Using visa for car hire & insurance prot

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Mon 12 Mar 2007 17:41
Using visa for car hire & insurance prot - metso
Hi,
In the past i have always hired a card using my Natwest Visa card, I tend not to go for the insurance protector that is offered by so many of the car hire companies. In doing so I always run the risk of paying the excess fee should I have an accident or a little scratch on the car.

An American colleague of mine told me that if using a Visa card I should be covered under the Visa card insurance policy, which gave me some reassurance. I contacted Natwest Visa and they advised me that I am covered.

However after some research and an email to Natwest I found this to be incorrect and I'm not covered..thank fully I managed to return the car after 2 months hire without a blemish!!!

So ultimately my question is are there any credit cards that do have an isnurance that do cover you in the event that you would have to pay for an excess claim against a car hire made out on your visa card?

Of course I understand you would have to pay a premium, but imagine such a cost would be significantly less than paying the full excess.

Thank you for your help and your answers.
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Mon 12 Mar 2007 18:19
Using visa for car hire & insurance prot - Bill Payer
This question often pops up on the Disney forums as people strive to avoid paying the huge add-on insurances that US car hire company's charge.

You can buy a totally stand alone policy from www.insurance4carhire.com - Natwest used to (maybe still do) sell this policy at a slightly cheaper price although people have reported that it's difficult to get NatWest to admit that they sell it!

Some of the upgraded bank and card accounts include travel insurance which may include hire car excess's - I think the Amex travel insurance policy does. You need to have a look at the coverage for each account / card. It's very different in the US as most peoples ordinary car insurance covers them when driving hire cars.

One of the downsides of using these types of policy in the US (and may apply elsewhere) is that you can be asked to leave a substantial deposit before you'll be given the car, and you might have to settle any claims yourself and then claim it back.
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Mon 12 Mar 2007 19:01
Using visa for car hire & insurance prot - jc2
Read the small print;not all cards offer the same protection!!!
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