Rental Car Insurance… Is it Needed?

When renting a car while on vacation, the rental car agent will inevitably ask if rental car insurance is wanted. It’s never an overly expensive item to add to the total cost of a rental car, but it’s money that could be spent elsewhere. While standing at the rental car counter, the decision will have to be made on whether or not to accept the insurance, and nine times out of 10, a person’s initial reaction is to go ahead and purchase the insurance. There’s always the thought of, “What would happen if this rental car got in an accident?” So that a quick decision does not have to be made while standing at a rental car company’s counter regarding rental car insurance, it’s a good idea to prepare and be knowledgeable about whether or not rental car insurance is really needed. Sometimes, personal car insurance will cover car rentals and sometimes credit cards will also provide coverage. Also, rental car coverage may not really protect the renter from very much. So, before boarding the plane for a vacation, do some research and know what to say before reaching the rental car counter.

Personal Car Insurance

For anyone who knows for a fact that they will rent a few cars over the course of any given year, it’s important to make sure their personal car insurance covers rental cars. Some insurance policies automatically cover rental cars, and others do not. And, this may not be a question that is asked when signing up for a new policy, so knowing whether or not a policy covers rental cars often remains unknown. If it is unknown whether or not a personal car insurance policy covers rental cars, before going on a vacation, make a quick call to the insurance agent. Ask about the specifics of any sort of rental car coverage, and write those specifics on a piece of paper. If there is coverage on a personal car insurance policy, obviously the insurance that the rental company offers will not be needed. If there is no rental car insurance on the personal policy, the insurance agent should be able to recommend what rental car insurance either should be purchased through his or her insurance company, or through the rental car company.

Credit Cards

It’s a common belief that if a credit card is used to pay for a rental car, that credit card will provide rental car insurance if there is any sort of accident or injury during the rental period. However, the coverage that a credit card company may offer might be partial coverage, or coverage only up to a certain dollar amount. Or, the credit card may not offer coverage at all. Some credit card companies have agreements with certain rental car companies, and will only offer rental car insurance if cars are rented from one of those particular companies. Also, some credit cards will only provide rental car insurance coverage if specific types of cars is rented. Basically, using a credit card to rent a car may or may not be beneficial in terms of rental car insurance, because all of the terms and conditions on the credit card’s rental insurance offering may not provide adequate coverage. Make sure to read all of the fine print provided by a credit card company before relying on the credit card for rental car insurance.