rental car insurance

Rental Car Insurance

When you go to rent a car, you will probably be offered an option to get rental car insurance. While you don’t legally need car insurance if you already have your own policy (even a non-owned policy if you don’t have your own car), it can come in handy. It all depends on your situation.

Rental car insurance to cover basic liability requirements for the state or territory you’re visiting is usually pretty cheap, though rental car insurance coverage can add up if you travel a lot. Whatever state you are visiting, whether you’re needing rental car insurance in California or elsewhere, the factors in your decision should be much the same. Rental car insurance rates aren’t typically that high, but they are a substantial income source for rental car agencies, and only in rare cases is rental car insurance likely to come to your rescue.

As you know, when you go driving, you need to be covered to the extent of the minimum liability requirements for the state you’re registered in. Even if you have minimum liability coverage though, it won’t protect the car you’re driving unless you have additional protection. To this end, when you visit a car rental agency like Avis or Enterprise, typically you’ll be offered rental car insurance to protect the rental car while you’re using it. This isn’t a legal requirement so long as you yourself are insured, but if there is damage to the car, obviously you’ll be responsible for it. So should you get rental car insurance or not? If you have only minimum liability coverage, you probably want to consider it strongly, since your own insurance will not cover damage to the rental car that you’re driving in the event of a collision or another accident. If you have more than minimum liability coverage though, you should check with your insurance company before you commit to the car insurance, because there’s a good chance your insurance company already covers damage to rental cars. Some auto insurance companies even provide money to cover your rental fees! This is common with major car insurance companies like Allstate, Progressive, USAA, American Express, and Geico. The only way to know is to check your plan and see what it entails. Liability coverage and rental car insurance can go well together, but if you have full coverage, you may not need the latter.

Another consideration in whether you ought to get rental car insurance coverage is how often you drive rental cars, and where you drive them. Regular travelers may end up paying much more in rental car insurance fees than they would by simply accepting financial responsibility for the occasional incident. Where are you traveling and what will you be using your car for? You’re a lot less likely to have an accident in some locations than in others. This should be a prime component of your decision to get rental car insurance coverage or not. Why else would you need rental car insurance coverage? Aside from collisions, there are other possibilities which would only be covered by a comprehensive plan. Say you hired someone to park your rental car for you, and the valet damages it. You’d be responsible for that damage. Or perhaps you parked your rental car on the street, only to get up in the morning and find a scrape on the bumper or a window smashed. Damages are also possible from the elements. What if another vehicle kicks up a rock on the road and it cracks the rental car’s windshield? That becomes your problem.

When considering getting rental car insurance in California, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Wyoming, Nebraska, or any other state in the USA, you should think about the driving environment you’ll be renting in. In southern California for instance, or northern Virginia, you’ll be in a fast, urban metropolis in all likelihood, and therefore the odds of you having a collision, vandalism, or theft, increase tremendously compared to renting a car in some place like Nebraska or Wyoming. If you’re out in the country, the odds of your rental being damaged aren’t that high, so you’re probably just wasting money by paying for car insurance. If you’re in Los Angeles or San Diego though, rental car insurance in California makes a lot more sense.

When the rental agent discusses terms with you, you’ll discover that many rental car insurance  rates are pretty low compared to the prices you’d pay for standard insurance. One of the most useful tips is to pay very close attention to whether you’re being quoted a rate per month or per day. “$9.00 per day” doesn’t sound like a lot—and it isn’t a lot for just several days—but if you’re on an extended trip, that will add up to almost $300.00 per month! On the other hand, some companies offer rates at just $14.00 a month, which is incredibly cheap; there’s almost no reason to pass that up, unless your auto insurance company already covers it. Rental car insurance  can be a good investment or a bad one. It all depends on your situation. Ask yourself, “Does my own insurance already cover my rental car?” If so, what aspects does it cover? Just minimum liability requirements, or full coverage for collision and comprehensive damage? Then ask yourself, “Am I likely to get into an accident, have my car vandalized, or deal with damage from the elements where I’m renting?” If the answer is “yes,” and you aren’t already covered above minimum liability by your insurance, you should strongly consider rental car insurance. Then ask yourself, “How long am I traveling, and how often?” This should give you an idea what kinds of rates are acceptable for this and other trips. Once you’ve given due consideration to all these questions, you’ll be able to make the perfect decision regarding rental car insurance.

