Visa and MasterCard are not Finite Options for Rental Car Insurance

Let me tell you a horror story about credit card rental insurance.  A few weeks ago I needed a rental car.  Enterprise was located right around the corner, so I figured I would give them a shot.  This was my first rental car, so I wasn’t exactly sure how this process worked. But to my surprise, I was in my rental in under 20 minutes.  Perhaps that was part of the problem.
I normally drive a 2003 Ford Mustang. While I requested a car of similar size, Enterprise only had three vehicles available: a Ford F150, a Dodge Dakota pick-up truck, and some mini-van the size of an 18-wheeler.   After considering my options, I should have walked away.  I’ve never driven a big truck before, and living in a sky-rise with a tight parking garage, it would be a terrible idea to take any of these.  Regrettably, I asked for the smallest of the three vehicles, which was the Dodge Dakota.
Having just received my new Capital One Spark Business Visa Card, I knew I had rental car damage waiver protection. So in filling out the paperwork on this truck, I waived the extra $19.95 a day damage insurance offered by Enterprise.  I moseyed on back to my apartment complex, only to realize that this pick-up truck was indeed too large for my parking garage.  I tried to maneuver the truck into my parking space, and even though I thought the dimensions would work … they didn’t.  I ended up getting stuck to the cement post to my left.
The only way out was to rev it, so that’s what I did.  You might say that my 20 minute rental of a Dodge Dakota was now a wee-bit crumpled. Looking at it made me sick.  I drove the car out of the garage and returned it right back to Enterprise.  They filled out a quick form, looked at the damage and told me they would call with an estimate the next day (two weeks later, I have not heard from them).  If I were to judge, I’d say there’s about $2,000 worth of repairs needed.  Ugh.
But not to worry. I immediately called Visa to get the claim form filled out.  After providing the very helpful CSR with my information, she let me know that I do not qualify for coverage.  What was that?  Well wouldn’t you know it; certain cars and trucks are NOT included in rental car insurance coverage.  Taken directly from Visa’s website:

Excluded worldwide are: expensive, exotic, and antique automobiles; certain vans; vehicles that have an open cargo bed; trucks; motorcycles, mopeds, and motorbikes; limousines; and recreational vehicles.

And from the MasterCard website … just in case you think I’m getting a raw deal:

Excluded: All trucks, pickups, full-size vans mounted on truck chassis, campers, off-road vehicles, and other recreational vehicles; trailers, motorbikes, motorcycles, and any other vehicle having fewer than four wheels; antique vehicles

Seems like anything that’s not a sedan or compact car is excluded. Sadly, that knowledge would have gone a long way in getting me off the hook for this four digit expense I’m about to incur.  Instead, I wait for a dreadful phone call to learn how much this overpriced estimate is going to be. And there’s not a gosh darn thing I can do about it.
I guess the moral of this story is that you should never assume your insurance policy covers you in certain scenarios.  Whether it’s auto, health, home or life insurance, make sure you know the ins and outs of your coverage. And even if you think you’ll never get into an accident, plan for it.  Don’t be the $2,000 idiot I was and assume you’re covered.

URL: http://www.doughroller.net/credit-cards/visa-and-mastercard-are-not-finite-options-for-rental-car-insurance/