Truck insurance in Bonaire

[stortecky]

I emailed my credit card company and they said they will cover the CDW insurance in Bonaire if I put the rental on my card. Has anyone else just used the credit card for the insurance ? Do rental shops in Bonaire think this is an acceptable. I just do not want something to happen and this to be a huge project to get the credit card people to pay.

Any info would be great.

Thanks

 

[reefdiva]

I emailed my credit card company and they said they will cover the CDW insurance in Bonaire if I put the rental on my card. Has anyone else just used the credit card for the insurance ? Do rental shops in Bonaire think this is an acceptable. I just do not want something to happen and this to be a huge project to get the credit card people to pay.

Any info would be great.

Thanks

Did you tell your credit card company you would be renting a truck? Some cards will not cover trucks. We have an added policy on our AmEx that covers trucks. The way it works is that when we charge our truck to AmEx they (AmEx) add an additional 19.95 to our bill. So far we have had good luck with the rental companies in Bonaire accepting this as CDW though we have never had to make a claim.

 

[b1gcountry]

I just started using the AmEx as well. It covers both liability and collision. I think most companies only cover collision, not theft or damage. Look into it yourself, I'm not completely sure. Also, lots of insurance doesn't cover pickups. Amex Does.

Tom

 

[DiveMaven]

Make sure the rental car company on Bonaire takes AmEx, not all do. Also, be aware that the rental car company could ask you to pay for all damages and get reimbursed by AmEx. I'd guess if you put everything on your AmEx it won't be a big deal for them to clear the charges for you.

Also, if you're staying somewhere like Buddy Dive, or buying a dive/drive/stay package, your rental might not be covered since you may not be renting directly from a rental car company. Triple check everything to be sure.

 

[stortecky]

Okay, after I found the document they do not cover trucks but the do cover SUVS. I noticed that some rental places do have SUV. The one I am looking at is 2wd. Is that going to be problem. Or is it not worth the 150 dollars I would save off of the insurance cost.

 

[reefdiva]

Okay, after I found the document they do not cover trucks but the do cover SUVS. I noticed that some rental places do have SUV. The one I am looking at is 2wd. Is that going to be problem. Or is it not worth the 150 dollars I would save off of the insurance cost.

I can't imagine gearing up for diving at the back of anything other than a truck though I know that others do so. I would say go for the truck and pay the CDW. Also, most of the trucks are standard transmission so if this is a problem be sure to make it clear on your reservation that you need an automatic.

 

[Tom Smedley]

The ten or so dollars a day should be budgeted into your vacation costs. It's inexpensive and can be a great deal in a pinch....

 

[svs]

I’ve been to Bonaire 4 times. Always rented small SUV, 4 wd, automatic for around $300 a week with AAA discount from Hertz. It has just enough space to put dive stuff for 1. And we usually bring few large trash bags to put wet equipment on a way back. It is also good to go to the park (north) or take short cut from Karpata. We always use platinum Visa insurance and Hertz was OK with it. We never had actually to apply it, so can’t say how good it is.

 

[Warmwater Wank]

If you don't have an AMEX card do you have a COSTCO card? COSTCO offers a free (no annual fee) AMEX card and as Reefdiva mentioned, AMEX will add a fee (ours is $24.95-Reefdiva has a deal!)when you reserve and then rent a rig using their card (oh and do NOT take CDW from the rental agency). The fee is applied each time you rent but is good for up to a month (so that amount is all you pay, no daily fees).

AMEX does cover pickups (but not limos, campers, off-road vehicles or motorcycles) and they do cover on Bonaire. It's called "Premium Car Rental Protection" and you have to apply for it, it isn't automatic--but it's also no biggy to apply. You get a specific, underwritten (by AMEX Assurance Co) "Description of Coverage", not just a few sentences on your credit card agreement. $100K Collision/theft, $100K D&D (you don't want to know what this is...), $5k personal property per passanger and $15K medical exp. per passenger.

ABCar rental will accept this in place of their CDW and they have good rental deals (just over $200. wk w/ taxes etc. for p/u with a/c, pwr steering etc.), haven't had any problems or hassles renting from them in the past. Haven't had to use the coverage but you might do a SB search because that's how I heard about this deal initially. Someone who had a crunch on Bonaire and had used their AMEX card and all was taken care of. As always, go over the rig thoroughly before driving off. Not likely you'll need to use the coverage--unless of course you don't have any! Much nicer diving when you aren't worrying about dings or dents. // ww

 

[RJP]

Also note that AmEx and other credit cards who provide insurance coverage - even if they cover pick-up trucks, SUVs, etc - might NOT cover damage sustained in "off road" usage. With that in mind, also note that the last hundred yards and parking areas for essentially every single dive site on Bonaire is "off" the road. The entirety of the park is "off road" as well.

As to truck vs SUV? TRUCK, no doubt. Having a dry, sand-free platform that you can stand up in to gear up and break down in is key. The ability to hose off yourself and/or your gear "in situ" is also unavailable in the back of an SUV. But there's also one other important thing you can do in the back of a truck that you can't do in an SUV or car...