I think the major parts were well covered, so I'll use this space to talk about insurance in more depth.
There are five things to be insured against when renting a car:
1) Loss or Damage to vehicle: this is equivalent to Comprehensive insurance on a standard policy. It covers the car itself in an accident, theft, break-in, falling trees, storm damage, etc. Maybe not covered by your personal insurance, but possibly covered by credit cards (LDW CDW from the rental agency covers this).
2) Liability: this is the same as an auto policy and covers damage to people you may hit in an accident (usually medical). Sometimes credit card may cover this, but this is usually where your personal insurance policy steps in. Also purchasable from the rental agency.
3) Loss of use: this is a fee charged by the rental agency for the time they can not rent a damaged car due to it being in the shop for repair/time to replace. This is usually charged directly to you, but may be waived/reduced by some credit card coverage and/or business affiliation (ex: USAA waives loss of use fees if certain agencies are used).
4) Diminutions of Value: this is a fee charged by the rental agency to you for the amount of value the vehicle lost due to the damage incurred. Usually this isn't covered by anyone except the LDW policy, but may be covered by some credit cards.
5) Administration fees: fees charged by the rental agency to coordinate the repair/replacement of the vehicle. Check all your options (credit cards, affiliations (Costco, AAA, insurance agency, etc) to see if any cover this fee.
I mentioned credit cards a lot in the four insurance hits. The major credit card companies do provide some insurance coverage, if you use their product for the rental. The amount and levels of coverage depend on the type of product used. For instance, a Visa Signature card will usually have better coverage than a Visa Platinum card. Coverage varies by issuer as well as product (American Express is different than Visa is different than Master Card...) and some banks provide primary coverage (claim paid before other insurance) while most provide secondary coverage (claim paid on balance after personal and other policies pay). That said, look in your wallet, find out the types of cards yo have to pay for the rental, then look up the coverage on those cards.
All that said, I do have a recommendation: overlap. I like to overlap my insurance options. I use my AMEX card and pay the modest fee ($25) for the Premium Car Rental Coverage (primary damage coverage w/no deductible up to $100k, $15k addition medical coverage, $5k personal property coverage). I overlap this with my USAA membership and rent from one of their recommended agencies (
Avis, Hertz,
Enterprise,
Budget) to get liability (overlaps with my personal policy), waived loss of use fee, damage protection ($5k deductible but secondary to AMEX), waived diminished value fees, and waived admin fees. Finally, there is my normal auto insurance policy to cover whatever else.
Sometimes, the lowest price isn't the best option due to potential coverage, fees, and requirements should something happen. No one plans to be in an accident, have a break-in, have a sink hole open, endure a hurricane while on vacation. However having the best coverage, maybe for a little more money, can one day save you thousands.
Sorry, this is a lot to take in, but all of it is important in understanding your liability when renting a car.
Good luck and have fun!
