Anyone ever been in an accident in Bonaire w/o their insurance?

[boat sju]

TT,

Not sure if you're still following this thread since you haven't posted since 8/15 that I can see. Just wondered if the rental company ever tried to charge any more money on your credit card - which I assume you cancelled as soon as you got out of Bonaire?????

boat

 

[mmmbelows]

So what happened???

Just a tip for anyone reading this thread, one of the best things you can do is get an American Express card and enroll in their premium car rental program. For about $20, if you rent a car using that card they will cover you as your PRIMARY not secondary CDW insurance with no deductible and excellent reports of service from people who have had to use it. Basically when you pay for a car rental with that card they tack on $20 to cover you for the full rental duration (Not $20 a day like the car rental company).

For $20 a rental you're changing from refusing the car rental companies CDW and relying on your credit card for coverage which might protect you but they have a lot of stipulations and regulations and if you blow one you have no coverage. With enrollment in the American Express program you skip this and know you have full CDW coverage.

 

[redacted]

Does their "car" rental program cover pick-up up trucks? My similar VISA program did not.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The AMEX premium car rental insurance seems like a winner. (And yes, it covers pick-up trucks.) I say "seems" only because I have fortunately not had the opportunity to make a claim.

As far as I know, only one rental company on Bonaire, Telerin, accepts AMEX. The rest want Visa/MC. It's the main reason we use Telerin.

 

[Sawdust82]

This is coming from a canadian perspective...

Just reading this thread, and surprised that nobody has mentioned travel agents... They are travel professionals that are paid to know or find the answers to questions like these. You can have them book your rentals, as well as the whole trip, and if you ask them to have you covered with appropriate insurance, the agent and their company will actually be liable instead of you. Most of their phone calls are recorded for this reason, among others...

My gf works for one of the big travel companies in canada, and she will have people confirm via email or a signed release form in person if they are not taking insurance through them. Cancellation, medical, or rental insurance. In her experience, the credit card insurance plans arent necessarily worth much and are easily wiggled out of sometimes by the cc company... And if she doesnt have making the offer of third party insurance proven in black and white, it can come back to bite her as the travel agent.

Medical fees can get ridiculous in a hurry as well, and most people seem to think theyre already covered by cc insurance when that seems to usually not be the case.

 

[mmmbelows]

Does their "car" rental program cover pick-up up trucks? My similar VISA program did not.

I carry all my important documents for travelling with me in an Evernote account, so direct from their program:


KEY FEATURES

• Flat rate of $19.95 / $24.95 per rental period, not per day depending on your coverage selection ($15.95 / $17.95 for CA Residents; $12.25 / $15.25 for FL Residents).
• Coverage is primary for theft and damage to a Rental Vehicle. If your rental vehicle is damaged, you can file that claim with us first as your primary provider.
• Coverage provided is not subject to a policy deductible.
• You pay only when you rent. Your enrolled Card Account(s) will automatically be charged when used to pay for a rental vehicle until your enrollment is terminated.

PROTECTION

• Coverage is worldwide, except for vehicles rented in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, and New Zealand
• Coverage is for up to 42 consecutive days (up to 30 consecutive days for Washington State Card Members).
• Coverage automatically extends to other eligible American Express Card Account(s) when you enroll one of your Card Account(s). (Note: not all accounts are eligible, for example Corporate Cards).
• Coverage extends to many vehicles available from Car Rental Companies.

AMOUNT OF COVERAGE Up to $100,000 in coverage for damage or theft. For the higher priced option ($15.25 for FL residents, $17.95 for CA residents, $24.95 for all other states). Lower coverage option available.

