Chase Sapphire rental car insurance: What it covers and how to file a claim

Whether planning a cross-country road trip or just needing a car to move between your hotel to a nearby national park, rental cars are a common part of vacations. When it's time to pick up your car, the rental agency will offer a variety of options for coverage — for an additional fee, of course.

Does Chase Sapphire cover rental car insurance? Yes, using the right credit card to pay for your rental can invoke thousands of dollars in protection without any additional fees.

Related: Credit card rental car insurance: Best cards and how it works

While planning for emergencies is never fun, Chase Sapphire car rental insurance can cover theft, accidents or other damages to your rental car. This benefit is provided by two cards:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees)
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees)

While we tend to focus on earning points and redeeming them for memorable vacations, it's also important to understand how to protect your family in case something goes wrong on your next trip.

Here's a closer look at the Chase Sapphire cards and their rental car insurance benefits that can provide peace of mind the next time you hit the road in a rental car.

What is Chase Sapphire Reserve rental car insurance?

When paying for your rental car with the Sapphire Reserve, you can decline the rental company's collision damage waiver (sometimes abbreviated CDW or LDW) and still be covered for up to $75,000 of theft or collision damages to your rental car.

This benefit provides primary rental car insurance and also covers fees the rental car company may assess, such as loss-of-use charges, administrative fees, and even towing charges to get the car to a repair shop.

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Related: 5 things to do once you get your Chase Sapphire Reserve

It's important to note that there are restrictions to this benefit. For instance, it doesn't provide other types of insurance, such as medical or liability protection, and it doesn't cover car rentals that last more than 31 days. However, it does cover additional drivers listed on the rental contract and works worldwide.

Types of cars are not covered by this benefit; however, they include but are not limited to:

• Antique cars (cars over 20 years old or that have not been manufactured for 10 years or more)
• Cargo vans
• Motorcycles, motorbikes and mopeds
• Limousines and vehicles that are rented with a driver
• Passenger vans with seating for more than 12 people including the driver
• Recreational vehicles
• Trucks (other than pick-ups)

Coverage also doesn't apply to off-road driving or if you're doing anything illegal at the time damage occurs.

For more details, you can consult the full benefits guide.

Related: Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card review

What is Chase Sapphire Preferred rental car insurance?

The benefits guide for the Sapphire Preferred lists reimbursement for theft or collision up to $60,000, with coverage provided worldwide. However, the terms state that exotic cars and those with a manufacturer-suggested retail price of $125,000 or more are not covered.

This benefit provides primary rental car coverage against theft, damage and fees charged by the rental car agency and is available when you pay for your rental with this card and then waive the damage coverage offered by the rental agency.

Related: Who should (and shouldn't) get the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

This coverage is subject to the same limitations as that offered by the Sapphire Reserve (mentioned above), including vehicle types, not providing other insurance types and only covering rentals of 31 days or less.

For more details, you can consult the full benefits guide.

Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card review

How to get Chase rental car insurance coverage?

To be covered by Chase Sapphire card insurance, you must pay for the rental car with your card (or with points from your card, if booking through Chase Travel℠).

Then, you must also decline the rental car company's damage protection benefit when you pick up your rental car. If you choose to add damage protection from the rental car company, your credit card's damage protection benefits (LDW or CDW) will not go into effect.

It's worth noting that you still can add other protection benefits to your rental, such as liability insurance, roadside dispatch or other benefits offered by the rental car company, without losing the rental car damage protections from your Chase Sapphire card.

Additionally, as always, you should inspect your car before leaving the rental lot and when returning the car, including taking a video of the car's condition and noting any existing damages.

How to file a claim

If you have an accident or your rental car is stolen, you should first notify the rental car agency and the police. Your next steps will include filing a claim with your credit card's benefits administrator.

For Chase Sapphire rental car insurance, there are two important dates to know:

• Within 100 days of the incident: File your initial claim
• Within 365 days: Provide supporting documents

Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve insurance benefits — Which is better?

You will need to submit the following documents:

• The accident report form
• Your rental agreement(s)
• A repair estimate and itemized repair bill
• Two photographs of the vehicle damage
• The police report, if one was made
• A copy of the rental car agency's demand later stating the costs you are responsible for and any amounts paid on the claim so far
• A credit card billing statement showing the charges for the rental

Depending on your situation, your claim administrator may ask for additional documents. Thus, you should keep copies of everything related to your accident or vehicle theft until the claim is resolved.

Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Sapphire Reserve: Should you go mid-tier or premium?

What is primary car rental coverage?

We've mentioned several times that Chase Sapphire rental car insurance provides primary coverage. But what does that mean?

Rental car companies typically offer additional insurance benefits for a fee, often referred to as a "Collision Damage Waiver" or CDW. Fortunately, many popular credit cards offer car rental coverage and thus allow you to decline this added fee but still enjoy protection on the car.

However, the vast majority of these policies give you secondary coverage. As the name indicates, this would kick in on a secondary basis after other applicable insurance policies apply (namely, your own personal car insurance) in the event of damage or loss to your rental car.

Primary coverage is the opposite. It kicks in first in case of a covered incident, like an accident or theft. This prevents you from needing to submit the claim to your personal insurance company, which may cause your rates to go up.

Bear in mind that this benefit only provides coverage for the car; it doesn't include liability insurance for damage you cause to property, nor will it cover injuries to you or others involved in an accident.

Bottom Line

Travel rewards credit cards can provide many benefits, such as helping you book first-class flights or luxury hotels using points. However, travel credit cards also provide less flashy benefits that can protect your trips during delays or when you have problems with a rental car.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred car rental insurance can cover the cost of your vehicle. At the same time, the Chase Sapphire Reserve provides top-notch coverage for rental cars.

Paying for your next rental car with either of these cards can provide peace of mind and save you and your loved ones tens of thousands of dollars should you experience problems during your vacation. Best of all, the insurance coverage provided by Sapphire cards is worldwide, unlike country limitations that other issuers like American Express impose.

To learn more, read our full reviews of the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Reserve