question about rental car insurance?

Maybe, maybe not. You need to check with your own insurance company and see if your current policy covers car rentals and, if so, to what extent.

Many policies will cover liability on rentals. What they are less likely to cover is collission damage. That means that if you hit someone else they'll pay for the damage to the other car but they won't cover you when the rental company sues you for the damage to their car.

If you're renting in the same country your insurance should cover it.

With collision, how I believe it works, is your insurance company will cover damage up to what your personal car is worth. So if you drive a car worth $10K, and rent a new car worth $30K, you can get screwed. Best bet is to check with your agent.

And everyone keep in mind credit card coverage is secondary, and is reimbursed, not flat out covered. So if you don't have the cash to pay for the damage yourself, the credit card isn't going to help you. At least this is what they told us when I worked for a rental company.

Oh? I didn't know that. I checked with American Express, and whatever their answer was, It persuaded me to decline all rental car insurance. At one time, I did hear that if you accepted the insurance from the agency, you forfeited the credit card coverage. I'm a bit hazy on the details.

I would expect to be somewhat more accident prone in an unfamiliar town, driving a strange car.

since you have mentioned, what is the difference between the coverage provided by your own car insurance company and the coverage provided by the credit card company on rental cars?

Credit cards that cover rental insurance is free; people who rent cars have an outrageous rate relative to the coverage. Needless to say, you must pay for the car with the credit card.

I checked with amex on this, and they sent me a copy of their policy. You should do the same before making a decision.