Anyone who has had to rent a car would have had to decide whether or not to get car rental insurance. The decision however is normally not a major issue for one reason. Most types of car insurance already provide coverage for a rental vehicle. As well, some credit cards also carry car rental insurance as a benefit. This is especially true of top of the line platinum cards. If such a card is used to pay the rental fees, you may well be covered.
Types of Car Rental Insurance
Before buying rental car insurance, spend some time learning what type of coverage you will be getting. While the most common coverage is collision waiver, it is not the only type. As with any other types of car insurance, you need to read the fine print and ask questions before buying. This type of insurance removes the risk in the event of an accident to the car rental company instead of the renter. The cost of this type of policy can run up to $20 or so per day.
Other types of rental car insurance are:
Personal accident: While useful, this type of car rental insurance is also normally covered by your car insurance policy. This policy covers medical and ambulance costs in the event of an accident.
Liability insurance: This is generally covered by regular car insurance so car owners may not need this.
Personal effects: This policy is good when traveling with personal effects that may be stolen from a car. Most regular insurance doesn’t carry this, so it may be worth purchasing from a car rental company. This should be purchased if you will be traveling with valuables such as laptops.
What Should You Do?
Before deciding to pay what can add up to a hefty sum for car rental insurance, check your current insurance or call your agent. By doing this, you will be able to determine what coverage you already have and if it also applies to a rental vehicle.
For people who rent cars on a regular basis, it would be cheaper to protect yourself by increasing your regular car insurance coverage. Taking out insurance coverage every time a car is rented would add up over time. If your own insurance company doesn’t cover a rental car, still look around before signing on the dotted line at a car rental company.
If you do not own a car and therefore do not have car insurance, but plan on renting more than once for the year, consider getting non-owner liability insurance. This is ideal for frequent renters since the cost can range anywhere from $200 to $600 per year.
In short, in most cases, paying for car rental insurance may be redundant if you are already covered by your own company. The safest thing to do as a car owner is to ask your car insurance company what you are covered for. In most instances you will find that you do not need additional coverage.
Before you choose NOT to select car rental insurance when renting a car, it is important that you are completely covered from another insurance source. If not completely covered, you could end up in a financially devastating situation.
