Rental Car Insurance

Costa Rican law requires that your rental car be covered by the mandatory minimum public liability insurance. And since that coverage can only be legally extended by a company that’s approved to do business in Costa Rica, your “home” insurance coverage (Allstate, State Farm, AAA, etc) will not suffice despite what the terms of your policy may say. I’ve seen a renter provide the rental agency with a letter from his home company assuring them that the renter would be covered, but it wasn’t acceptable.

So you have no choice. You have to buy the liability insurance.

In addition, the rental car agency can sell you a collision damage waiver. That covers your “deductible” cost should you bang up their vehicle. It’s important to understand that, if your rental car is damaged, you can be held liable for both the repairs and for the time it takes to get the car repaired and while the car is out of commission. So you could end up “renting” the car even after you depart Costa Rica.

You may also have the opportunity to purchase extended public liability or property damage insurance and also travel insurance should your trip be interrupted.

Most (maybe all) “premium” VISA and MasterCard accounts (platinum, titanium, unobtanium, etc) provide some coverage for rental cars. They may include the collision damage waiver as long as you charge the rental to that account. For details on all that, you need to talk to your credit card company.