is the following:
By declining the rental car company's CDW, the worst case scenario in terms of your liability to the rental car company is that you'd be on the hook for 50k deductible for your vehicle's damage, 50k deductible for the 3rd party vehicle damage and 50k non-operation charge. All in yen. Japanese car rental is such that the actual coverage is already included in the rental. So even if you decline the CDW, you're only on the hook for those deductibles. And he/she is presumably saying that such sum is small potatoes to the rental car company and therefore they would not be insistent on asking for any proof of your own insurance.

Btw, I agree with you that you should always carry a proof of insurance when renting from an agency abroad (abroad as in outside of US, if you live in US with American CC that offers this type of coverage).