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PETER CharnoffJapan

The sky in Tokyo was a bit cloudy that day. I walked to the CRQ CarRent counter with my suitcase and my backpack. I was ready to pick up the Toyota Prius I booked on QEEQ. It was around ten in the morning, maybe April twenty ninth. The airport was busy and loud. I felt pretty excited because Japan was a place I wanted to visit for a long time. The first few days went really smooth. The car was easy to drive. It was automatic and very fuel saving. I felt kind of proud of my choice. I even thought to myself that I did a good job booking this car. Then one day when I was driving in the city, a car in front of me changed lane very suddenly. I hit the brake hard. The car stopped, but I hit something on the side of the road. I got out and saw a long scratch on one side of the car and a small dent. My mind went blank for a moment. I just thought, this is bad, this is going to cost a lot of money. I called the rental counter and told them what happened. They checked the car and said they had to follow their rules. They asked me to pay a pretty big amount first for the damage and other fees. When I paid with my card, my heart really hurt. At the same time I kept telling myself it was good that I had bought AXA Full Coverage before. Without it I would be in big trouble. Back at the hotel I started to collect all the papers. I took photos of the damage. I kept all the receipts and bills from the rental company. I sent everything by email to the customer service team. The first time I sent my files my driving license photo was not very clear. They wrote back and asked me to send a clearer one. I got nervous again and worried that this small problem might slow down the claim. So I took several new photos of my license and sent them again. They also told me the small till slip was not enough and they needed a proper statement that showed the charge on my account. At first I thought the normal receipt was fine. Then I had to open my credit card statement and find the line with the rental charge and the currency. I made screenshots and saved them carefully. I sent them one by one in an email. In my head I kept thinking I really hoped all this work would help and that I would not have to pay more in the end. A few days later the support team said they still needed the repair invoice from the rental company and more clear damage photos. So I contacted the rental counter again and asked them for the repair papers. The staff there were not very chatty but they did send me the repair document and better photos of the damage. I forwarded everything to the service team. The back and forth made me a bit tired, but I also understood this was part of the claim process, so I tried to stay patient. At one point they asked about the currency of the charge. Only then I noticed I never really paid attention when I first paid. I just saw the total amount and it already looked high to me. That night I checked the exchange rate on my phone and kept counting in my head. I felt worried that the final payout might be less than what I really paid. Later when they checked with me again, I noticed that the actual amount charged on my card was higher than the amount the insurance side first talked about. My stress came back right away. I thought maybe I would have to cover the difference myself. After a while the support team contacted me and said they had asked the insurer to adjust the claim and match it with the real amount I was charged. When I read that line, I felt a big relief. I felt that they were really trying to help me and not just looking for a way to pay less. They finally told me that the claim was approved and that the money I paid for the damage would be covered based on the real charge on my card. At that moment I really felt that buying AXA Full Coverage was the right decision. Before this trip I was always unsure when I saw extra insurance options and I sometimes thought I would never need them. This time I went through a full claim from start to finish. I had to send many documents and it was a bit of a hassle, but the result made me feel satisfied and also a lot more relaxed about this whole experience.

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Devendu speltenJapan

I have to complain first a bit. I went alone to Tokyo and rented a car. I thought the hardest part would be driving in a new city. For me the real problem was a long scratch on the car door. I booked the car on QEEQ and picked it up in Tokyo. It was a small Mazda and for one person it was very easy to drive. One day in a parking lot I moved the car a little and the door scraped the side. I froze right away. My first thought in my head was this is bad and I will pay a lot of money. I will jump to the ending first. My AXA Full Coverage finally paid for this door scratch in full and the money went back to me. For me as a student level English speaker my feelings in the middle were really up and down. When I returned the car the staff at the rental desk found the scratch on the door. They showed me a bill for more than two hundred thousand yen. I looked at the number and my mind went blank. I tried to change it to euro in my head and it felt like my bank card was going to cry. At that moment I really regretted it and told myself I should have been more careful. Back at my place I remembered that when I booked I bought AXA Full Coverage. It covers damage theft and also glass and tires. A door scratch should be inside too. I quickly contacted their customer service and told them what happened. I sent the charge slip from the rental company and later the repair invoice. I was nervous because I was scared they might say no or that it would take a very long time. During that time I kept checking my bank account and I was afraid that money was just gone. There were a few times when the rental company said the repair paper was not ready yet. I did not really understand their whole process so I could only wait and let the support people ask for me. In my head I kept saying please finish this soon. This was the biggest cost of my whole trip. Later they told me the rental company also added a kind of NOC cost and the final total was around two hundred seventy thousand yen. I only needed to give all the documents and let the insurance side handle the rest. Some time later the support team told me that the claim amount was confirmed. They checked the money that went into the bank. It was about two hundred sixty nine thousand nine hundred twenty five yen and they said it matches the euro amount taken from my card. When I heard that I finally relaxed. I felt very clearly that buying this insurance was not a waste. I travel alone so I need to handle everything by myself. This time without AXA Full Coverage to help with the door scratch I think I would still feel pain in my wallet when I go back home. Now when I think about it if the same thing happens again I will still buy this full coverage. At least when I drive I do not feel so scared.

