Credit card rental insurance

[Eff-1]

So I saw this article

https://globalnews.ca/news/8086067/c...olicy-warning/

And then I realized I've rented pickup trucks before and mistakenly thought my credit card would cover me, when it in fact would have not.

So I looked at my visa insurance agreement in detail and it says:

The following vehicles are NOT covered:
1. Vans, cargo vans or mini cargo vans (other than mini-vans);
2. Trucks, pick-up trucks or any vehicle that can be spontaneously reconfigured into a pickup truck);
3. Limousines;
4. Off-road vehicles – meaning any vehicle used on roads that are not publicly maintained
roads unless used to ingress and egress private property;
5. Motorcycles, mopeds or motor bikes;
6. Trailers, campers, recreational vehicles or vehicles not licensed for road use;
7. Vehicles towing or propelling trailers or any other object;
8. Mini-buses or buses;
9. Any vehicle with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) excluding all taxes, over sixty-five thousand dollars Canadian ($65,000 CDN);
10. Exotic vehicles, meaning vehicles such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Bricklin, Daimler,
DeLorean, Excalibur, Ferrari, Jensen, Lamborghini, Lotus, Maserati, Porsche, Rolls Royce;
11. Any vehicle which is either wholly or in part hand made, hand finished or has a limited
production of under two thousand, five hundred (2,500) vehicles per year;
12. Antique vehicles, meaning a vehicle over twenty (20) years old or which has not been
manufactured for ten (10) years or more; and
13. Tax-free cars.
Luxury vehicles, including but not limited to BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln and Mercedes Benz, are
covered as long as they meet the above requirements.

Re: point 9, a few times I've walked up to the counter and they've upgraded me to a BMW, Land Rover, etc. How am I supposed to know whether the MSRP of the vehicle is below $65k? Do they have that information at the counter if I ask? I feel like I've dodged many bullets with my previous rentals while thinking all the while I was covered.

Anyways I'm posting this here for others in case it helps knowing what your credit card excludes more or less, YMMV.

[roastpuff]

Amex is a bit better for coverage, as they cover $85k and less, so a bit more leeway. Honestly for travel, Amex's policies and concierge service are very hard to beat.

This is from the Simply Cash Preferred, but I believe all the other cards that provide car rental insurance are similar.

https://www.insurance.americanexpres...erts-16388.pdf

The following vehicles are excluded from coverage under this Certificate:
1. Automobiles or other vehicles which are not rental autos;
2. Any vehicle, in its model year, with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail
Price (MSRP) over eighty-five thousand dollars ($85,000) Canadian,
excluding all taxes, at the place the rental agreement is signed or
where the rental auto is picked up;
3. Vans, cargo vans or mini cargo vans (other than mini-vans);
4. Trucks, pick-up trucks or any vehicle that can be spontaneously
reconfigured into a pick-up truck;
5. Limousines;
6. Off-road vehicles;
7. Motorcycles, mopeds or motor bikes;
8. Trailers, campers, recreational vehicles or vehicles not licensed for
road use;
9. Vehicles towing or propelling trailers or any other object;
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10. Mini-buses or buses;
11. Any vehicle which is either wholly or in part hand made, hand finished
or has a limited production of under 2,000 vehicles per year;
12. Antique vehicles, meaning a vehicle over twenty (20) years old or
which has not been manufactured for ten (10) years or more;
13. Tax-free cars

[bcrdukes]

I have an AMEX Cobalt card but Eff-1 seems to believe I have an AMEX Black card.
Thank goodness for this thread because similar to the AMEX SimplyCash, Cobalt's exclusions are as follows:

The following vehicles are excluded from coverage under this Certificate:
1. Automobiles or other vehicles which are not rental autos;
2. Any vehicle, in its model year, with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail
Price (MSRP) over eighty-five thousand dollars ($85,000) Canadian,
excluding all taxes, at the place the rental agreement is signed or
where the rental auto is picked up;
3. Vans, cargo vans or mini cargo vans (other than mini-vans);
4. Trucks, pick-up trucks or any vehicle that can be spontaneously
reconfigured into a pick-up truck;
5. Limousines;
6. Off-road vehicles;
7. Motorcycles, mopeds or motor bikes;
8. Trailers, campers, recreational vehicles or vehicles not licensed for
road use;
9. Vehicles towing or propelling trailers or any other object;
10. Mini-buses or buses;
11. Any vehicle which is either wholly or in part hand made, hand finished
or has a limited production of under 2,000 vehicles per year;
12. Antique vehicles, meaning a vehicle over twenty (20) years old or
which has not been manufactured for ten (10) years or more;
13. Tax-free cars.

