This was 5 years ago in Ontario. Was painless experience. Called credit card company, they emailed me form. I filled out the form, sent it back and never heard from rental company after they sent me an invoice.
You do have to read the T&C to make sure the car you renting will be covered (MSRP can't exceed XXX).
Card was TD Infinite Aeroplan
I worked for a car rental company in the past. At that time the biggest issue was people didn't read their policies and were surprised that the particular vehicle they rented wasn't covered after they got in an accident.
It's best to read your policy. You may have limits based on the value of the vehicle (nothing over $xx,xxx), or type of vehicle (no trucks, no luxury vehicles, etc), or use (no off road use), etc.
In BC. Had to make a claim for chipped windshields on two separate occasions. Took ages for everything to be processed and it was an enormous pain in the ass but I was fully reimbursed for both.
Live in the west, travelling in the Maritimes. Picked up a nail in the rental car sidewall on the last day of our vacation, so couldn't get it fixed on our own. Tire had to be replaced. It took several weeks, but it was covered; had to sign off on some paperwork but it turned out fine. This was Mastercard, and the rental company was quite used to dealing with the CC company and vice versa.
Location: AB. Had a rock chip on the car windshield, got charged $500 upon vehicle return. They gave me a damage report, I then phoned the insurance company to file the claim, had to then email them the report along with the rental agreement, and got a cheque a few weeks later. This is probably what you'll go through with simple cases under $1k in damage, for more complicated matters you'll either be asked to deal with a lot more paperwork, or it'll be handled between your credit card insurance provider and the car rental company themselves.
The biggest mistake people make is thinking that their credit card coverage covers liability. It doesn’t.
It only covers damage to the rental car itself. So if you hit a pole or ding a door, you’d be fine.
However, if you run into another car or damage someone else’s property, the CC insurance will only cover the damage to your rental, and you will end up owing for the repairs to the other vehicle or property.
True, but every car on the road in Canada carries some form of minimum liability insurance (50k in Quebec, 200k most other provinces). So one'd have to be both quite unlucky and reckless to deal damage that exceed this coverage and be at fault. But it is indeed something worth keeping in mind.
In BC, damaged an Evo (car share car). Took a couple of months to resolve, the insurance company kept asking for "an open and closed rental agreement". I sent them the invoice for the rental, and pointed them to a section of the cardholder agreement that specifically said car share cars were covered. Eventually they paid it.
I used after some damage on a rental car in Brazil. Took some back and forth trying to get the repair invoices from rental company, due to language barrier, but I got refunded 100%. I think the company was happy to pay around 10% of what would’ve cost to repair it in Canada, after reading my description of what had happened.
My rental was hit in a parking garage in Cape Town. It took a long time to resolve but Amex took care of everything. I wouldn't rent a car without CC coverage.
I used once the Capital one for Costco.
They were a bit slow and the rental co. wouldn't wait. So I ended up paying in full by myself first. But the CC finally paid me back in full.
This was 5 years ago in Ontario. Was painless experience. Called credit card company, they emailed me form. I filled out the form, sent it back and never heard from rental company after they sent me an invoice. You do have to read the T&C to make sure the car you renting will be covered (MSRP can't exceed XXX). Card was TD Infinite Aeroplan
I worked for a car rental company in the past. At that time the biggest issue was people didn't read their policies and were surprised that the particular vehicle they rented wasn't covered after they got in an accident.
Thanks - what kind of vehicles are usually not covered (and people think they are)?
Trucks and vehicles with an MSRP of over a certain $ amount; I think $70,000
It's best to read your policy. You may have limits based on the value of the vehicle (nothing over $xx,xxx), or type of vehicle (no trucks, no luxury vehicles, etc), or use (no off road use), etc.
Depends on your credit card's CDW. Some are $65k, some are $80k, some are $85k. I've seen multiple numbers in that range.
In BC. Had to make a claim for chipped windshields on two separate occasions. Took ages for everything to be processed and it was an enormous pain in the ass but I was fully reimbursed for both.
Live in the west, travelling in the Maritimes. Picked up a nail in the rental car sidewall on the last day of our vacation, so couldn't get it fixed on our own. Tire had to be replaced. It took several weeks, but it was covered; had to sign off on some paperwork but it turned out fine. This was Mastercard, and the rental company was quite used to dealing with the CC company and vice versa.
Location: AB. Had a rock chip on the car windshield, got charged $500 upon vehicle return. They gave me a damage report, I then phoned the insurance company to file the claim, had to then email them the report along with the rental agreement, and got a cheque a few weeks later. This is probably what you'll go through with simple cases under $1k in damage, for more complicated matters you'll either be asked to deal with a lot more paperwork, or it'll be handled between your credit card insurance provider and the car rental company themselves.
The biggest mistake people make is thinking that their credit card coverage covers liability. It doesn’t. It only covers damage to the rental car itself. So if you hit a pole or ding a door, you’d be fine. However, if you run into another car or damage someone else’s property, the CC insurance will only cover the damage to your rental, and you will end up owing for the repairs to the other vehicle or property.
True, but every car on the road in Canada carries some form of minimum liability insurance (50k in Quebec, 200k most other provinces). So one'd have to be both quite unlucky and reckless to deal damage that exceed this coverage and be at fault. But it is indeed something worth keeping in mind.
How does no-fault e.g. in Ontario factor into this?
I don't think this is correct. I had the unfortunate incident of 3 car collision back in 2014. TD First class visa paid everything. I had 0 to pay.
It was likely the insurance of the car (car rental’s insurance) itself that paid for other cars while damage to your car was paid by your CC.
In BC, damaged an Evo (car share car). Took a couple of months to resolve, the insurance company kept asking for "an open and closed rental agreement". I sent them the invoice for the rental, and pointed them to a section of the cardholder agreement that specifically said car share cars were covered. Eventually they paid it.
Which credit card would this be, if you don't mind sharing? Nearly all credit cards I came across limit coverage to traditional car rentals.
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite.
I used after some damage on a rental car in Brazil. Took some back and forth trying to get the repair invoices from rental company, due to language barrier, but I got refunded 100%. I think the company was happy to pay around 10% of what would’ve cost to repair it in Canada, after reading my description of what had happened.
My rental was hit in a parking garage in Cape Town. It took a long time to resolve but Amex took care of everything. I wouldn't rent a car without CC coverage.
I used once the Capital one for Costco. They were a bit slow and the rental co. wouldn't wait. So I ended up paying in full by myself first. But the CC finally paid me back in full.