Travel Insurance and Rental Car Insurance

Travel Insurance

You should always make sure to purchase travel insurance when you purchase your trip, unless you can afford a total loss if you cannot go. I know that this is a morbid thought, but what happens if you or your travel partner dies while on a trip overseas. How will you get your loved one home? What happens if civil unrest or a hurricane or some other calamity happens while you are on your trip. How will you get out of the country and back home. Surely you realize how much your airline of choice will charge you to change your reservations. Of course, it will take a long time and a lot of trouble to get paid back by the insurance company, no matter which one you use, but you do want that 800 toll free number available to get you out of a jam if necessary. So, make sure that when you talk with your travel agent, you put your trip insurance in place when you pay your first payment towards your trip to give you coverage you need. For example if you have a pre-existing medical issue that flares up and keeps you from taking the trip, you will be happy that you had insurance to recoup your pre-paid expenses. You can learn more by clicking the link below.

Click below for Information about Travel Insurance!

Auto Insurance 

Have you ever traveled to Mexico and were surprised by having to pay several hundred dollars for the insurance on the rental car. Yes, the car rental was cheap, but the insurance is outrageous. If you don’t pay the high cost of the insurance, the rental agency will put a hold of several thousand dollars on your credit card. This coverage is for the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW).

If you don’t want to pay for this insurance, you do have some choices. Check with your credit card to see if they give you coverage if you book and pay for the entire rental car bill using their card. For example, I have a Delta Airlines card from American Express. They provide such coverage so that you can decline the extra insurance that they want to charge you.  Make sure that you print out a copy of their coverage and bring it with you.

They won’t just believe you have the coverage and will still put a huge hold on your credit card. Unfortunately, that does not work in every country. Surprisingly, you cannot use it for coverage in Australia, Italy and New Zealand.

In Australia the law mandates that specific insurances are required for car rentals: Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Theft Protection (TP).  Unfortunately, no credit cards offer car rental insurance coverage in Australia – so be sure you are properly covered ahead of time.