[SpeedStars]

You can ask the rental agent what the msrp is of the car you're renting. It's usually in the system for purposes like these. Kind of tricky sometimes as well as a C class for example could exceed the 65k MSRP if fully loaded but a base model would be well under. Some cc companies also refuse to insure cars based on brands (Porsche, bmw, Benz) regardless of msrp.

[donk.]

Insurance clauses are complicated for a reason, so that the insurance company can say whatever they want to deny you coverage

[supafamous]

Unlike ICBC's rental coverage, CC rental policies also usually only cover the vehicle and not you (like if the other party sues you) so they're sorta worthless and you still need to buy additional coverage like underinsured driver and 3rd party liability.

ICBC's rental coverage isn't all roses either: https://www.icbc.com/insurance/Docum...ure-032021.pdf (see page 23)

It only covers cars up to $125/day CAD and $100/day USD which isn't that high especially right now with few cars. I checked on the Enterprise site (they're one of the cheapest companies) and for Sept 21 for 1 day a Kia Forte (or similar) is $127/day. The only cars that are covered by ICBC are the Chevy Spark and Nissan Versa class.

[Ohkun]

Originally Posted by supafamous

Unlike ICBC's rental coverage, CC rental policies also usually only cover the vehicle and not you (like if the other party sues you) so they're sorta worthless and you still need to buy additional coverage like underinsured driver and 3rd party liability.

ICBC's rental coverage isn't all roses either: https://www.icbc.com/insurance/Docum...ure-032021.pdf (see page 23)

It only covers cars up to $125/day CAD and $100/day USD which isn't that high especially right now with few cars. I checked on the Enterprise site (they're one of the cheapest companies) and for Sept 21 for 1 day a Kia Forte (or similar) is $127/day. The only cars that are covered by ICBC are the Chevy Spark and Nissan Versa class.

I'd assume $125 is before the taxes and fees?

Anyways, it's crazy how expensive rental cars are right now.. I'm booking compact for $114 a day or $164 after taxed.. eww

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by Ohkun

I'd assume $125 is before the taxes and fees?

Anyways, it's crazy how expensive rental cars are right now.. I'm booking compact for $114 a day or $164 after taxed.. eww

Yeah, I think it's always pre-tax for this kind of thing as taxes and fees really vary from area to area. I'd write ICBC to ask them what they're doing about this but the last time I wrote them I didn't get a response for 3 weeks.

[The Producer]

Originally Posted by Ohkun

I'd assume $125 is before the taxes and fees?

Anyways, it's crazy how expensive rental cars are right now.. I'm booking compact for $114 a day or $164 after taxed.. eww

that's because there are no cars

rental fleets were sold off during covid. current production woes in the car industry have prevented them from stocking back up

price out a car rental for a week in hawaii this winter. it was already a racket before, now it's unreal. You're better off driving a uhaul around for a week (but probably can't get one)

[StylinRed]

I took a merc suv offroading to get to some hiking trails in arizona damn I'm lucky

I should check my policy

[twitchyzero]

if i'm renting out of province can i get something before my trip like through bcaa?
or just go with the car rental's package?

[M Speed]

TD listed BMW, Mercedes, Lincoln, and Cadillac are covered as long as it meet other requirement (mainly under $65K). Also all exotic vehicles are also not covered.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

if i'm renting out of province can i get something before my trip like through bcaa?
or just go with the car rental's package?

Generally yes, rental car insurance doesn't really care about in or out of province. Just make sure the car you rent meets their coverage criteria.

Obviously, the rental car insurance from the rental car shop is outrageously overpriced but that might be your only option b/c the coverage criteria doesn't cover the car.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by StylinRed

I took a merc suv offroading to get to some hiking trails in arizona damn I'm lucky

I should check my policy

I thought there'd be pictures

[StylinRed]

Lmao this was like 4 years ago I'll have to dig around for some pics

[quasi]

Thanks for posting that I had no idea, I checked my card and it's exactly as you posted. You using an RBC Avion card as well or maybe that's generic.

I guess if I ever rent an exotic I better get the insurance, normally I always decline rental insurance and assume between ICBC and my Credit Card I'm covered.

[twitchyzero]

anyone know what td underwritten policy's like?

does it cover additional drivers?

cc wont provide via email only mail, directly calling the insurance is a long hold

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

anyone know what td underwritten policy's like?

does it cover additional drivers?

cc wont provide via email only mail, directly calling the insurance is a long hold

It's usually based on the program the card is a part of (Infinite, World, World Elite etc) so it's the same across banks. Here's the Scotia Infinite brochure: https://www.scotiabank.com/content/d...it.pdf#page=31

[twitchyzero]

found it last night, as expected no liability coverage

going to call up stratford if my optional has it, if not i'll get the icbc $10/day (which im told excludes glass/tires)

[SpeedStars]

If you're renting within BC, I would say all big name rental agencies must have at least 200k 3rd party liability through ICBC. ICBC itself is a good option though if you want more coverage.