Check into other sources being your primary coverage. For as often as I rent a car, AmEx's additional coverage at this price is too steep for me, thank you. Diners Club costs under $100/year and they are primary coverage.

I guess I have a different viewpoint. My personal auto insurance will have a cliam against it if I use it for a rental car and have to put in a claim. No thanks. I really don't want a claim or premium increase. By using the AMX additional coverage, I do not have to have any hassles with claims against my personal policy. It is a full coverage, primary insurance that does not affect my personal auto policy. You need to check your personal auto insurance policy for coverage. It is often subject to the same deductables as your own car and you will still be resonsible for costs.

Because:

1) there usually is a deductible on your own auto policy even if it is comprehensive.

2) your own auto policy premium will go UP and stay at a high level for the next 3 to 5 years.

I honestly think No.2 is the main reason why many who have small rental car claims that are, say, just above the deductible of their auto policy, end up not file for anything. Remember, the CC would require you to send in the DECLARATION PAGE of your auto insurance before they process your claim - whether the CC is secondary or primary (when you dont have auto poliicy or only the liability policy).

As I said in my post, DC is also primary coverage so no hassles or dings that affect my personal auto policy. So I don't see the diference between your AmEx "pay per rental" coverage and my DC coverage included in my annual fee. Please enlighten me.

None provide liability insurance, AFAIK, so beware.

My American Express has no annual fee. I can get extended coverage and pay for it only as needed and at a higher coverage for more types of vehicles. I can enlighten you but you seem happy paying for your Diners Club.

Everyone has personal preferences.

My AMX gives me :
Coverage is activated when you use your enrolled Card to reserve and pay for the Rental Auto.
• Coverage is for you and your Passengers.
• Up to $100,000 for theft of or damage to the rental car.
• Up to $100,000 for Accidental Death or Dismemberment (up to $10,000 for a Passenger). For California Residents, up to $250,000 for Accidental Death or Dismemberment for the Cardmember and each Passenger.
• Up to $15,000 per person for medical expenses.
• Up to $5,000 per person for theft of personal property.

It covers SUV's, pickups, exoctic cars etc

If you file the claim with your personal insurance company the deductible would still be covered by the secondary insurance that is automatically included with the credit card. You do not need to pay extra to receive this benefit.

If the incident involves damage to other property or people your own insurance will still be involved because there is no liability coverage provided by the credit card plans. In my experience a claim does not result in higher premiums, but of course this will depend on responsibility for the damage, your driving record, claims history, and time with the insurer.

I must confess that I have never understood this argument. If your personal auto is stolen or damaged, you will have to submit a claim to your insurer, and your premium may go up. Do you really think that you are more likely to have a rental car stolen or damaged than your personal auto? And even if the answer is yes, is the likelihood so much greater as to make it worth paying the relatively high cost for primary car-rental coverage? Remember that the credit-card insurance will not cover you for damage you cause to other cars or property, and even the supplemental credit-card insurance provides only limited coverage for physical injury you cause to others. You would still have to rely on your personal auto insurance coverage in those situations.

Think of it this way: You only have one policy for your personal auto. If you have to make a claim for something involving your personal auto, your premium may go up. But you haven't purchased a second policy for your personal auto, so that you can avoid making a claim on your first policy. But that is exactly what you are doing when you purchase supplemental car-rental insurance.

What does this Enterprise story have to do with credit card insurance?

well, for one, I felt totally confident I would have no problems with the insurance issue when renting from these guys. I was also really excited, sorry. Turns out I was right though! I returned the car, they waived all kinds of normally charged fees and the Enterprise lady told me not to ever get the insurance anyway and always just rely on your own CC.

how's that?
And aintcha glad SOMEONE didnt get screwed when renting a car?
Cool!
:)MM

[QUOTE=Happy;7243059]What do you mean "I lawyered this myself"...


/QUOTE]

Well, I am a lawyer (though I don't normally work on anything like this sort of thing) and I did a little research and wrote a strong letter asserting several defenses and potential counterclaims and ultimately they dropped the claim. I am not suggesting that this would always work; I think it would depend largely on the particular facts.
If you'd like further information, PM me.

There is also the option of purchasing rental car coverage from a source other than the rental company. TravelGuard offers rental coverage for about $9US per day (with a $250US deductible).

More info is available here.

Agree, it doesn't make sense to pay for coverage on rental car.

How is this coverage different from the free CDW coverage provided by the credit cards? At a quick glance it doesn't appear to include any third-party liability coverage.

Not all credit cards provide coverage in all countries. I was merely trying to provide readers with another option for coverage.