Stupid question, I know - do you HAVE to get insurance on a rental car?

[LoDivaLoca]

I've always gotten the insurance from the rental company, but then I'm told you don't need it with various credit cards (whichever ones they are). Do I actually have to get it or are these unneccesary charges??

Thanks!!!!

 

[lady400]

Do you have insurance on your own vehicle? In many cases, your own automobile coverage will cover a rental car. Call your agent and check.

Most credit card insurance is for secondary coverage, meaning it kicks in for expenses above what your primary vehicle insurance paid. One exception to that, I believe, is Diner's Club, which provides primary insurance. Also, double-check the fine print of your credit card insurance. In many cases, it will not cover SUV's and other premium type rentals.

So, bottom line, if you don't have your own vehicle insurance, I would not depend on credit card insurance.

 

[Kermit]

Most people don't have to get the insurance. Call your own insurance agent. In most cases, if the car you are renting is being used as a substitute for your own car (i.e., no one will be driving your car while you're gone), then your insurance may cover it.

If your insurance won't work, then get a credit card that includes rental car insurance. Call the credit card companies you already have and see if they do it. If they don't, watch the mail. It can only be a few days before you get an offer for one that will.

 

[LoDivaLoca]

thanks so much for the quick replies!

So I guess I HAVE been suckered into paying the insurance all along!!! Yea, I have FULL coverage on my car, guess I'm calling State Farm tomorrow...

Thanks again!

 

[Disnydad]

As long as you have comp & collision on your own car you will be all set. The exception is New York. All you need is an auto policy. NY does need the comp & collision. It gets paid out of your property damage with a $100 deduct. The key there is to have enough property damage coverage.

But, still call your SF agent to get the "official" word. You may need to bring proof of insurance along with you. We have had Hertz customers telling us they demanded proof of insurance. Otherwise they would add the CDW.

 

[AllanJ]

Usually you don't have to buy insurance but there are a few idiosyncrasies that vary from one rental company to another. Sometimes non-US-citizens are required to buy insurance.

Usually there is a policies or rules page that you can click for if you are using Travelocity or some other web site or even the rental company's own web site, that tells all about the insurance.

One company refused to rent to me without insurance because my car back at home was so old I dropped the collision years ago.

The problem with Priceline is that you don't know whether the company that accepcts your bid may have more strict insurance requirements. Foreigners and those under 25 should not rent cars using Priceline because of this problem. Still, my opinion is that you are entitled to a refund if the car rental company won't rent to you for the price accepted by Priceline plus taxes and surcharges all companies add on to all rentals, and under the terms visible in the Priceline web site excluding the clause "subject to rental company's policies".

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[LoDivaLoca]

Thanks everyone!

 

[boysmom]

Neither my DH or myself has our own auto insurance we both have company cars. I assume we would not be covered for rentals. How about our homeowners policy will that cover the liability?

 

[Kermit]

No, homeowners only covers cars when they're sitting in your driveway/garage/yard turned off. You are covered by an insurance policy your employer holds, and there is a slight chance that if no one else is driving the company car while you're on vacation, then the policy may cover you with a rental. You would have to contact your HR to find out for sure though.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

This can get complicated. There are really multiple types of insurance coverage available with rental autos. Each is usually priced separately. One basic coverage is CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) or LDW (Loss Damage Waiver) which covers the rental auto itself (along with loss of use to the rental company if the car is damaged and put out of service for a time as a result). As one example, National Car Rental calls this coverage LDW1. A second type of coverage is some form of liability coverage which has to do with damages to other vehicles or injury to people in other vehicles in the event of an accident for which you are judged to be at fault (unless it's a "no-fault" state). National calls this SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance). Third, there is coverage for injuries to you and the passengers in the rental car you are driving and for loss of things you are carrying in your rental car, such as luggage. National calls this PAI/PEC (Personal Accident Insurance/Personal Effects Coverage). With National, you can elect each of these coverages as a separate add-in on your rental. I expect that other car rental companies have similar coverages in most states (there are some exceptions due to state regulations of car rental operations, so one or another of these coverages may be included in the basic rental rate in some locations; but in Florida, all three are available).

Now it has been mentioned that some car rental insurance coverage is sometimes provided as a benefit on various credit cards. In most cases, this coverage is secondary to your personal automobile coverage, although I believe Diner's Club has been mentioned as an exception in that it provides primary coverage. I don't know about that since I do not carry this credit card. However, I do carry American Express and am familiar with the coverage provided by them. Here is a link to the description on the AMEX web site: http://www.americanexpress.com/cards/serviceinfo/help1.shtml. As indicated, their coverage is supplemental to your own coverage. However, since the coverage is "exceeding coverage provided by other sources of insurance, or if not covered" someone with no auto coverage of their own has collision and theft insurance from American Express so long as they use the card for the rental. If you have collision and theft coverage on your own policy, AMEX coverage is supplemental which means it will cover any deductable you would otherwise have to pay out of pocket. This may also be true with some of the gold or platinum cards from other credit card issuers. Check your credit card agreements to determine this and avoid paying for coverage you already have if you find out you are already covered. But note that this is coverage only for property damage and theft (the CDW or LDW coverages). It does not provide any liability or accidental injury coverages (SLI or PAI/PEC in the National language), so you need to check with your insurance agent(s) to see which if any of those might be covered through an existing homeowners policy via some form of umbrella coverage (for liability) or injury to you and your family (through your regular health insurance coverage) since you do not have any auto policies to provide such coverage.

Ralph

 

[ducklite]

If you have comp and collision on your car at home, and use a credit card that covers LDW and your deductable, then no, don't get it.

However, if you have a poor driving record, and/or don't carry comp and collision at home, and/or are under 25, and/or don't have a major credit card in your name, and/or any number of other items, they CAN force you to take it, or not rent to you.

As long as the denial of rental isn't due to race, creed, color, national origin, religion, who you voted for, etc., they can deny anyone for any legitimate business reason.

Anne