Auto Rental Insurance

[DavidRoss]

I am not sure where to post this at so I apologize if it is not on the right board.

For those of you that travel to Disney by plane and rent a car, do you usually pay extra for the insurance they offer? Does your regular auto insurance cover your rental in case you are in an accident? Have you ever been in an accident in a rental car without their insurance? What happened regarding coverage?

 

[DrTomorrow]

This probably belongs on the Transportation Board, but we do NOT. DW checked, and our credit cards (Visa, Amex) and our car insurance (AAA) cover us when we rent in the USA.

 

[Chuck S]

Check with your own auto insurer, while it may vary depending on your state, most do cover you in a rental car.

I personally have not had an accident in a rental car, but my cousin totalled one, and was involved in an accident with another one. Both times, her insurance company covered her, except for the deductible of her policy.

I never purchase the rental car company insurance, I'm fully covered by my regular insurance carrier. Bring a copy of your insurance certificate with you.

 

[ajksmom]

We don't take the extra coverages either.
We did call our insurance agent to make sure we had the coverages first. She suggested that we make a copy of our "cover" sheet with the ins. co.'s phone number on it, in case they gave us a "hard sell".

 

[goofy4dvc]

Same here. Between coverage offered by our auto insurance and the credit cards, we feel we are covered adequately. Although we haven't had to test it yet.

 

[YesDear]

While your current personal coverage will probably cover you, there are several things to consider.

Your agreement with the rental company is contractural. In some rental contracts you may be agreeing to pay for things that would not be covered under your insurance. Some examples: You may be agreeing to pay for the loss of use of the car while it is being repaired. So if you have an accident and it takes 2 weeks to repair, you will probably be paying the daily rental rate during that time. ( many insurance companies offer this as a buy back, but you have to ask for it . The latest item to show up in rental contracts is diminshed value. You rent a car, have an accident and several months later, you get a bill from the rental company for several thousand dollars because when the rental company went to sell the car, the value was diminshed because of your accident.

There are other things to consider. You only have older cars and do not have coverage on the cars anymore... YOU DO NOT have coverage on the car. YOur Visa or Mastercard may not respond because it is normally excess of your coverage. Your accident is in Orlando and you live in New Jersey. You have an accident and you have to call your agent at home and they are trying to handle the claim from 800 miles away. Not an easy task. Sometimes the rental company will fix the car before the adjuster gets there. Remember the contract is with you, not your insurance company. The adjuster does not agree with what was done...

The bottom line is most people say they are covered through their insurance and or credit card. Probably, maybe, I do not know for sure....

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by YesDear
There are other things to consider. You only have older cars and do not have coverage on the cars anymore... YOU DO NOT have coverage on the car.

Posts like this is why you really have to call YOUR insurance agent and check. The answer varies from state to state and may even differ from company to company.

NY covers rental cars under the property damage portion of your policy, even if you don't have collision coverage on your car you're still covered for your rental car.

The general rule, most people who own a car have adequate coverage.

 

[ckret01]

Call me niave but until a few weeks ago I had no idea that credit cards carried car ins. I called disney visa and asked if i had auto coverage if I rented a car and they said yes.

 

[DebbieB]

The credit card coverage is excess over your personal policy. If you have collision on your personal policy, the credit card will pick up the deductible, your policy the rest.

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by DebbieB
The credit card coverage is excess over your personal policy. If you have collision on your personal policy, the credit card will pick up the deductible, your policy the rest.

People should check and not rely on the general information given in these boards. The question isn't what do most people have but what does YOUR auto policy and credit card cover. Diners Club has primary coverage. Some credit card coverages cover loss of use others don't.

One thing that's not mentioned in these posts is liability coverage. People with auto or umbrella policies PROBABLY have coverage but people who don't own a car may not be adequately insured.

 

[DVC-Don]

No. Between our auto policies and credit cards perks we don't need it.

 

[YesDear]

Lewisc:

Just wanted you to know that I agree with your response to my post. My intent was to raise enough questions in minds so readers would make the call. If I had just said call your agent , my belief is, many would think yeah ok and never do it.
I also agree on the Liability issue. In NC for example YOUR liability coverage is primary not the rental company.

I am an insurance agent and rental car questions concern me greatly because they are so many variables. My dad asked me the question several years ago and I told him rental agreements are different in different locations. He called the company he was going to rent from and asked if they could send him a copy or agreement from where he was going. He was told no. He was told there was a different agreement in each state.

Now tell me what you would do. You have flown into Orlando to visit Mickey. You had a long flight and you are asked to read the car rental contract. YEAH RIGHT.

I am also very leary of credit card coverages because you once again have to read the policy in detail to understand what you are getting!

Bottom line is I agree with you.. Please talk to your agent!

 

[shelbyjosh]

We have Progressive and our policy fully covers a rental. No need to accept all that crap they try to sell us!!

 

[Dewy]

I checked with my credit card company(Fleet) after I made my resi. The coverage is 100% no deductable for up to 15 days. The rep. stressed that you MUST decline the rental company's insurance or you have no coverage through the credit card.

To be on the safe side I'd check with both your credit card and insurance company.