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Getting around Bonaire: 3 week trip. What to do about truck insurance?
Bonaire Talk: Getting around Bonaire: Archives: Archives 2009: 3 week trip. What to do about truck insurance?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Karen Dancheck (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #102) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 8:18 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi,

I revisit this issue right before every trip to Bonaire. We are headed to Bonaire for 3 weeks and I am undecided AGAIN about what to do for truck insurance. I know that I can get the truck insurance with Amex. What is this new 1500 charge to AB's policy if you decline their insurance? Do they actually charge your card?

We have always taken the FULL insurance with AB in the past. My sister works for Enterprise and has told me horror stories about depending on your credit card insurance for coverage. Worst case scenario: I can just envision that someone in the middle of the night accidently scraping the entire side of the truck. I am assuming that cost of the damages would be charged on my Amex and then I resolve it with them when I get home? Has anyone dealt with a claim through Amex?

I don't know anyone on BT that every takes out the full insurance with the car rental place. I am just one that has crummy luck sometimes... Like last week when someone got into my Mac and stole my credit card number and started charging away!!! UGH!

Thanks!
Karen

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By *Freddie* (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #11757) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 8:26 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I take the full coverage for our two week stay Karen, I rent with Budget..I would rather be safe than sorry.... their trucks are newer than most on island.. {next time I go I must make sure that the tag on the license plate is up to date.. they are ticketing for out dated tags..}

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Jolly (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1169) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 8:30 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I always take the full coverage. Rather safe than sorry as Freddie says. Although expensive it is far cheaper than dealing with any issues. Even if it is $100+ more per week I view it as the best value IF an incident were to happen.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Karen Dancheck (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #104) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 8:45 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Whew! There ARE BT'ers who take the full insurance :-) I thought I was the only one. he he Thanks Freddie and Dan

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DiveWarm (BonaireTalker - Post #76) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 9:24 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We take full insurance too. I know someone who was in Ireland and parked their rental in a spot where the tide came in and flooded it. They hadn't bought the insurance, their credit card company only covered domestic rentals, and they wound up owing almost $50,000 (BMW!) in lost time for the car and damages.

Because of that, when I go to a foreign country, I simply buy the optional insurance. Small amount of money for a huge piece of mind.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron Gould*** (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1903) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 10:41 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I had a claim with AMEX last year. Someone hit our truck during the night, in the back, $560 for the repairs. Made a police report, called Poppy at Telerine Car Rental, and the repairs were charges to my credit card. When we went home I sent the information to AMEX, and they told me to contest the repair money. Poppy had to file a claim to AMEX and got paid... No deductable, no hassle, no problems... Ron

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carole B. (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7078) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 12:49 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi, Karen, we get the full coverage with AB each trip, too. I can relax much better on vacation not having to worry about "what if"...I'd rather pay the money for hte coverage than pay the money later, if applicable, or worry about my CC and what it will or won't cover.

Just the way I feel about it...sounds like you would enjoy your trip much more if you had the full coverage, too.

Have fun!! cb

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By ABCdivers (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #7) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 1:14 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We got the full coverage too.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sparty (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #232) on Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 3:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

My experience with Master Card was very good when our "van" was rear ended in a hit and run several years ago. I called Master Card they told me what paper work I needed and the forms were waiting for me when I returned home. I filled them out, attached the estimate and police report(in Dutch), and had a check back in two weeks.

I now use AMEX since they cover cover trucks and Master Card only covers cars and vans.

I caution anyone planning on using their credit card for insurance to call their card issuer. Some cards do not cover outside the U.S. although most do.

(Message edited by sparty on April 4, 2009)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Johnson (BonaireTalker - Post #25) on Sunday, April 5, 2009 - 1:24 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We used Budget in March and I denied the insurance since I was covered on my AMEX card. When turning the truck in at the end of 2 weeks I realized that they only ran an authorization on the Amex card and nothing was really charged until we turned the truck in so I am not really sure if I was covered or not. Luckily we did not have any damage to the rental. One warning about Budget is if your flight arrives after 11pm their office is closed and you may need to hitch a ride.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dr. Director (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #487) on Sunday, April 5, 2009 - 9:00 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We have used AMEX insurance with AB for the last several years. Their policy has been to run an authorization on the AMEX card for about $800 (I think it might have been higher this past October) to cover potential losses as well as a second authorization for the amount of the rental (I think they charged the full payment when we picked up the truck this past October, but we were having the truck for 4 weeks). AMEX covers you once the rental authorization or rental charge goes through. In our case the AMEX charge hit shortly after we picked up the truck.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sparty (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #233) on Sunday, April 5, 2009 - 10:06 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

