* If you liked this post, why don’t you join the 5,000+ readers who have signed-up to receive free b

Blog Travel Credit Cards Airlines Bank Reward Points Hotels Credit Card Resources Hot Deals New to Miles Points Mile Point Resources Airline Award Charts Airline Frequent Flyer Program Sign-Up Hotel Reward Night Charts Hotel Reward Program Sign-Up About Contact Me
If you decline the Collision executive royal inn edmonton Damage Waiver (CDW) offered by the car rental agency, but charge the rental to a credit card offering primary car rental coverage, the credit card insurance will usually pick up the bill for physical executive royal inn edmonton damage/theft, loss-of-use charges, and towing for the rental executive royal inn edmonton car if you get into an accident  (up to the coverage limit) without requiring you to file a claim with your personal car insurance company.
Note that primary car rental insurance will NOT cover damage to the other car, any property damaged, and injuries to you or others.  You are still liable for those damages and your personal car insurance policy may cover those claims.
Many folks think that having primary car rental insurance via a credit card means that the credit card insurance pays the bill for ALL damages.  That is NOT true!  It only pays the bill for damages to your rental car!
If you were to get in an accident in the US, the secondary car rental credit card insurance would require you to file a claim with your personal auto insurance provider, and would then pay you only the deductible on your personal car insurance policy.
However, if you don t have a car insurance policy executive royal inn edmonton in the US, secondary rental car insurance on a credit card will work as primary rental car insurance and will usually pay for physical damage/theft, loss-of-use charges, and towing charges for the rental car.   Note that you are still liable for damages to other property and persons.
Similarly outside the US, most secondary credit card rental car insurance will actually be primary rental car insurance and will pay for physical damage/theft, loss-of-use charges, and towing charges for the rental car.  You will still be liable for damages to other property and persons.
Auto Rental CDW is primary coverage. In other words, when your rental is primarily for business purposes, you do not have to claim payment from any source of insurance before receiving coverage under the benefit.
However, if you are on a personal trip and you use your Business executive royal inn edmonton card to rent a covered vehicle, Business executive royal inn edmonton Auto Rental CDW supplements, and applies excess of , any valid and collectible insurance or reimbursement benefits from any source.
It does not duplicate insurance provided by or purchased through the auto rental company; it will not pay for losses reimbursed by your own insurer, employer, executive royal inn edmonton employer's insurance, or any other valid and collectible insurance. Auto Rental CDW will reimburse you for the deductible portion executive royal inn edmonton of your personal automobile insurance, valid administrative and loss-of-use charges imposed by the rental car company, as well as reasonable towing charges executive royal inn edmonton resulting executive royal inn edmonton from covered damage or theft of a rental vehicle while it is your responsibility.
Bottom Line:   I personally don t value primary rental car insurance, because I m comfortable filing a claim with my personal car insurance company for damage to a rental car in the US.  Primary rental car insurance doesn t cover damage to other persons or property or the rental car occupants, and that s what I want to most protect myself against.
But, some folks like car rental primary insurance coverage in the US.  Just be careful to not expect primary car rental executive royal inn edmonton insurance coverage when you use a business credit card which offers primary insurance for a personal car rental.
* If you liked this post, why don't you join the 5,000+ executive royal inn edmonton readers who have signed-up to receive free blog posts via email ( only 1 email per day! ) or in a RSS reader …because then you'll executive royal inn edmonton n ever miss another credit card benefit analysis.
Nice post! I agree that my normal insurance is still 100% necessary, since liability coverage would likely be the most important part of my needs in an accident *knock on wood*. executive royal inn edmonton However, since I have the MileagePlus Explorer anyway (at least for this year!), I figure I may as well use it to take advantage of primary CDW. Saving that deductible is better than saving nothing and worth it to me in the opportunity cost of only earning 1 mile per dollar using that card vs. 2 miles on a different card.
Is there a specific (VI, MC, AMEX) that provides better coverage outside the USA? Interested in Belgium executive royal inn edmonton and Germany for some upcoming travel. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the Sapphire MasterCard version had coverage that others didn t provide-although that might have been specific to a country (Israel?)
I was going to throw in Diners but chief Diners Club Evangelist @GaryLeff beat me to it lol! I didnt realize the United Explorer was primary good to know! Thanks Daraius, this is a good reference for people!
