Does Credit Card Rental Car Insurance Actually Work?

It’s not uncommon to get advertised credit cards that offer rental car insurance. Many travel credit cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve offer rental car insurance as part of the card benefits. While this seems like a nice feature in theory, the Sensible Traveler had always been skeptical as to whether or not the car rental insurance actually works? Before my recent debacle, I had suspected that there would be many “hoops” associated with obtaining the benefit of the credit card car insurance but I still relied it on it and consistently declined any insurance that car rental companies offered me. However, I got to put the credit card rental insurance to a test when I crashed the car into a tiny garage in Glasgow, Scotland. This article walks the sensible traveler through the experience of crashing a rental car, returning the car and working with the credit card rental car insurance company to resolve the situation. In summary, credit card rental car insurance is totally worth it!

The Accident

After driving for two weeks on the left side of the road with a stick shift in a very small car stuffed with bags and people we pulled up to a parking garage in Glasgow, Scotland the evening before we were set to return the rental car. I was very proud at how well I had driven the car on the opposite side of the road during the past two weeks around the country, including the tight roads of the Isle of Skye. Driving these roads is no small feat as one is constantly on single lane roads, dodging fast oncoming cars and sheep! Therefore, I was exhausted and looking forward to parking the car for the night and returning it at the airport the next day.

As we pulled up to the parking garage my palms began to sweat because it was clear that it was going to be a very tight squeeze, there were plenty of marks on sides of the garage from other cars who hadn’t made it through without losing some paint and entering the garage would require a slight angle with a downward slant into the basement of the garage. As I pulled into the garage my partner claimed “You’re good” on the left side of the car but that wasn’t the case. As I began to pull forward a loud scraaaaaape came from the rear left door. I slowly backed up and we found a large gash in the car (pic below for proof). This obviously led to a few hours of bickering and a stressful evening as I continually pondered if and how much we would be charged to repair the car.

Returning the Car

The next day I dropped the car rental off at the Hertz in Glasgow. I debated whether or not to proactively raise the scratch with the Hertz employee or wait and see if he raised it. Eventually I figured there was no way he was going to not see the scratch since he had pictures of the car from before we rented it so I flagged the scratch to him. He was very nice about the entire thing, said it was common in Scotland, took a few pictures with a ruler by the scratch and told me I’d receive a letter in a few weeks if they decided to charge me for the damage. He said that it’s often not worth the administrative hassle to charge people for the damage so he couldn’t be sure I would get the letter. I kept my fingers crossed for the next few weeks hoping I wouldn’t get that letter!

Credit Card Rental Car Insurance

After waiting nearly a month and thinking I was a lucky person who wouldn’t be charged I uncrossed my fingers and immediately received the letter in the mail from Hertz. While the damage wasn’t over $1000 USD, it still wasn’t cheap and I thought there was a good chance we wouldn’t be eating anything more than bread and water for the next few months to cover the damage.

Once I received the bill I submitted the claim to the credit card rental car insurance company. However, you’ll want to make sure you submit the claim within the allowed time period to ensure you don’t lose your benefit. At the time, I believe I had 60 days to submit the claim from the accident. Chase outsources the benefit to a third party so it took a bit of digging on their website to figure out how to submit the claim but it was relatively easy.

In order to submit the claim I had to provide the bill along with the rental agreement. On the rental agreement it made it clear that I had declined any insurance from the rental car company and it is imperative that you do this! Typically YOU MUST DECLINE RENTAL INSURANCE WHEN RENTING A CAR in order for your credit card rental insurance to be valid. Once I submitted the claim I received a few follow up emails asking for additional information but it was relatively smooth. After a few weeks and no additional action on my part I received a communication saying that I was no longer on the hook for the repair fees. It was that simple!

All of that said, it’s essential to know that credit card car rental insurance is not the same as a personal auto insurance policy. It’s a secondary form of insurance that offers coverage in addition to your personal policy. This type of insurance covers damage to the rental vehicle and theft, but it likely does not cover liability for injury or damage to other vehicles or property. Obviously the Sensible Traveler isn’t an expert on your insurance policies and you should read the terms and conditions of your own policies and contact your insurance or credit card company with any questions.

Pro-tip: I also called Hertz and let them know that I was dealing with Chase’s credit card rental car insurance benefit company. Of course the representative was familiar with the company and said he would contact and work directly with them on my claim. I think this really helped expedite the issue.

Summary

The Sensible Traveler always wondered if the credit card rental car insurance was very useful and it only took a silly car crash in Scotland to find out. Therefore, the Sensible Traveler highly recommends booking rental cars with a credit card that offers rental car insurance. Remember to avoid certain insurance offers from the rental car company and don’t argue too much with your partner when you crash the car because you’re likely covered!