If you are worried about AMEX coverage, there are a couple things you can do. Once, because I was afraid the coverage might not trigger because our rental was being paid thru a resort, I called AMEX before we arrived on Bonaire and told them of my concern and they manually charged me for the insurance. I was told that if I got double billed, just to call and they would reverse one of the charges. The second way to assure yourself is to access your account on line after your rental and verify that you card has been charged for the insurance.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Karen Dancheck (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #107) on Sunday, April 5, 2009 - 10:22 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Sparty, I can't remember...when does my CC actually get charged, when I make the reservation or when I pick up the truck?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lizard0924 (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #325) on Sunday, April 5, 2009 - 11:00 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Karen - we just used AB last week and declined the insurance. They charged my Amex the $75 deposit when I made the reservation. The balance of the rental was charged the morning we arrived. They also ran thru an authorization for $1,500 (to cover potential damages, I guess) on the morning we picked up the truck. The authorization automatically expires in 7 business days, according to the rental person.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dr. Director (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #488) on Sunday, April 5, 2009 - 2:37 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

One thing we noticed with AB was when they charged us the $75 deposit when we made our reservation, AMEX charged their fee for the insurance. AMEX then reversed that fee without any hassle when I called them to say the $75 charge from AB was our deposit. AMEX made the normal charge for their insurance when I picked up the truck.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tribs - aka Jeanine! (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #8135) on Sunday, April 5, 2009 - 4:09 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Karen....AB changed while I was on island last year. They used to charge at the end of the trip for the rental. They now charge when you pick up the truck. I don't know why they changed their policy, but I sure can speculate. LOL!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sparty (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #234) on Monday, April 6, 2009 - 1:42 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Our card was also charged the day we picked up the vehicle.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ronald Moore (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Thursday, April 9, 2009 - 5:18 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I'm confused on the insurance for rental trucks. I have Amex and I know that covers the CDW, but I also know it doesn't cover liability for third-party claims. In trying to research liability requirements on Bonaire I keep running accross the phrase "as required by law" is liability insurance automatically a part of the rental cost? Do you have to pay for liability in addition to CDW? If so, any idea how much? Or am I better off just getting personal umbrella insurance? Appreciate any help

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ronald Moore (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Thursday, April 9, 2009 - 6:24 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I'm confused on the insurance for rental trucks. I have Amex and I know that covers the CDW, but I also know it doesn't cover liability for third-party claims. In trying to research liability requirements on Bonaire I keep running accross the phrase "as required by law" is liability insurance automatically a part of the rental cost? Do you have to pay for liability in addition to CDW? If so, any idea how much? Or am I better off just getting personal umbrella insurance? Appreciate any help

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sparty (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #235) on Thursday, April 9, 2009 - 9:22 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

My understanding is that the rental companies have liability insurance but I do not know for sure if that covers the renter or just the rental company. I doubt that it does. I am not aware of any rental company that offers additional liability coverage to renters. If you are out of the U.S., I believe it is a very good idea to have an umbrella policy.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ronald Moore (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 5:18 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

After doing some homework, here's what I've found re insurance. My Amex card covers CDW for pickups, but not liability. My USAA Auto policy covers liability for any car I drive worldwide, since USAA has an AMEX card, if I use the USAA Amex card we're covered for both CDW and liability. My problem is that altho I've spent 14+ years overseas, it was all either as military of gov employee under a status of forces agreement or diplomatic status, so never had these issues, live and learn...only 2 months to go

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2126) on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 5:58 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ron.. I may be wrong here but between you & me I've never seen any standard ISO approved auto policy issued by any carrier in the US which covers "worldwide" liability exposure.
My advice is to read your policy's definitions & territorial scope & not rely upon what someone tells you.

Alternatively, the coverage on an umbrella endorsed onto your HO policy is in fact worldwide.

**Sparty** The answer to your question is the definition of "insured". This is basically anyone who uses the vehicle with the owner's permission & consent.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ronald Moore (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 7:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks Vince, You must be an attorney. You're right, more I read/asked/dug, the Umbrellas I looked at only augmented local insurance, the credit card CDW coverages didn't cover 3rd party liability claims and the auto policy only really covers US, Canada and 75 miles into Mexico...I can only get country coverage if I'm there with Military or Government and if that country is on the "list". Guess i'll just pay poppy's CDW and get the liability coverage it provides. I gotta get out more....
Ron

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2128) on Friday, April 17, 2009 - 5:55 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

You're most welcome Ron. Having been in the litigation end of the insurance claims biz more then 30 years I know a couple of things about it.
As far as territory I believe the US Virgin Islands as well as Puerto Rico also covered by standard auto policy.

With respect to the umbrella, it is designed to come in as excess or on top of (hence the term umbrella) your primary policies which is why they will insist on certain minimal coverage limits. However, if there is a gap in coverage, i.e. like liability on Bonaire, it will pick this up from dollar one. The coverage afforded is world wide. Notwithstanding this, even in our personal condo since we rent out to guests, we also have a primary liability carrier on Bonaire.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Alaska Diver (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 1:45 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I am going through Caradonna for everything. It sounds like I need to have them take off the truck rental and pay for that on Bonaire if I want the insurance to kick in since I am using a MC to pay for the package. Is that right?

 


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