Is this true? My understanding is that the secondary insurance provided by credit card companies only kicks in if you don't have any other insurance to cover it. In other words, if you have car insurance and they accept the claim then you're credit card insurance doesn't help you, but if your car insurance denies the claim (or if you don't have any car insurance) then you're credit card insurance covers it. It is secondary (ie it comes after any other insurance you have is exhausted). At least that's the way it seemed last time I read the agreement.

I'll take another look at one of my actual agreements when I get home and post back, but I'm pretty sure that's the way it usually is. That's the way it is with "secondary" medical insurance. For example, if you are insured through your employer then your family usually gets secondary insurance. If you wife is also insured through her employer then your insurance only kicks in for her if her own insurance won't cover it. However, if your wife doesn't have any of her own insurance then she is still insured under you; There is nothing to be secondary to.

Have you considered car sharing services like zipcar or flexcar? I believe insurance is included with them. Zipcar seems to be a ripoff, but flexcar seems reasonably priced if you need a car. I keep going back and forth over whether I should sign up for Flexcar. It would be good to have in an emergency, but why pay the annual fee if I'm never going to use it (and I've never needed to rent a car near my home since I've been car free).