A research analysis conducted by CardHub has provided considerable insight into this sector of the industry.
The summer travel season has begun and many people are starting to ask themselves whether or not they need rental car insurance or whether their credit card coverage will provide them with the protection that they need while they are on vacation.
The answer isn’t necessarily an obvious one, as not all credit cards provide the same auto coverage.
CardHub recently conducted a study to help consumers to understand the level of rental car insurance that they are receiving through their credit cards. This can be very helpful in determining whether or not they will need to purchase supplemental coverage, as well. Knowing which credit cards offer superior rental auto insurance protection can also help consumers to choose the card they want, if they are currently making that decision, as well.
Credit card rental car insurance can offer varying degrees of coverage types and can include many limitations.
As all four of the major credit card networks do offer this type of auto insurance in one form or another CardHub conducted a comparison study of them all and published their findings in the “2015 Credit Card Rental Car Insurance Study”. This looked into the types of protection that are offered and determined which would provide the best deal for card holders.
Among the findings in the study were that American Express and Visa offered their customers the best insurance for rental cars, but that Discover wasn’t far behind. Furthermore, all four of the major networks (MasterCard making up the fourth one) require that their cardholders charge the full amount of the vehicle rental to the credit card and that they decline any collision damage waivers or supplemental insurance coverage offered by the rental company, if they wish to take advantage of the full protection offered through their cards.
The only card network that does not offer insurance coverage for SUV rental is American Express. Other interesting areas where some cards stand out from among others are that MasterCard and Visa cover accidents on gravel and dirt roads only if those surfaces are “regularly maintained.”
All of the card networks offered rental car insurance for periods extending beyond 31 days and it was common for international vehicles to be covered. For a pre-arranged fee, all of the networks offered their customers roadside assistance.
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