I don't see any reason you shouldn't go with Chase first in order to have them pay the whole thing and not having your insurance go up.
Agreed. If the other driver doesn’t make a claim it definitively makes sense. I spoke to my insurance agent who says I can file an auto claim up to two years after the incident though he doesn’t recommend it, so here goes. It’s a bit nerve wracking to lay out thousands of dollars up front but it definitely makes the most sense.
I’ve seen an infinite number of DDF posts about using the chase Sapphire card for primary coverage on rentals, so I was sure I would see lots of reports about the claims process but a search on DDF didn’t turn up anything about actually using the benefit so I’ll try to update as I go through the process.
A family member rented a car from a local Lakewood rental company with the Chase Sapphire preferred and declined rental insurance. He rear ended a car with minimal to no damage to that car but some relatively minor damage to the rental- a cracked grill and maybe a damaged sensor behind the grill from what I can tell.
We got an initial police report and took photos of the damage. Took the car back to the rental the next day and encountered a very rude, stressed out, and belligerent guy behind the counter. Haven’t experienced that type of service or lack thereof since a certain Lakewood auto repair shop I used (two decades back before I decided that I was entitled to take my business to a place that doesn’t abuse its customers) that had a similar attitude about customer service.
Barely gave us the time of day. He tried to insist that we go through our auto insurance. “We don’t deal with credit cards”. “You want to go through your auto insurance”. Mentioned something about his rental place using different auto shops for insurance than for non insurance repairs.
Then he told us that if we want to try to go through our credit card it’s our business but it’s definitely going to be 5k at least and we have to pay up front if we want to try to go through our credit card. He handed us a form letter that stated we were acknowledging that we don’t have any auto insurance coverage (we do) and insisted submitting it was the only way to get reimbursement from the credit card. What?
I pointed out that the rental agreement says $3000 deposit for damages with balance due in 180 days so he begrudgingly acceded to that. When I asked for a copy of the final rental agreement he told us he has no time to explain anything, talk to us or give us any paperwork we need in person but we could email him. We emailed him later and he did eventually send the final rental agreement.
We opened a claim online on the chase eclaims website which has a list of documents needed and uploaded all of the documents that we have so far- the initial rental agreement, the final rental agreements, photos, our auto insurance declaration page, etc. We are still waiting on the police report, copy of the next credit card bill listing the rental charge and and itemized repair summary. We will submit those when they come in. According to the claim website, an agent is supposed to review the docs within 5 business days. Hoping that we get reimbursed before the $3000 damage deposit comes due on the next statement.
Will update as things progress.
