katboferguson
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2005
- Messages
- 42
I own a car rental franchise in the state of Virginia. I will tell you what I know. When renting a vehicle there are always two seperate issues to deal with regarding coverage.
Liability is the first one. Liability is what takes care of auto damage or bodily injury caused to other person(s). Each State has its own car rental laws when it comes to liability issues. Some States are "Primary" meaning that if a renter was responsible for causing an automobile accident in a rented vehicle then the car rental company's own liability policy would go "first" and the renter's auto policy would kick in "second" if needed. Other States are "secondary" meaning that the car rental company's liability insurance goes "second" if needed and the renter's goes "first". Then there are states like Florida and New York that have "vicarious liability" laws which just get nasty. To make matters more confusing if someone were to rent a car in Georgia, drive it to Florida and then cause an accident, then Florida's rental laws would apply.
Most policy holder's auto policies will cover them for liability while they are driving a rented vehicle. I have run into a few rare situations in which the policy when written excluded rented vehicles. If you are not sure you should call your insurance company and ask this question.
If you do not have an auto liability policy, and you want to drive a rental car then you will have to purchase Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) from the car rental company. If you are covered by your auto policy then the only reason I would purchase SLI would be if I were going to be the driver of a large vehicle carrying a bunch of other people's kids. Supplemental Liability is always going to be 'second', no matter whether it is the renter's insurance that goes "first" or the car rental company's insurance that goes "first".
As far as purchasing coverage to cover the rental car, every Visa logo credit card (NOT CHECK,DEBIT CARDS) has free rental damage coverage. If the Visa cardholder does not have collision on their own policy then this Visa coverage would go "first" and cover all of the damage up to the value of "most" vehicles. If the renter does have collision coverage then the visa coverage would simply cover the renter's deductable. Other cards that have this benefit that I know of are all Amex, Gold and Plat. Mastercards and all Discover cards. (The card holder has to be listed as a driver on the rental contract and the card has to be used to pay for the rental.) There is never a need to purchase the rental company's collision coverage unless you do not carry comp./collision on your own policy. And then there are some people who buy it just because they don't want to chance having any claims filed on their own policy. Note: Credit card coverage does not cover liability, it only covers damage to the rental car. I hope this helps.
Liability is the first one. Liability is what takes care of auto damage or bodily injury caused to other person(s). Each State has its own car rental laws when it comes to liability issues. Some States are "Primary" meaning that if a renter was responsible for causing an automobile accident in a rented vehicle then the car rental company's own liability policy would go "first" and the renter's auto policy would kick in "second" if needed. Other States are "secondary" meaning that the car rental company's liability insurance goes "second" if needed and the renter's goes "first". Then there are states like Florida and New York that have "vicarious liability" laws which just get nasty. To make matters more confusing if someone were to rent a car in Georgia, drive it to Florida and then cause an accident, then Florida's rental laws would apply.
Most policy holder's auto policies will cover them for liability while they are driving a rented vehicle. I have run into a few rare situations in which the policy when written excluded rented vehicles. If you are not sure you should call your insurance company and ask this question.
If you do not have an auto liability policy, and you want to drive a rental car then you will have to purchase Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) from the car rental company. If you are covered by your auto policy then the only reason I would purchase SLI would be if I were going to be the driver of a large vehicle carrying a bunch of other people's kids. Supplemental Liability is always going to be 'second', no matter whether it is the renter's insurance that goes "first" or the car rental company's insurance that goes "first".
As far as purchasing coverage to cover the rental car, every Visa logo credit card (NOT CHECK,DEBIT CARDS) has free rental damage coverage. If the Visa cardholder does not have collision on their own policy then this Visa coverage would go "first" and cover all of the damage up to the value of "most" vehicles. If the renter does have collision coverage then the visa coverage would simply cover the renter's deductable. Other cards that have this benefit that I know of are all Amex, Gold and Plat. Mastercards and all Discover cards. (The card holder has to be listed as a driver on the rental contract and the card has to be used to pay for the rental.) There is never a need to purchase the rental company's collision coverage unless you do not carry comp./collision on your own policy. And then there are some people who buy it just because they don't want to chance having any claims filed on their own policy. Note: Credit card coverage does not cover liability, it only covers damage to the rental car. I hope this helps.
