Overseas travellers advised to check insurance coverage before renting car

American and Canadian tourists are always well advised to confirm what level of insurance coverage they may enjoy when renting a car during overseas travel. Peter DeMarco of the Boston Globe learned this the hard way when he reserved a car rental for his trip to Ireland, only to arrive at the Galway Airport to discover that his car hire was around €100 more than what he had been initially quoted. The rental company automatically charged him for an extra insurance policy, assuming that as a client arriving from overseas, he would not have any coverage. Although DeMarco questioned this extra fee, he had no choice but to either pay it, or forgo the car rental.

DeMarco advises all North Americans travelling to Europe this summer to do a little research and leg work before departing. The first place to call is one’s credit card company, in order to see what type of coverage may be offered. Yet it is advisable not to contact the issuing bank, but rather the actual card itself, and specifically its benefits department. In many cases, the credit card company will even send the client an e-mailed of faxed version of the coverage that they may expect to receive while overseas, thus allowing the traveller to produce this document in case a rental agent insists that he/she purchase extra insurance.

Those planning overseas travel may also contact their personal automobile insurer, but what they will likely find is that in most cases, coverage is limited to Canada and the United States. As such, most people travelling overseas will have to rely on coverage provided through their credit card.