If you’re renting a car in Costa Rica, the most confusing thing is the car rental insurance as every car rental agency in Costa Rica sets their own names, regulations and policies for insurances.
And yes – there is a mandatory car rental insurance that everyone must take in when renting a car in Costa Rica.
This post will be breaking down our partner Adobe Rent a Car’s car rental insurances as we have a partnership with them to offer our readers a Costa Rica car rental discount and extra benefits.
This post has affiliate links which we may earn a small commission from if you choose to purchase, at no extra cost to you. Listed prices are quoted in USD and are estimates. More info: Disclosure
Adobe Rent a Car Insurance
Read our experience with Adobe Rent a Car to see why we partnered with them!
In this post, I’m going to break down how Adobe Rent a Car’s insurance works, including which one is the mandatory insurance, which one can be declined, and which ones are 100% optional.
Below are the insurance options Adobe Rent a Car offers online.
Liability Protection (PLI)
The Liability Protection is what most car rental companies call their mandatory insurance. This insurance cannot be removed or declined.
What it covers:
- Coverage up to $20,000 USD in 3rd party damages with a 20% deductible*. It also has a coverage of 3rd parties not in the car (i.e pedestrian) up to $100,000 USD with 0 deductible.
- Liability Protection does not cover vehicle damage.
* All Mytanfeet readers have 0% deductible on Liability, up to $20,000 USD as one of our benefits.*
This insurance costs from $13.50 – $25 USD + tax a day depending on the vehicle.
Car Protection (LDW or CDW)
This insurance covers damages of the rented car in an accident, collision or roll over.
In case of total or partial theft of the rented car, the Car Protection also covers any financial losses due to the theft.
Declining Car Protection Insurance
You can use your credit card car rental insurance to decline this insurance.
In order to decline, you need to present proof of coverage from your credit card company stating that the credit card will cover the damages.
The letter needs to have the credit card company logo letterhead, the last four digits of the credit card being used and the name of the credit card holder.
Check with your credit card company to see if they will cover this insurance including but not limited to factors such as number of passengers, type of car and number of rental days.
For example, my Chase Sapphire credit card offers car rental insurance and I can use it to decline the Car Protection insurance for up to 30 days per contract.
I just call my credit card company to get the coverage letter and I present that to Adobe Rent a Car to remove Car Protection Insurance.
Important: Car Protection does NOT cover vandalism, road side assistance, tires or towing. The deductible is $1000 USD +13% tax and does NOT cover any 3rd party damages.
If you decline Car Protection insurance and use your credit card insurance and get involved in an incident, Adobe will charge you and then provide all the paperwork you might need in order to get reimbursed by your insurance company.
If you do not have a credit card that offers car rental coverage, then you must take Car Protection Insurance. Third party insurances are not accepted.
Extended Protection (SPP)
The third option, the Extended Protection is 100% optional. The Adobe representative will ask you once if you wish to get Extended Protection but you are completely free to decline it.
You can decide to add it when you make the reservation but you can decide not to get it when you collect the car.
Or you do not have to get it now when you make your booking online and you can decide later when you collect the car if you want it.
The Extended Protection Insurance covers:
- The 20% deductible of the Liability Protection so your deductible is 0.
- Covers vandalism, windows, damaged tires (NOT flat tires), road assistance 24/7 and tow truck.
- 100% of damages including 3rd party up to $2 million.
This costs around $20.50 USD with tax included a day depending on the vehicle.
If you are declining Car Protection Insurance, you cannot get Extended Protection.
In these cases, the Adobe agent will ask you in person if you want the next insurance which is only offered in person – not online, the TPW.
TPW (Third Party Waiver) In Person Insurance
If you decline the Car Protection insurance and are purchasing ONLY Liability Insurance, the Adobe agent will ask you if you would like to purchase an insurance called the TPW.
This TPW insurance is 100% optional. This insurance is offered ONLY by the Adobe agent in person – not online.
The TPW insurance increases your third party (Liability) coverage to $4 million USD from $20,000 USD. The Liability deductible goes down to $0 USD from 20%.
It is $9.99 + 13% tax USD a day, 100% optional and only offered in person by the Adobe agent when you collect the car.
This insurance will be offered only to clients who decline the Car Protection and Extended Protection and are purchasing ONLY Liability insurance.
Situations Where Adobe Rent a Car Insurance Does Not Cover the Rental
- Driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
- Failure to immediately report a car accident that you are involved in.
- Damages to the car in situations when the driver is not authorized.
- Damages due to driving through rivers, on beaches, through lakes, mangroves and flooded roads (anywhere through water). Anywhere that an official road does not exist.
- Failure to comply with the legal procedure with the insurance company. This includes but is not limited to failure to report the accident to transit police, failure to report the accident and filling out the insurance claim and non-compliance with other legal process requirements.
- Flat tires are not covered under any of the insurances. Adobe gives you the necessary tools to change the flat tire yourself. Then you have go to any one of their offices in the country to get a new tire.
Why Rent With Adobe Rent a Car?
Insurance is Easy to Understand
Like I mentioned earlier, Adobe Rent a Car’s insurances are easy to understand.
Some other car rental companies can have 5, 6, 7 different insurances. That makes it really difficult to understand! And they make seem like the car rental is super cheap.
What you don’t know is that they add the insurance later when you’re about to pick up the car and clients have no knowledge of this, making it feel like a “scam” or at least a bit cheated. Which brings me to my next point.
Full transparency
Since Adobe Rent a Car is a Costa Rican company, they don’t want their clients to have a bad experience with car hires.
They know that many tourists come back to Costa Rica and they want them to rent with Adobe Rent a Car again.
Unfortunately car rentals have a bad reputation in Costa Rica due to the insurances and “hidden fees” by international companies.
Adobe Rent a Car does not add on any last minute taxes, fees or insurances. Their pricing is all-inclusive.
Peace of mind
Adobe Rent a Car is a 100% Costa Rican operated company meaning they know the Costa Rican laws inside and out.
As they have been operating for nearly 30 years, they know how the system works through and through and all their employees are very well vetted and knowledgeable.
I hope this posts clears up any questions you have any Adobe Rent a Car insurance.
Don’t forget to get our Costa Rica car rental discount and extra benefits!
You can read this post “Costa Rica car rental insurance” to see how several car rental companies’ insurance policy works if you are comparing other companies.
Read these post below for more tips on driving/renting a car in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica Vacation Checklist
- First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
- Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
- Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
- Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica.
- Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.
Peg Mickelson says
Are any of the rentals manual transmission? Also, if I choose the Extended Protection do I also need to choose the Car Protection?
Sammi says
Hi Peg, our partners have some vehicles that are manual transmission (a compact sedan and a 2wd-4wd). Car Protection needs to be selected if you do not have car rental coverage through a credit card. If you do have credit card car rental coverage, you can choose to use that instead and decline Car Protection. We’ve sent you an email with some more information.
Michelle says
Hello, I contacted my credit card company and they offer me full coverage being covered with my card (I have a business performance card). I let them know that I must purchase the PLI Insurance with Adobe, but then my credit card company said they become secondary insurance. I’m not sure I’m understanding this. However they have provided me with a letter that shows I am fully covered. Do you know how this will affect the insurance portion of the rental with Adobe? Any info is appreciated.
Sammi says
Hi Michelle, if you have CDW from your credit card, that is the one you can use instead and you can decline the Car Protection insurance from Adobe. However, the Liability is mandatory in Costa Rica so you have to get it, regardless if you have credit card car rental insurance since that’s only for CDW. We have also emailed you with more information