Do I Need Insurance to Rent a Car?
The short answer is yes, you can rent a car without insurance.
If you don’t have car insurance, you can still rent a car from several national and local rental companies. These rental companies have insured the rental cars on their own with the state’s minimum liability auto insurance requirements. Since the rental cars are more than likely registered in their name, the rental car agency will have to handle getting their rental cars insured before the vehicles can be rented.
However, rental car companies insure their rental cars with the absolute minimum of car insurance coverage limits which are often not enough to fully cover you and the rental vehicle in the event of an auto insurance claim. But it is possible to add more car insurance coverage to the rental car.
This post goes over everything you need to know about going about renting a car from a rental car agency with the proper rental car insurance coverage.
Is Your Personal Car Insurance Required For a Rental Car?
Car insurance coverage follows the vehicle rather than the driver. It also depends on whose name the car is registered in with the state’s DMV. The owner of the car is the one who will have to get vehicle insurance for it. Since it is a rental company, they are in charge of insuring their rental cars. 49 out of 50 states require all vehicles on the road to have at least a certain amount of liability insurance coverage.
The practice of paying for damage and injuries that you cause while driving a vehicle is a legal necessity. But as previously mentioned, the amount of liability insurance coverage that rental companies insure their rental cars with isn’t enough to fully cover damage and injuries in case of a car accident or collision in most cases -it just satisfies the legal requirement for car insurance. This means that, as the driver, you are on the line for any remaining balances after a car accident or collision.
What if You Rent a Car With your Personal Auto Insurance?
If you have your own car insurance policy, be it standard or pay-per-mile auto insurance, your personal insurance coverage can actually be transferred to the rental car while the rental vehicle is in your care.
You may need to check with your personal auto insurance provider beforehand, but having your liability insurance coverage transferred over to the rental can cover you completely in the case of a car accident or a collision. But it depends on if you have a good, reliable car insurance provider.
What is Liability Car Insurance?
Often referred to as basic car insurance, liability insurance pays out to cover damages and injuries you cause to other vehicle drivers while on the road. Nearly every state has auto coverage policy limits for how much liability insurance drivers must carry. Liability car insurance provides financial protection for treatment fees, hospital services, lost wages from missed days at work, and any repair jobs and repair bills after a car accident or a collision.
All this liability coverage is for the other vehicle driver and not yourself. If the other vehicle driver was at fault for the car accident, then their auto insurance would cover your personal and vehicle damages -vice versa of what we just discussed. In order to extend insurance coverage to your car and injuries, you can upgrade to full car insurance coverage by adding collision insurance coverage and comprehensive coverage to your car insurance coverage or choosing an umbrella policy.
Collision insurance covers repairs to your car in a car accident or collision that you caused, while comprehensive car insurance coverage handles property damage done to your car or vehicle when you are away from it, such as environmental and criminal damage. Personal bodily injury protection can also be added to your personal auto insurance policy to cover your medical treatments and medical costs after an at-fault accident or collision. And yes, all these car insurance coverages transfer over to a rental car if you have a collision insurance policy in addition to your personal auto insurance.
Can You Get Additional Car Insurance From a Rental Company?
While checking out at the rental car counter, a rental company will also offer you additional car insurance coverage for a daily charge while using their rental car. A lot of rental car customers assume it’s a way for rental companies to get more money from you, but if you are without a personal auto insurance policy of your own, buying rental car insurance from them can be really beneficial and actually save you many hundreds of dollars in case of an accident.
The different kinds of additional rental car insurance coverage a car rental company may offer you are listed below.
- Collision damage waiver - The collision damage waiver “waives” all remaining balances after liability insurance covers its amount. This can happen after an auto accident or collision and even if the rental car were to be totaled, which you would normally be on the line for when renting a car.
- Loss damage waiver - Loss Damage Waiver, also known as LDW, waives your financial responsibility for any loss or damage incurred to the rental car, provided you have not violated the Rental Agreement’s Terms and Conditions.
- Personal accident insurance coverage - Personal accident insurance covers any medical bills for medical services like transport and injuries of yourself and any passengers in the rental car with you at the time of the car accident or collision.
- Supplemental liability insurance protection - Supplemental liability insurance coverage is especially helpful if you are sued after an auto accident or collision. Supplemental liability insurance can also help increase liability insurance coverage.
- Personal effects coverage - This additional coverage will cover any items that you left in the rental car that was damaged or stolen. Typically, personal effects coverage covers up to $500 worth of personal belongings.
Can a Credit Card Provider Offer Auto Insurance For a Rental Car?
Check with your credit card provider to see if they offer car insurance for rental cars because several of them give credit card insurance.
You will usually have to use the credit card from the credit card provider in question to rent the car and be entitled to its car insurance. You will also have to refuse any car insurance coverage offered as extra insurance by the rental company at the rental counter in order to qualify for car insurance offered by your credit card provider.
Your credit card provider may offer car insurance for only certain types of vehicles, so check with your credit card provider to see what their credit card coverage entails and which options you have to get your rental car insured through credit card company.
Will Non-Owner Car Insurance be Enough For a Rental Car?
Non-owner car insurance is great when you regularly drive cars that you don’t own. If you frequently use rental car services, then a non-owner car insurance policy may be worth it in the long run to cover you and your passengers in case of a car accident or collision.
However, for the one-and-done rental car, it wouldn’t be worth it since non-owner insurance is its own car insurance policy with premiums.
Shopping for rental car insurance coverage? Insurance Navy can help you out!
Don’t underestimate the importance of having good auto insurance coverage. Insurance Navy can help you get the personal auto policy you need at the most budget-friendly insurance rates. Request free cheap car insurance quotes online or give us a call at 888-949-6289.
