My husband was a car rental agent, so he always had me decline the supplemental insurance because our car insurance would cover it.
Supplemental insurance is essentially useless in my opinion. Lots of hoops to jump through with very little to show for it. Primary credit card insurance may be able to prevent having to get your auto insurance company involved, which could be a huge benefit depending on the circumstances, but supplemental card insurance probably won't help much if at all. If the accident is minor then it won't help you and if the accident is major the supplemental benefit is likely to be the least of your worries. Better to spend your time reviewing and fine tuning your standard auto insurance policy instead of worrying about what some supplemental credit card coverage is willing to offer in some bullet point on the application brochure.
The answer is yes. Here's a MasterCard PDF with the details. For more info, you can call Chase at the number on the back of the card, or MasterCard at 1-800-MC-ASSIST.
I would be very, very careful declining the rental car coverage unless you know for sure the degree to which you covered in the event of an accident or theft of the car. A personal liability of several thousand dollars would be a very bad outcome of making a mistake.
A couple of cards that offer primary coverage are Amex Platinum and Diners (no longer offered for new individual members). Amex also has a deal for its regular card members that offers primary coverage for up to 42 consecutive days of a car rental for $25. Not a bad deal for a rental of more than two days or so.
I'm in a similar situation where I have $1,000 deductible on my personal auto policy. Enterprize offers coverage
You may be licensed to drive, but that doesn't make you a driver. You're not a driver unless you're driving. And you can't drive (legally) unless you're licensed. Ergo, every driver is required to be insured.
Here in Texas if you drive the car of a friend or family member (with permission) then the car owner's insurance covers that ride. You're also excused from requiring insurance so long as you are able to put an amount equal to the minimum legal liability in escrow. In other words there at least two ways you can legally be a licensed driver without any auto insurance at all.
I pay the extra for AmEx's primary coverage. Well, kind-of. I use my AmEx card when I rent. That kicks in the extra primary coverage. If I don't destroy the rental car while I have it, when I turn it back in, I switch and pay with a different card. If the final charge is not on my AmEx card, AmEx doesn't charge the extra $25/rental.
Every state is different. In Michigan, you don't have to have car insurance unless you actually own a car. If my friend, who doesn't own a vehicle, drives my car, they are covered by my policy because, in Michigan, the coverage follows the vehicle. In other states, the coverage follows the driver, so every driver has to carry insurance.
I would not say that every state is different. I've never heard of a state that requires a driver who does not own a car to hold insurance. I'm not even sure what that insurance would be. Auto insurance is for the car and the primary drivers of the car, but occasional drivers are fully covered under the policy.Every state is different. In Michigan, you don't have to have car insurance unless you actually own a car. If my friend, who doesn't own a vehicle, drives my car, they are covered by my policy because, in Michigan, the coverage follows the vehicle. In other states, the coverage follows the driver, so every driver has to carry insurance.
If you are uninsured and plan to drive a friend's vehicle, I highly recommend your friend call their insurance company to ask if coverage applies if you are involved in an accident. If you have auto insurance, then it's still worth asking if their coverage is primary or yours.
As I've said, because every state is so different, it's best to get answers from your insurance company instead of the internet. Trust me. I've seen too many people burned (and then pissed at me) because they didn't understand their coverages and the cop or the body shop or their friend or their cousin's roommate gave them the wrong information.
