I'm reading their PDS, it seems like as long as I pay the car rental with the CC then I'm covered, but I'm not sure if the additional driver will be?
I don't seem to be able to find that info, or have I missed it? Anyone had a past experience to share?
yes Hubby, seems like I can get him included in travel insurance provided we spend $250 or buy his return airline tix on the CC, but not sure about the car rental excess, a bit confusing.
No cover for damage to tyres, rims, windscreens, glass, roof and/or underbody makes it junk insurance IMO.
Not many insurances do cover that. Also,
I figure if I'm unlucky enough to do a tyre, or windscreen, then I will just have to pay outright vs paying for a tyre every 2 days anyway with a paid premium insurance.
Not many? Just the most popular & competitive excess insurers:
https://www.carhireexcess.com.au: cracked or damaged windscreens, overhead damage, underbody damage, damage to wheels
https://www.rentalcover.com/en/excess-cover: flat tyres, cracked windshields, damaged headlights, lost keys, towing
Yeah, but if you hire for a week, the insurance costs almost the cost of a windscreen.
But to be fair, I wasn't aware there are some that now include this, and will be asking why the credit cards aren't.
Thanks for this.
@sumyungguy: I did a quote to cover the usual $5500 excess these days for 1 week. Was just over $100.
This is excellent compared to what the rental places offer.
But $100 is $100. I had to get one tyre repaired in my many years of hiring. It cost me $15.
But again, I will ask the credit card insurers to change (like they did for covid cover). People pressure is a wonderful thing.
@tunzafun001: I had to pay for a cracked windscreen on a European rental car, cost me $1,200. I had zero excess but glass was excluded.
@sumyungguy: Ouch!
Yeah a windscreen in modern auto braking, self drive cars is a worry. At least $1200. My car is $2100. I would ask for a different car when hiring. Definitely something to be aware of.
Get a normal insurance quote for a self drive car. Starts at about $3k per year…and you cant add windscreen cover.
Amex explorer covers for any damage.
I've also got an hsbc paltinum (free for life) and they cover any damage.
So important to check tnc
… but OP has Citibank Premier
Yeah I'm just putting it out there, there are variations in what's covered with different insurance. People search for keywords and any info is helpful for future reference.
@mbck: I never use the complimentary insurances because they all have an excess, $200 for HSBC and they don't cover tyres or windscreens. Junk policy.
@sumyungguy: Oh no, they've changed it for newer cards.
I'm on an older card. Had to use it last year (2023) and it was smooth for me.
Isn't excess pretty standard?
I checked 1cover, they don't cover windscreen,etc and they have excess.
Scti on the other hand, does cover though.
There's definitely value in complimentary insurance from cards. These are moot if you're not planning to drive for example.
People just need to read and compare the pds depending on what they need.
@mbck: I'm only referring to domestic car rental excess. If you go with complimentary credit card insurances (except Amex) they have some cover exclusions and typically include an excess payment. If you buy stand-alone cover there will typically be zero excess in the event of a claim. I always prefer to travel with zero excess payable because damage that's not your fault may otherwise incur a non-refundable excess payment.
thanks will look into this CC as well
When I was renting one in Christchurch with Avis, my sister was the other driver, she need to be registered in car rental form as the additional driver. It was free, but I believe it is usually a little extra.
Don't know if it was coincidence, when I didn't pay insurance in Auckland, Thrifty gave me a really good, scratch free car, but when I paid insurance in Christchurch, AVIS gave me one with a lot of minor scratches.
What did they say when you called their help desk?
Yeah I can see how this is not clear.
I don't know the actual answer, but I would say that your credit card insurance would cover an additional driver so long as an additional driver is registered with the car hire company.
If the additional driver is not registered, you would be operating the rental vehicle outside of the T&Cs and in the event that you need to make a claim, you would not be covered.
is the additional driver part of your immediate family?