car rental insurance

pks

SBH Insider
We are returning next week for our yearly trip. We have always refused the insurance at the car rental and depended on our credit card company that the rental was on( luckily never had an incident) but it is my understanding that any damage would be covered on our rental only and not on the other party if we were at fault. Injury liability I believe is covered by the rental company. How do you cover any damage to the other party if you are at fault? Any feedback would be appreciated. Merci
 
American Express covered a small accident I had 3 years ago. We were charged $3500 for slight damage and AE contested it and no monies changed hands.
 
I have found Amex to be very good in its coverage on SBH, though it’s very slow. For example, a recent relatively small claim — 500 Euros, more or less — took more than six months to resolve . . . then, payment was in US $$$, which caused the rental agency to incur bank fees for conversion. For this reason, not all car rental agencies will accept Amex.

With respect to coverage provided by a MasterCard or Visa, check ahead of time — some cards, depending on your card status, will require that your US personal auto insurance provide first level coverage.
 
I have found Amex to be very good in its coverage on SBH, though it’s very slow. For example, a recent relatively small claim — 500 Euros, more or less — took more than six months to resolve . . . then, payment was in US $$$, which caused the rental agency to incur bank fees for conversion. For this reason, not all car rental agencies will accept Amex.

With respect to coverage provided by a MasterCard or Visa, check ahead of time — some cards, depending on your card status, will require that your US personal auto insurance provide first level coverage.

Most US policies don't provide foreign coverage
 
Except for a couple of countries such as Ireland and those seldom visited say in Africa or elsewhere, our insurance covers us with the credit card as secondary.
 
...We have always refused the insurance at the car rental and depended on our credit card company... but it is my understanding that any damage would be covered on our rental only and not on the other party if we were at fault. Injury liability I believe is covered by the rental company. How do you cover any damage to the other party if you are at fault? Any feedback would be appreciated. Merci

Credit card companies, to my knowledge, do not provide liability coverage, even the supplemental premium insurance that can be added on to the standard AMEX secondary coverage.

Car rentals in EU countries are required to include a fee for basic liability coverage for damage to another party (check with your car rental agency; if Arnaud reads this, he could comment).

if you have an "umbrella" policy, it may cover you worldwide for damages in excess to what would be covered by the basic coverage (you would need to check your policy).

The above may be completely wrong but you did say that any feedback would be appreciated...
 
My business coverage excess umbrella policy covers any auto I drive around the world. I paid extra for the rider to include such coverage. Peace of mind.
 
I found out the hard way that most credit cards cover the car you are driving but NOT the one you hit...
I think the car rentals in St Barth cover the car you hit but not the one you are driving and even if you take all of their insurance there is a 500 euro deductible at least at Budget...
I'd check with your credit car before renting on the island if you want to use it as coverage
 
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