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Do I have rental car insurance on my credit card

Let us go through those details to clear up any confusion.

It is a well-known fact that credit card companies offer several benefits to their respective cardholders. One of those benefits some financial institutions offer to their clients is rental car insurance, sometimes also referred to as the ‘Auto Rental Damage Waver’. 

Rental car insurance can be very handy for travelers and can help them to drive their rental car with peace of mind. However, many people wonder how they can check whether or not their credit card has this type of coverage.

In addition to that, some people find the actual terms of insurance somewhat complex and confusing. So let us go through those details to clear up any confusion.

Checking whether the credit card has a rental car insurance policy
The first and simplest way to look for answers is through the website of the issuer of the credit card. For example, let us suppose an individual has a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and wants to check whether or not this card has rental car insurance coverage.

Well, if we visit the Chase Cards benefits page, we can see that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card does have the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. In addition, the page lists the cases that the policy covers, as well as the amount and the period during which the policy is in effect. 

This was just one example of how customers can check the terms and the insurance benefits of their credit cards. Nearly every financial institution which offers credit cards has a website that shows all the relevant details.

One alternative to online research is to just call the relevant credit card company or bank and ask directly whether or not their credit card offers this type of coverage. You can also take a look at some specific credit cards with rental car insurance.

It is also helpful to point out that car renters have an option to buy the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver policy directly from the rental company if their credit card does not offer such coverage.

Reasons for using complicated terms
Now, one logical question which some readers might ask is: why are some banks calling this Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver? Can’t they just call it Rental Car Insurance? Why use such complicated terms?

Well, to understand this, let us take a look at how car rental insurance works in general. The fact of the matter is that all car rental companies have their cars insured to cover such events as auto accidents and car theft.

So this means that the car rental which customers rent and drive is already insured. However, the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver policy makes sure that in case of an auto accident or theft, the car rental company will not go after their client and demand some compensation for the damage.

Without this policy, car renters might have to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to the rental company to compensate for the damages in the case of an accident.

Primary vs. secondary coverage
As we can see from the above discussion, credit cards, which cover rental car insurance, do provide an important benefit for cardholders and can help them save a significant amount of money in the case of an auto accident and car theft.

However, at this point, it is essential to make one distinction: the fact of the matter is that some credit cards offer only secondary coverage, while others offer primary coverage. So what’s the difference? Which one is preferable, or are they essentially the same? 

Many cardholders do have an auto insurance policy. So, having a secondary coverage policy means that in case of an auto collision, it is the auto insurance company of the driver that pays for damages first and the credit card company or the bank only compensates the remaining amount.

In contrast to that, the primary coverage policy means that it is the issuer of the credit card which pays for all of the damages rather than the car insurance company.

Does this make any difference for customers
So is there any difference between primary and secondary coverage if, in both cases, the client does not have to pay for damages? Well, actually, in this case, the primary coverage might be more beneficial.

This is because in the case of secondary insurance, the auto insurance company will pay for damages, but the customer still has to go through the filing process, and most likely, the auto insurance company will charge its clients higher insurance premiums in the future.

On the other hand, with a primary coverage policy, it is the credit card company or bank which takes care of the situation, and the accident will not result in higher insurance premiums going forward.

Rental car insurance: Things to consider
When it comes to rental car insurance coverage, some other considerations might be worth keeping in mind.

Firstly, the actual credit card rental car insurance coverage credit card does have a time limit attached to it. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card only offers coverage for the rental period, which does not exceed 31 consecutive days.
This means that if the customer rents a car for more than 31 days, then he or she needs to buy an insurance policy from the car rental company since the credit card policy does not cover such large periods.

Here it is also worth mentioning that such rental car insurance policies that credit card companies offer typically do not cover exotic or luxury cars or the value of items stolen from the car.

The client will also not benefit from the insurance policy if he or she was driving a car under the influence of alcohol or has broken the car rental agreement in any other way.

News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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