You sure you're insured overseas?
The first time I rented a car overseas, I gave it about as much thought as the socks I packed. I reserved my compact online, hopped on the plane, and walked up to the Galway Airport rental counter when I arrived in Ireland.
My rental car was waiting for me - but not without a catch. The bill was about 100 euros more than the price I'd been quoted online. The extra money was for insurance, I was told, and if I didn't pay, they wouldn't give me the keys.
I wasn't in a position to argue, though I certainly wanted to. I knew that my car insurance plan back home covered domestic rentals, but what about abroad? I'd heard that some credit card companies automatically provided rental insurance, but was that a benefit of my particular card?
Next month, I'm heading back to Europe, this time to the rustic towns of Costa del Sol, Spain's southern coast. Before I reserved my rental, I vowed not to make the same mistake again. This time I investigated everything one needs to know about driving abroad.
Here's how I spent the past three days:
1. Calling my car insurance agent to ask whether I'm covered for overseas rentals.
2. Calling my car rental agency to ask what coverage comes with the rental fee and what coverage costs extra.
3. Calling my credit card company to ask whether it covers some or all of my car-rental insurance abroad.
4. Calling my health plan to ask whether my medical expenses will be covered if I get into a car accident overseas.
5. Calling AAA to find out whether they'll help me if I break down in Spain.
6. Getting my photo taken and paying $15 for an International Driving Permit.
All that and I still haven't reserved my car yet!
You probably know that your home car-insurance plan protects you for car rentals within the United States or Canada. But that's the extent of the protection: It won't help you at all anywhere else on the planet.
Fortunately, there is some good news. Your credit card and rental agreement could cover all the major risks, so if you do need to buy extra rental insurance, it will be minimal.
Skip calling your credit card's issuing institution (in my case,
The Visa customer representative who helped me was extremely clear about what my card did and did not cover. She even e-mailed me a form letter outlining the extent of my Visa coverage should anyone I meet overseas, or my rental agency, require proof.
In my case, my card offers a collision damage waiver, which covers all physical damage to my rental car caused by an accident, vandalism, or theft up to the original value of the car.
However, my credit card does not offer insurance for any personal belongings stolen from the car, any medical expenses I or others might incur in an accident, or any third-party coverage, which means that I'm not covered for the damage I inflict on someone else's car or property in an accident.
How does one get coverage for the remaining risks? The state Division of Insurance told me that health insurance plans typically cover medical emergencies outside of the United States, including car accidents. Tufts, my health plan, confirmed this, and faxed me a form letter stating the extent of my coverage.
Hertz, the company I'm renting from, includes third-party or liability rental insurance free with my rental, according to a customer service representative I spoke with. Hertz covers any damage I cause to another vehicle or property in an accident, or any injuries I cause to someone outside my car, she said.
A quick check with some of the other major rental agencies - Avis, Thrifty - showed that they also provide third-party coverage for free. But it's best to ask.
In fact, when renting abroad, that advice should be your mantra. Insurance standards vary from country to country, and restrictions and special rules often apply. Some countries require car rental insurance, some don't.
My credit card doesn't offer free coverage if I rent in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Israel, or Jamaica, and when I called Thrifty, the company said it wouldn't accept any rental coverage offered by MasterCard.
Visa said it will cover me if anyone I'm traveling with - on this trip, my girlfriend Laura - is driving and there's an accident, but only if her name is on the rental agreement.
If your credit card doesn't help you, you might have a collision deductible even after purchasing the rental company's insurance. To eliminate the deductible, you might need to purchase "ultra" or "super" coverage.
Since I've had belongings stolen from cars before, I'd consider paying a little more for that coverage. But that's just me.
"If you don't get into an accident and you don't get injured, and you never have anything stolen from your car, then it's not an issue," said my insurance agent, Peter Rossetti of Saugus. "But then when something does happen, it does become a problem. It's kind of a caveat emptor situation, unfortunately."
As for road service, AAA of Southern New England doesn't have any offices in Spain. Hertz said it would replace a broken-down vehicle, but because roadside assistance is provided by local rental agents, response time and hours of operation probably won't be what you're accustomed to in the United States.
A US driver's license allows you to drive in most countries. But I took the time - about 10 minutes at the AAA office - to get the International Driving Permit, a simple document that translates the basic information on your license into about a dozen languages. If you're going to a country where English is predominately spoken, I doubt you'll need it.
Will speeding tickets and other motor vehicle violations overseas show up on your record? Probably not, from what I've been told, as reporting systems from country to country are usually poor.
"But rental car companies are not shy about sending you a speeding ticket after you zip through a radar-controlled area," said John Paul, AAA spokesman. "You might not even know you've gotten the ticket. But they may put it on your credit card bill."
