Do we need additional coverage when renting a car? Many auto rental agencies offer insurance coverag

Even when we consider ourselves to be the safest and most responsible motorist out there on the road, car insurance is one of those things we can t do without. You just never know when a minor fender bender, or a major accident, could call for financial protection.
Do we need additional coverage when renting a car? Many auto rental agencies offer insurance coverage for their own fleet of cars. According to NerdWallet s Tim Chen, writing for U.S. News World Report, collision damage waivers (sometimes called loss damage waivers) aren t  car rental insurance , per se, but protection agreements that the rental company can't levy certain damage charges on the customer, and usually cost between $15 and $25 a day. They cover mishaps like accidents, theft and other natural events, like falling trees or hail. It helps avoid the hassle of filing an insurance claim and dealing with deductible payments, which can become burdensome hawaii travel tourism when traveling away from home.
If you re off on vacation or business, standing at the rental car desk, and feeling pressured to sign off on a costly and unnecessary collision damage waiver, there is an alternative that ll help you save money, utilize your credit, and keep you covered hawaii travel tourism all at the same time. The best part is it s already in your wallet. Your  credit card  can cover car insurance (and other) premiums hawaii travel tourism instead. And if you re using a rewards card, even better. Many of the major credit card suppliers offer better insurance coverage, at cheaper rates.
We usually use our  credit card rewards  for things like cash back on gift purchases, hawaii travel tourism or building frequent flier miles. Taking advantage of a rewards card for something as critical as insurance isn t as common as it should be, though. Each major credit card provider offers different terms and incentives with their insurance and coverage packages.
hawaii travel tourism Visa  offers its Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver to cardholders who want  to protect against accidents and theft when renting a car. The  Visa car rental insurance  plan will cover damages up to the monetary value of the rental vehicle, plus towing costs and loss-of-use charges imposed by the rental company.
In addition to its competitors offers, and its own  American Express  car rental insurance  (which offers up to $50,000 in secondary coverage, according to NerdWallet), AmEx carries some unique protection coverage. There s a worldwide Travel Medical Protection against injury or sickness while traveling. Here, card holders can receive up to $100,000 in emergency medical and dental treatment, plus emergency evacuation to hospitals, and payment to fly loved ones to your side if you re hospitalized.
Related Articles In an Age of Rewards, Are the Best Credit Card Rates Important Anymore? hawaii travel tourism Could the Facebook Card Replace Even the Best Credit Card Rewards? Have You Ever Wondered How Credit Cards Work? Here's the Answer How do these three top credit card companies rank in the rental car insurance stakes? It s hard to decide, especially when you ve been loyal to one card company. Card Hub s 2012 Credit Card Auto Rental Insurance Study showed that Visa s rental hawaii travel tourism car insurance received the highest score from consumers (87%), while American Express and MasterCard hawaii travel tourism ranked at 82% and 73%, respectively. Numbers can speak loudly to customer satisfaction.
There are some things to consider. Credit card auto insurance plans don t usually apply for the rental of expensive or exotic hawaii travel tourism cars. With Visa, if your rental car was stolen, you don t have to turn in the car keys to prove the vehicle was unlocked; with AmEx and MasterCard, you do. However, says NerdWallet, AmEx is the only credit card to offer extra coverage for a small fee.
To activate your credit card s rental car insurance coverage, consumers are advised to make sure they decline the rental car agency s collision damage waiver first otherwise you may be charged without knowing it.
The big question to ask yourself is: Do I really need rental car insurance? If you re already taking advantage of your rewards card s frequent flier miles, for example,that means you find yourself traveling a lot, and could be frequently renting transportation , as well. So, this cost-effective insurance step might help you save. The main reason to buy rental insurance is to avoid getting slammed with tens of thousands in medical fees, says Chen of NerdWallet. Try facing $50,000 in medical expenses hawaii travel tourism that s the limit that most state-mandated health insurance normally covers.
Another reason hawaii travel tourism to go the credit car auto insurance route is if you have no auto insurance to begin with. In this case, many of the secondary insurance policies tied to credit cards is right for people who don t own their own vehicle, but may need to rent one. Says Germanovsky of the Christian hawaii travel tourism Science Monitor,  You get the coverage you need because, through standard terms of a credit card, secondary insurance becomes primary for the uninsured. And you don't have to pay a deductible.