TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin ToThose Who Use Hertz Car Rental

Have a quote from Hertz that is $150 more than another company (for a month long rental). They of course include liability insurance while the other company does not. I consider that pretty cheap insurance for a 30 day rental. Your thoughts?

Liability is $5.00 a day at quite a few companies so I don't see the big savings.

check your credit card company, Capital One covers rental cars

For liability?

Capitol One does not cover liability.

No credit card company covers liability.

Some do like some American Express cards.

Speaking of insurance...read the fine print real carefully
Some insurance companies have been refusing claims because their clients did NOT have a drivers lic. for the country where they had the collision. Even though both sides of SXM will accept . eg. U.S. and Canadian drivers licences they are NOT the licences for The Netherlands or France.
If you go to AAA or CAA for $35 approx. you can get an IDP...International Drivers Permit which is legal in a great deal of the world as a VALID licence for..eg..France and the Netherlands and that prevents insurance companies from using the - not valid licence - as a loophole for not paying a claim. As insurance goes an IDP is cheap insurance for not only a claim but as defence against an overanxious cop who stops you and claims you're driving without a valid permit...but can be fixed by paying an on-the-spot- fine.

The IDP is used when required as a translation of your driving license. It is in no way a valid license in itself.

I would like to know who are the "some insurance companies" that have refused to pay a claim in SXM because of a lack of an IDP.

Also from the Netherlands forum:



If anyone feels the need to add $20 plus the cost of two passport pics to there trip every year then so be it..

I have used Hertz the past two years and will likely use them again. Price I paid for two weeks is comparable to what we usually pay. This was our 26th year. Besides liability coverage they also allow your spouse as a second driver at no charge.

And don't forget the free sunshade and GPS if so inclined to use it from Hertz. You can also stop by to have your car washed and vacuumed at no charge.

Everyone wants a "good deal" but not everyone is willing to do the research to make a fair comparison. I have found little difference between the reputable SXM car rental companies, (many that are sponsors on TTOL).
The "catches" like inflating the liability cost or reducing coverage, inflating the 10% tax or adding other fees like collision that is already covered by your cc, are things to watch for.

I have an American Express and they don't cover liability. What kind of AE do you have?

I also had the same question.
This is the response I got when I googled it.

[color:"red"]For one, it's practically unheard of to find a credit card that includes liability coverage. Travel insurance and third-party rental car collision insurance products don't generally offer it, either. Even American Express's fancy Premium Car Rental Protection doesn't touch liability, only damage to the rental car.
A Quick Primer on Car Rental Insurance - Autoslash.com[/color]

I don't. A friend of mine on island has one that does and is here now. Take it for what it's worth. Makes no difference to me as I have liability included in my rental from Hertz.

I do to from Hertz, but I still think your friend is misunderstanding his card.

I have used Hertz for many years. A few years ago I backed the car into a post. There was some minor damaged. They charged me under $100. It wasn't worth going to AMEX to have it covered. In NY it could have been 10 times that. As to the liability Hertz has third party insurance.

I would agree. People are often shocked to find out what is NOT covered once they do some research, read the fine print, call their personal auto insurance carrier (not the agent as they are often misinformed unless they check), etc. Unless they have it in print/writing from the card or company, one should assume there is NO liability coverage.

I would be very interested to know of a credit card that covers liability exposure for third party damage. I have never seen reference to one - not to say it doesn't exist but I would be interested in learning of such a card. Even if you have liability coverage, it will be for a set limit - it doesn't really do you a whole lot of good to know you have "liability coverage" unless you know the limits. Years ago, I thought I heard that a standard liability coverage for a st martin rental car was $50,000 - I think Lesley posted some information on this a while back. My wife is so risk averse that we usually are over insured, in my opinion.

I believe that liability coverage on the island is limited to $50,000 because that's the limit of liability responsibility there. I believe I read that posted here some years ago.

I very much doubt that third party liability exposure is limited to such a low amount - or, limited to any set amount. Under applicable law in the Netherlands, I believe that car owners have to have third party liability coverage which is hundreds of thousands, at least. Of course, knowing Dutch law in the Netherlands does not necessarily tell you what the law is in Sint Maarten. If you accidentally injure or kill someone while driving a car on the island, I would believe that you are exposed to far greater possible liability than $50,000.

If I remember reading correctly, Hertz provides liability coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.

Yes, plus US $50,000 property damage as per their website
$400.00 deductible.

Talked to him again and he pays $29.00 to get world wide liability coverage on his AE card. He wasn't sure if it was for the year or month.

Thanks for the update.

I did some quick checking and all I could find was some American Express Premium Rental coverage for around the price you mentioned. It is priced PER rental but does NOT include liability.

Perhaps there is another plan but I have been unable to find anything like you/your friend referred to that does cover liability.

How much liability coverage?

Personal card - corporate card - link to site please - thank you ?

I have scoured the internet, I can't find any provider that says it covers liability. Even all the AMEX products. I would love to know what exact Amex product they use as it specifically says liability is not covered

Amex used to have a plan where, for $15 per rental period, they would cover liability if you paid for the rental with your Amex card. The $15 fee was added as soon as the rental was charged to the card. They had a similar plan for trip cancellation and/or delay, and lost baggage. This was on the Blue Cash card, which had no annual fee. It's been several years since we've used that card, so I don't know if it's still available.