American Express rental car protection for 24.95

[MKKShah]

Amex offers $24.95 rental car insurance for upto 42 days. I have now enrolled in this. It seems to me that this is a cheap way to protect the rental while on the road. Of course this does not include liability, but only the damage/loss of use for the car. For trips longer than a day, this seems to pay for itself.

My own personal insurance also has rental car insurance. What do you think? Did I make the right choice?

[disneysteve]

Why would you pay anything for duplicate coverage? If your car insurance covers rentals, you're good. I'd cancel the other if you can get a refund.

[Jack2012]

Why would you pay anything for duplicate coverage? If your car insurance covers rentals, you're good. I'd cancel the other if you can get a refund.

yep... i think the same!

[dczech09]

The problem with having duplicate coverage for any kind of property and casualty insurance is that you run the risk of the two insurance companies fighting over who is the primary. So really it is senseless.

Also, how often do you rent? I do not know how you can say rental car insurance "pays for itself" unless you get into an accident that is covered by it.

There is no such thing as an insurance policy that "pays for itself."

[BuckyBadger]

Is this the third thread where you've paid extra for some sort of protection plan for something and then come and asked the board, and then everyone's told you that it was a bad idea?

Maybe skip the step where you pay for the thing before you come here and ask about it and we can save you a buck or two!



I agree with the others. If you have rental coverage through your own insurance, why on earth would you pay for more coverage from a different source? I mean, what were YOUR thoughts about it that made you decide to pay for it??

[disneysteve]

Is this the third thread where you've paid extra for some sort of protection plan for something and then come and asked the board, and then everyone's told you that it was a bad idea?

Maybe skip the step where you pay for the thing before you come here and ask about it and we can save you a buck or two!

Yep. I had the very same thought. I'm starting to wonder about these threads.

[MKKShah]

Just to clarify, I haven't paid anything yet. I have just "enrolled" for this service, and enrollment doesn't cost anything. What happens is that when I rent a car using Amex, a $24.95 fee is automatically charged to my card, and I am considered insured for the duration of the rental for this one flat fee (upto 42 days).

My personal insurance definitely covers rentals. However, it also has a $500 deductible. Until recently I have always taken my car, and always driven to my vacation destinations. However, I now am planning to fly to my vacation destinations this year (since they are all so far away that driving does not make sense). And I will be renting. And these places are near large metro areas known for high crime rates / erratic driving habits.

So when I saw this offer from Amex, just thought why not? But, for the very same reasons some of you mentioned, i.e duplicate coverage, I am having second thoughts. What am I paying this $25 for? It's the for the peace of mind that I won't have to use "my" insurance when I am a victim in a touristy place, plus say the $500 in deductible, plus any possible increase in my own insurance rates. The real question is, is $25 worth it?

Is there an increased risk of being in an accident when driving a rental in an unkown city? Is $25 (per trip) worth it to protect against this increase in risk (for a trip of 4 - 7 days, 3 to 4 times a year)?

[disneysteve]

Are you sure the Amex coverage has no deductible? If so, that might make it a better deal since it could potentially save you $500, though $25 for $500 of insurance is still kind of pricey.

Also, have you checked if any of your credit cards already include rental car coverage? One of your 11 cards might. I know my Marriott Visa includes rental car coverage so I've already got duplicate coverage at no additional cost.

[MKKShah]

Also, have you checked if any of your credit cards already include rental car coverage? One of your 11 cards might. I know my Marriott Visa includes rental car coverage so I've already got duplicate coverage at no additional cost.

4 of my cards claim to have coverage, but come with all sorts of conditions. I actually don't trust credit card based "insurance". Except in the case of Amex, they are very clear in what they will cover, and have a sort of a concierge that will handle 'everything', i.e. all the paperwork and negotiations with the rental car companies.

I checked my agreement and no, there are no deductibles.

Also, do you think there is an increased risk in the scenarios I mentioned above? I have feeling that my risks are slightly higher on a vacation, just because nearly 100% of where I will be driving is new, while when at home 95% of where I drive is known territory.

[disneysteve]

Also, do you think there is an increased risk in the scenarios I mentioned above? I have feeling that my risks are slightly higher on a vacation, just because nearly 100% of where I will be driving is new, while when at home 95% of where I drive is known territory.

I have no idea what the stats say but personally I don't think or feel I'm at any higher risk when driving away from home.

[snafu]

SA is terrific since it offers so many divergent views. We take 4-6 fly/drive trips each year so interested in your hypothesis of out-of home-region car/driving issues. Although those involved blame something else, driver behavior is the primary reason for auto accidents. Excluding teen drivers, the primary causes are excessive speed, aggressive behavior, driver fatigue, distracted driver, alcohol, boredom.

Are you going to the worst cities for auto accidents: Alexandria,Va, SF, Jersey City, Hartford, CT, Philadelphia, Providence, Newark, Glendale, CA, Baltimore and DC?

In my experience we are far more likely to drive defensively, aware of signage, speed limits, planning routes, anticipating problems in unfamiliar places.

[rennigade]

OP...I also signed up/have already used amex's protection coverage. Its a great deal.

Yep most insurances do cover rental car accidents...but they will not pick up the deductible. AMEX will, they cover 100%.

Whenever you swipe your amex at any car rental it automatically "activates" the protection, thus billing you the $25.

I was in Hawaii 3 years ago. At the time this plan wasnt around so I purchased insurance from enterprise, it was like $18/day maybe. I had the car for 3 days. Somewhere along the line someone hit/scraped the back bumper pretty bad. May have been the valet drivers? Who knows. Either way I was glad to have insurance that didn't require me to pay a deductible. $54 of their insurance was better than me paying $500.

Yep, im not worried about me hitting something when im driving a rental. Its when im not around the car the "what if" comes into play. If people are comfortable with having to pay their deductible at the slim chance of something happening, more power to you.

With the accident that happened in hawaii, im still way ahead of the curve. I'll gladly pay for the amex coverage knowing a tank can run over my car and I will only have to pay $25.