Chase car rental insurance: How does it work?

Does Chase have car rental insurance?

According to a Chase representative we spoke with, all Chase Visa credit cards typically have auto rental collision damage waivers (CDWs), and Sapphire products even offer primary coverage — an uncommon perk among credit card issuers.

Note that, at the time of this writing, almost all of Chase’s currently available cards are Visas, except for the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card and the IHG® Rewards Club Traveler Credit Card.

The rep mentioned that specific terms of the benefit might vary between card accounts. If you’re in doubt about your policy, call the number on the back of your card and speak with Chase support.

Where is Chase car rental insurance available?

Your Chase car rental policy applies in the US and in most countries internationally. It doesn’t apply where it conflicts with laws, violates rental agreements or runs contrary to the rules of individual merchants.

Chase car rental insurance: What it covers

Here’s what your Chase collision damage waiver covers:

• Theft of your rental vehicle
• Damage to your rental vehicle
• Eligible loss-of-use charges from the rental company
• Administrative fees
• Reasonable towing charges

How long does Chase car rental insurance cover me for?

Your Chase policy covers rental of up to 31 consecutive days.

How much does Chase car rental insurance cover me for?

Your Chase policy covers you for damage or theft up to the actual cash value of most rental vehicles. Actual cash value means the cost of a vehicle’s replacement, not including depreciation.

What does Chase car rental insurance not cover?

Chase car rental insurance doesn’t apply to the following:

Your Chase policy doesn’t apply in many instances. It likely won’t reimburse you for negligence — for example, if your vehicle is damaged or stolen because you’ve violated the rental agreement. It also won’t reimburse you for loss of personal items, bodily injury or damage to other vehicles.

Is Chase car rental insurance primary or secondary?

Most Chase cards offer secondary insurance coverage. Factors such as higher-tiered cards, where you rent your vehicle and whether you have personal insurance determine if you have primary or secondary coverage through Chase.

Which Chase personal credit cards offer primary car rental coverage?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® offer primary coverage for rentals around the world, except in select countries.

Primary coverage is a great deal, and not offered by most card issuers. And it’s especially helpful because you can make a claim via your Chase policy immediately, instead of having to go through your personal insurer first.

Coverage rules for other Chase personal credit cards

Most Chase personal credit cards offer secondary coverage when you rent in your country of residence. This means your Chase policy applies after your personal insurance and other forms of coverage.

There is good news: Your Chase policy will reimburse you for your deductible. It’ll also cover unreimbursed administrative, loss-of-use and reasonable towing charges.

In the following cases, you can claim with your Chase policy immediately for theft and damage to your rental vehicle:

• You don’t have personal insurance or another form of coverage.
• You rent a vehicle outside your country of residence. In this case, your coverage is primary.

Your Chase policy also reimburses you for qualifying theft or damage to your rental vehicle, plus administrative, loss-of-use and reasonable towing charges.

Do Chase business credit cards offer primary or secondary coverage?

Chase business credit cards follow this model for their collision damage waiver rules:

• Coverage is primary if you’re renting a vehicle for business reasons, you don’t have personal insurance or another form of coverage, or you’re renting outside your country of residence for non-business reasons.
• Coverage is secondary if you’re renting for non-business reasons in your country of residence, and you have personal insurance or another form of coverage.

How to use Chase car rental insurance

There are two steps to activate your Chase auto rental collision damage waiver:

1. Initiate and complete your entire rental purchase with your Chase card account.
2. Decline the collision damage waiver offered to you at the rental counter.

If you accept the rental company’s coverage, you’ll invalidate your Chase coverage.

If the rental company’s representative says you must buy coverage, call the Chase benefit administrator at 888-320-9961. If you’re traveling internationally, call collect at 804-673-1691.

How to make a claim for Chase car rental insurance

Immediately after the theft or damage, call the Chase benefit administrator at 888-320-9961. If you’re outside the US, call collect at 804-673-1691. A representative tells you next steps, as well as where to send your claim form.

If you can’t call right away, report the incident to your benefit administrator within 60 days.

What to submit with your claim

Make sure to get the following paperwork at the accident, or when you return the vehicle:

After you’ve collected those materials, assemble the following information to submit for your claim:

Even if you’re having trouble assembling the required material, have your claim form postmarked within 100 days of the incident. Otherwise, the benefit administrator may automatically deny your claim.

Compare Chase credit cards with car rental insurance

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Name	Product	Filter values	Rewards	Purchase APR	Annual fee
Chase Freedom Unlimited®			5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase, 5% on Lyft, 3% on dining and drugstores and 1.5% on all other purchases	0% intro for the first 15 months (then 14.99% to 23.74% variable)	$0	See offer View details	This solid 1.5% cashback card gets even better with the addition of up to 5% back in categories like travel, drug stores and dining.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Chase Freedom Flex℠			5% cash back on up to $1,500 combined in quarterly categories you activate, 5% on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases	0% intro for the first 15 months (then 14.99% to 23.74% variable)	$0	See offer View details	Get up to 5% cashback in rotating and newly added everyday categories. The refreshed Freedom Flex card has lots of earning potential.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
British Airways Visa Signature® Card			5x Avios on British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL in the first 12 months (then 3x), 3x Avios on directly purchased hotels in the same timeframe (then 2x) and 1x Avios on all other purchases	15.99% to 22.99% variable	$95	See offer View details	Earn 100,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Who gets to use Chase car rental insurance?

You, as the primary renter of the vehicle, are eligible for Chase car rental insurance. Your name must be embossed on a US-issued Chase card.
Other individuals may qualify as well, as long as they’re listed on the rental agreement.

Bottom line

Chase offers auto rental coverage with all of its Visa cards. The Sapphire cards are especially good choices, offering primary coverage in most cases.
If a Chase Visa card isn’t right for you, however, consider other cards with car rental insurance.

Frequently asked questions

• How does Chase stack up to other providers for car rental coverage?

  Chase is an excellent choice in part because its Sapphire cards offer primary coverage in most instances. This is very uncommon among credit card providers. The provider also offers a variety of cards with car rental coverage.

• Will I find car rental insurance with all card providers?

  While you’ll find car rental coverage with most issuers, some providers — such as Citi and Discover — have removed the benefit from most or all of their cards.

• Will I find other travel protections with Chase cards?

  With select travel products, you’ll find travel protections such as trip cancellation, baggage delay and trip delay reimbursement.