I have the Chase Ink, Sapphire, Chase United Mileage Plu, Delta Amex. I am in the US. Do any of these provide liability and CDW? I usually use my Delta Amex but was told that it does not cover liability. I am confused. Sorry and thanks for clarifying.
So just to be clear, if I have a U.S. insurance policy (full coverage) for the cars I own, it is never necessary to add any insurance from the car rental company whatsoever right? Or what is the benefit of adding the car rental agency s insurance? They always make a blurb about how your own insurance doesn t cover something, executive royal inn edmonton but I don t think I full understand that.
Credit executive royal inn edmonton card companies when providing secondary coverage WILL NOT require you to file with your personal auto carrier before executive royal inn edmonton they pay on a property damage claim. The will want a copy of your declarations page to see the coverage you carry and to verify what your deductible is and that is it. If you then want to pay the difference or file with your insurance then that is your choice.
Take note: NY, and MN residents. If you carry auto insurance in these 2 states and even if it s just liability that you carry, your insurance company will still be in the primary position executive royal inn edmonton to cover the property damage to the rental vehicle unless you purchased primary coverage from the credit card company. When you rent a vehicle coverage will be applied under the liability portion of the policy. The majority of TX auto policies are still this way, but the policy language in some of the newer written policies have changed to apply coverage under collision.
Ivan If you carry collision on your personal auto policy it is not necessary to purchase coverage, but that doesn t mean that you shouldn t. It boils down to personal preference. Figure out what will best benefit you. Do you want the hassle of filing a claim with your carrier for damages, paying a deductible + fees charged on a rental car companies claim, and possibly having your insurance rates rise as a result of the claim?? I ve seen it go both ways. It s a great thing to have and your thankful you had it when you needed it, but then if nothing happens then you think why did I purchase coverage when I have insurance.
Thanks for the response Josh. Well then if have your own US auto insurance policy and then use a credit card that provides coverage, what coverage does the credit card provide? I m not sure I understand all that.
1 If you do not have collision coverage executive royal inn edmonton on your personal policy, then you should either pay for it with the rental, or use a card that provides it. Because if you don t have collision coverage, and you back into a pole, it s going to cost you more than you think. Many people do not have collision coverage, because it s not required in most states, and most people buy the cheapest insurance they can find.
2 If you do have collision coverage on your own policy, and you back into a pole, your regular insurance will cover it. Buy your rates may go up! That s the main reason to use a credit executive royal inn edmonton card that will provide primary coverage, without making you talk to your insurance company first.
The personal insurance coverage applicable to damage to your rental car is Collision Coverage. I don t carry Collision Coverage on my personal car. When I dented my Avis rental, Visa covered all the costs without too much hassle, except this: I had to prove that I had no Collision Coverage, which I did by signing an affidavit. I figured that if Visa had any contact with my insurance carrier, it might raise my premium, so the affidavit didn t even give the carrier s name.
Ivan The credit card secondary coverage would cover your deductible that you carry with your personal auto insurance. If it s a Visa they will cover a portion and sometimes in full the loss of use and administrative fees in addition to your deductible if those items aren t covered under your personal auto policy.
Amex Same as above, but will only cover admin fees charged on rentals that originate in California. Loss of use, Amex requires that the rental car companies fleet utilization be greater than 85% during time of repair before they will consider paying any loss of use.
Does it get a bit trickier when one doesn t charge the whole rental to the credit card? Say, one rents by redeeming FF points (Delta, Avios, ThankYou executive royal inn edmonton points, etc ) Aren t there specific terms of service excluding coverage for rentals executive royal inn edmonton not paid in full with their cards? Got a couple rentals executive royal inn edmonton upcoming, BOS and overseas at USM Any pointers will be appreciated!
but not a gift card from the rental car agency, executive royal inn edmonton this is how they make money on those groupon/offers where they sell you a discount gift card but that invalidates the CC insurance, at least it does for AMEX.
Hey Ivan I know Josh already answered (and knows W A Y more about this than I do) but I was wondering the same thing before executive royal inn edmonton my trip to Puerto Rico a few weeks ago. I rented a car with my Sapphire VISA which provides CDW (according to its documents) and my personal insurance policy (and this could be different from yours) covered liability on any rental in the US, including Puerto Rico.
I declined all rental car insu