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Michael DeWispelaereJapan

The problem came first for me. The tire blew while we were driving in Japan and I was really stressed. It was around the afternoon of May 26. I was driving the small hybrid car I rented in Osaka. My family was in the car. We were on the Himeji Bypass. At first the road was fine. Then I saw a long piece of wood lying across several lanes. My first question in my head was what can I do to avoid this. I turned a bit to the right and I thought I missed it. About ten seconds later the car started to shake hard. Then I asked myself again did I still hit it. I moved the car to the hard shoulder and got out. The back left tire was totally flat. I looked at the tire and just thought what do I do now with kids on a fast road. After some time the police came. They took the accident details and told me other cars also hit the same wood. They agreed the tire burst because of that. That made me feel a little better but then a new question came. How much will this cost and will my insurance pay. Later a replacement car was arranged. I was told the repair and related costs were a few hundred pounds and in the end I paid over one thousand pounds in total on my card. When I signed and paid I felt really nervous. I kept thinking can AXA Full Coverage really pay all this or will they find some reason to say no. I bought this insurance because it covers things like tires and glass that the desk often does not cover so I kept every receipt very carefully. When I got back to the UK I started to contact them. I sent the accident story the police record the repair bill and my bank statement. Then the insurance side asked for the repair invoice again and also about the currency. I started to worry that they might only pay me in yen and I would have to deal with the exchange. Later the support team told me they had already told the insurer that I wanted the payout in GBP. That made me relax. The rental company sent the repair invoice very fast when I asked. I passed it on. Then I was told the claim was approved and the payment would be in GBP with an amount close to what I had paid on my card. When I saw that my first thought was I am really glad I bought this insurance or this family trip money would be gone. For a parent driving in another country this whole thing made the coverage feel very real. On the road you cannot control a random piece of wood. A blown tire just happens. At least they helped me talk with the insurer handle the documents and in the end I got my money back in the currency I use every day. I booked the car through QEEQ and this AXA Full Coverage claim turned a scary moment on the road into a lesson that did not destroy our budget.

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Danjuma SchulenburgJapan

I booked my car in Nagoya through QEEQ and at first I felt the extra insurance was just for peace of mind. I did not think I would really use it. The problem happened about two days before return around May 31 in the afternoon. I was driving a Toyota Aqua and I was backing up on a narrow street in Nagoya. The rear side hit something on the side. I heard a small sound and my heart dropped. My first thought was that I would need to pay a lot of money. I got out and checked the car. There was a clear scratch on the back and some paint was gone. In Japan I knew this kind of thing would not be cheap. At the return counter the staff checked the car very carefully. They took photos and wrote notes. They told me the damage could be many tens of thousands of yen. I stood there while they checked and I kept doing the math in my head to Singapore dollars. My mood for the whole afternoon was very heavy. After the return the rental company later confirmed the cost was around 80,000 yen. There was repair cost and also loss of use fee. I felt quite stressed because 80,000 yen is not a small amount for me as an overseas visitor. At that moment I really understood how important the AXA Full Coverage was. I kept all the papers from the rental company and then I contacted their customer service. I explained what happened and sent them the repair invoice and other documents. In the next days I was still a bit worried. I kept thinking maybe they only pay part of it or maybe it will take very long. They also asked me again to confirm my bank account because I live in Singapore and the transfer was international. I was also afraid there might be some problem with the bank so I even gave another account. One morning I woke up and saw messages and email saying the claim amount of 80,000 yen was confirmed and sent. I opened my banking app and saw the money really arrived. In that moment I felt a big weight was gone. When I think back now I feel that without this insurance my memory of Nagoya might become only bills and pressure. There was some anxiety in the process but the full 80,000 yen from the rental company was covered and paid back. For someone like me who had an accident for the first time in Japan this was a big relief.