WHAT IT COVERS Many types of vehicles, such as luxury vehicles, SUVs, and pickup trucks

Option 1
The $100,000 coverage level with a premium of $24.95 ($15.25 for Florida
Residents and $17.95 for California Residents) covers:
• Up to $100,000 of primary damage and theft coverage for the rental car.
• Up to $100,000 of Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage
($250,000 for California Residents).
• Up to $10,000 of AD&D coverage per passenger ($40,000 for Florida Residents
and $250,000 for California Residents).
• Up to $15,000 per person of secondary coverage for Medical Expenses.
• Up to a maximum of $300,000 combined medical and AD&D coverage per car
($500,000 for California Residents).
• Up to $5,000 per person of secondary coverage for personal property,
maximum of $10,000 for all (Up to $15,000 per person, maximum of $25,000 for
Florida Residents).
• This product does not include coverage for Liability, Uninsured or Underinsured
Motorist, or Disability

Option 2
The $75,000 coverage level with a premium of $19.95 ($12.25 for Florida
Residents and $15.95 for California Residents) covers:
• Up to $75,000 of primary damage and theft coverage for the rental car.
• Up to $75,000 of Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage
($150,000 for California Residents).
• Up to $7,500 of AD&D coverage per passenger ($150,000 for California
Residents).
• Up to $7,500 per person of secondary coverage for Medical Expenses.
• Up to a maximum of $200,000 combined medical and AD&D coverage per car
($350,000 for California Residents).
• Up to $2,500 per person of secondary coverage for personal property,
maximum of $5,000 for all.
• This product does not include coverage for Liability, Uninsured or Underinsured
Motorist, or Disability.

 

[mmmbelows]

As far as I know, only one rental company on Bonaire, Telerin, accepts AMEX. The rest want Visa/MC. It's the main reason we use Telerin.

This is the one issue to it that of course while things are better than they were 20 years ago, still AE has less acceptance than MC and VISA so you need to make sure they accept AE, it's typically not a problem accept in smaller more remote locations.

 

[TT_Vert]

Sorry guys, i never got notified of any these posts. So a little update. It's been over a month now and I've not heard one word. Not an email, not a call, nothing! They did originally charge my CC $1,000 and the day I left Bonaire. The following day I sent the rental company pics and my narrative of the crash but never got a reply there either. Very strange.

I unfortunately do have enough of a limit to cover both of these vehicles in full and I really cannot cancel this card. I did approved $1,000 when i initially signed the contract which they immediately charged when I left the country.

I called my CC before I went there and they only covered SUVs and a pickup was not an SUV to them. None of my other CCs or personally insurance would cover me in Bonaire. I could always put a fraud alert on this CC so nothing can be charged to it but it'd be a huge hassle to use the card.

 

[mmmbelows]

Well, here are two thoughts - number one is to let the thing play out as you really seem to have some blame in this thing and some financial responsibility. Number two you can call your credit card company and tell them you lost the credit card, they will issue you a new one that will have different numbers but your account history, points, whatever you are concerned with will remain the same, however the new set of numbers will stop anybody from charging anything through on your account using the old numbers such as the rental car company.

You really should look into an American Express card and enroll in their premier rental car coverage program, or look up some VISA cards that you get primary CDW coverage with their use instead of secondary coverage which is 99% of the cards out there like the one you used. There are only a handful that offer primary CDW, it's not common, but you can find them through google and see what you think, many won't be free they will have an annual fee.

 

[TT_Vert]

Well, here are two thoughts - number one is to let the thing play out as you really seem to have some blame in this thing and some financial responsibility. Number two you can call your credit card company and tell them you lost the credit card, they will issue you a new one that will have different numbers but your account history, points, whatever you are concerned with will remain the same, however the new set of numbers will stop anybody from charging anything through on your account using the old numbers such as the rental car company.

You really should look into an American Express card and enroll in their premier rental car coverage program, or look up some VISA cards that you get primary CDW coverage with their use instead of secondary coverage which is 99% of the cards out there like the one you used. There are only a handful that offer primary CDW, it's not common, but you can find them through google and see what you think, many won't be free they will have an annual fee.

Thanks for your input.


Unfortunately I've witnessed situations where changing the CC # did nothing. I had a approved recurring charge that continued to go through despite changing the #. No idea how that was even possible, perhaps due to previous auth? I am pondering doing just this to save my butt and then deal w/ it civilly if they want to proceed down that path. I am going to look into this AMEX just to have for situations like this moving forward. I had read about most places in Bonaire not taking amex anymore which is why I balked at doing this before i left. MY CC's did offer primary CDW just not on "Trucks". SUV's were fine, go figure. But it appears AMEX covers trucks correct?

When I was younger i had a $1m umbrella policy, I wonder if something like this would cover that if I were to be sued?

Dave