Beware Chase Sappire Rental Insurance

Ecason

Level 2 Member
We recently rented a pickup for a long weekend from Enterprise thinking we were covered with our Chase Sapphire Preferred card as they tout Primary Rental Car Insurance as a benefit. Upon returning the vehicle they found a small crease on the back bumper. I am not sure how the damage occurred, but it seems reasonable that it happened while we had the truck since I didn’t notice it when I picked the vehicle up. Upon trying to file a claim with Chase, I was told that trucks were not eligible for coverage.

I know it is my fault. I hate reading Terms and Conditions. I take things for face value and depend too much on the companies providing the service to tell me what I need to know. They sent me a message with wording something like: Refuse the rental car company insurance and use your Sapphire card and you are covered. So I did, only to find out that it wasn’t there when I needed it.
 

Matt

Administrator
Staff member
I'm not a fan of CC rental coverage- it's a murky subject and while it offers value it has a number of loopholes. One day I'll get around to a proper study of it.
 

MickiSue

Level 2 Member
A costly lesson: never assume that you are covered for anything unless you read it, not in the advertising, but in the policy itself. I worked for health insurance companies for over a decade. The things that were done to avoid covering specific care...ugh, now I need a shower, just thinking about it.
 

PNW-MSSER

Level 2 Member
A compile would be great.

Does anyone know the terms of Amex on these, I always decline the coverage for personal rentals when using my Amex BCP (company pays for insurance for work related rentals). Now wondering if thats not so smart.
 

MickiSue

Level 2 Member
It's really important to read the 6 pt font little booklet of "benefits" that came with your CC. Each CC has a different package of benefits, not just each bank. And, they can vary, based on the year that they were issued.

One thing that a lot of people miss is that many CCs cover accidental injury or death, when traveling on a ticket that was purchased with that CC. CC companies have so many unfair advantages over the consumer, that we may as well take advantage of every perk they offer. They offer a lot of them, because so few people bother to find out about them.

Basically, I'm telling you to "read the thread", but it's stored, no doubt, in a file folder somewhere. :cool:
 

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
I'm not a fan of CC rental coverage- it's a murky subject and while it offers value it has a number of loopholes. One day I'll get around to a proper study of it.
Yes, and be sure to read the fine print and consider the place you are renting. One of my kiddos had a car accident in Easter Island of all places (fender bender at the gas station, filling up right before turning car in, UGH). Had charged rental to a credit card and tried to recover from the CC insurance but had no luck at all. Two thoughts: some places it costs a fortune to fix a car because everything is expensive and imported in and the further off the track you are the less chance you have of getting a settlement.

OK, so a few years later I went to Easter Island and actually went myself in person to the car rental company to check it out. They actually remembered the whole thing and were clearly not planning on providing any paperwork to Citibank and that is part of why the claim was not satisfactorily dealt with. It was a small little company. What are you going to do?
 

MaryE

Level 2 Member
Great discussion, thanks to all. I went and got me a Non-owner auto policy today. I'll still use my CSP for the primary, though.
 

yks

Level 2 Member
Yeah getting money out of all these credit card coverages makes pulling teeth look easy. Usually they're not even covered by the issuer or even purchased by the issuer - rather Visa and MC buys it from a 4th party. Chase actually purchases directly from Chubb but still ...

The exception to the rule is Amex - I've had return protection claims approved on a watch and a phone - both explicitly excluded in the policy. And the one time I had to make a claim for car rental collusion (I'm enrolled in premium) I had a very easy time.
 

MickiSue

Level 2 Member
Years ago, I worked in life and health reinsurance. And we regularly got reinsurance claims for the ADD portion of credit card coverage, so I know they pay those.

OTOH, who wants to have to collect on that?
 

janetdoe

Level 2 Member
Yes, and be sure to read the fine print and consider the place you are renting. One of my kiddos had a car accident in Easter Island of all places (fender bender at the gas station, filling up right before turning car in, UGH). Had charged rental to a credit card and tried to recover from the CC insurance but had no luck at all. Two thoughts: some places it costs a fortune to fix a car because everything is expensive and imported in and the further off the track you are the less chance you have of getting a settlement.

OK, so a few years later I went to Easter Island and actually went myself in person to the car rental company to check it out. They actually remembered the whole thing and were clearly not planning on providing any paperwork to Citibank and that is part of why the claim was not satisfactorily dealt with. It was a small little company. What are you going to do?
This is a very eye-opening anecdote.

Did you end up paying for the repairs? If the rental company was refusing to provide paperwork to facilitate an insurance claim, I'm not sure I would feel obligated to pay for the repairs. And the only card they could possibly charge would be the one that carried the insurance, so it would seem trivial to dispute the charge.
 

smittytabb

Moderator
Staff member
This is a very eye-opening anecdote.

Did you end up paying for the repairs? If the rental company was refusing to provide paperwork to facilitate an insurance claim, I'm not sure I would feel obligated to pay for the repairs. And the only card they could possibly charge would be the one that carried the insurance, so it would seem trivial to dispute the charge.
Not me, my daughter. She ended up paying, not realizing the credit card could cover it. I stepped in after the fact to suggest she file a claim. It is a small island. This does not surprise me at all. For her to not pay and potentially not be able to leave the island on her flight? She was living in Chile and in the country on a work visa. She took a holiday to Easter Island in country. Not sure it would have been worth it to not pay and risk all kinds of worse things happening.
 
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