Do I Need to Purchase Insurance When Renting a Car?
This is one of the most common questions we get as insurance professionals. Most assume they need to purchase additional insurance from a rental car company. However, this is not a necessity depending on your current coverage limits.
Your auto insurance travels with you.
The insurance you have on your vehicle is also with you when you drive a rental car.
You get the coverage you pay for.
The liability coverage, comprehensive coverage, collision coverage, and deductible you have is the same coverage you will have when driving a rental car. If you have a good policy now, you will have good coverage on the rental car you drive. However, if you are underinsured with low limits and find yourself in an accident where you are at fault with a rental car, it could be troublesome. If you have “Liability Only” on your current policy, you won’t have comprehensive or collision coverage when you rent, unless you purchase the additional insurance. This means you could be out thousands of dollars if you wreck the vehicle.
PRO TIP: Increasing the limits on your auto insurance is not as expensive as you think! Many times, you can increase your coverage for just a few extra dollars per month. Additionally, if you follow the instructions here you can possibly increase your coverage and lower the payments on your insurance at the same time.
Loss of use is not covered.
If you get in an accident with a rental car and are at fault, your insurance will most likely not cover “loss of use.” For example, if the damage caused to the vehicle you rented requires 10 days of body shop work, and the rental car company typically rents that car for $50 a day, the rental company lost a potential $500 of income because the vehicle was not available for use. The potential income a rental car company could have obtained is not covered by most insurance companies.
Do you need to purchase additional insurance when renting a car? Likely not. However, it may be a good idea to reevaluate your current auto insurance policy to ensure you have the proper coverage prior to renting a vehicle.
Our insurance professional, Brandon, would love to review your policy with you and let you know if your insurance could use an adjustment. Just fill out the form at this page, and he will be in touch with you soon!
This content was originally posted at http://moneywellrooted.com/2017/09/12/need-purchase-insurance-renting-car.