What is insurable interest for cars?

The insurance is meaningless without something to insure. This should be a no-brainer. So assure what do you exactlymean ? In simple words insurable interest for cars means that you should incurr a loss in terms of finance or it should result into a financial loss. For example you are injured in a car accident and you loss your job which means a financial loss. You need to suffer a direct loss- and if this can happen you have an insuranble interest.

 Therefore, no car insurance covers the Junker rust away in your front yard, which is not yet running.

The insured person must also assures a concrete interest in the entity. Therefore, you can use your own car to insure and place your spouse and children to the policy as a driver, but not the type to the other side of the road only, because you want to.

Situation right without damage to keep the insured claim, an insurance company must make sure there is some value such as a car, a house or a life that would cause financial hardship to loss of which insurance. This is the concept of insurable interest.

You must have the element also in question insurable interest. For example. If a storm for a tree knocking, your car and your neighbor does harm, then you would have to be interested in your vehicle, but not the your neighbors uninsurable.

Auto insurance the most obvious example of insurable interest is the policy on coverage. How your car has intrinsic value, it can be for insured by the insurance company up to this value. This loss is set normally at the time by the value of the “Blue Book”. Ask your insurance agent to determine whether certain losses due to “Replacement cost” or “actual cash value” criteria are covered.

Insurable interest can be represented also from liability. Say in a car accident and errors found. The insurable interest is the damage to the other vehicle in this case up to the value and the cost of the liability for any injury to the loss of border in the directive. Personal injury arise coverages in your vehicle, how work medical payments and PIP in a similar way.

Insurable interest applies to aftermarket car of accessories in the inland marine policies. If your car is stolen, the stereo has insurable interest, and you can be compensated for it, according to the conditions of your policy.

Examples of who has an  insurable interest for cars :

1) Owner of the car

2) Company giving finance for a car- Banks and Fianacial institutes

3) A company leasing you a vehicle

4) Renter of a vehicle.

5) Parents having insurable interest in their minor childs vehicle.

6) Employeers giving car loans to employees

7) Employees giving cars to their employees for job.

Unlike many other concepts in the accident, insurable interest is pretty universal in company. Differences in the drawing can look but different requirements, how a company can take a vehicle, while another will not make. However, the concept remains the same. Remember, insurable interest a key concept in auto insurance. No claim can without it go forward.

Review who has an insurable interest in your car and put in your comments here. Compare car insurance here and get low auto insurance.

Thanks.

Joe Jackson [Los Angles]: I am planning to go to Colorado in a rented car. Do I need seperate rental car insurance?

Response: Joe, it is always important to review auto insurance coverage before you go for any trip out of your own province mainly because the requirement of each province for third party liablity is different and so you need to compare car insurance coverage and make sure you have the correct coverage for this.

Insuring a rental car can be confusing, frustrating and downright daunting. Unfortunately, many consumers do not even think about car rental insurance until they get to the counter, which can result in costly mistakes—either wasting money by purchasing unnecessary coverage or having dangerous gaps in coverage.

Before renting a car, the I.I.I. suggests that you make two phone calls—one to your insurance agent or company representative and another to the credit card company you will be using to pay for the rental car.

1. Insurance Company
   Find out how much coverage you currently have on your own car. In most cases, whatever coverage and deductibles you have on your own car would apply when you rent a car, providing you are using the car for recreation and not for business.If you have dropped either comprehensive or collision on your own car as a way to reduce costs, you will not be covered if your rental car is stolen or damaged in an accident.

   Check to see whether your insurance company pays for administrative fees, loss of use or towing charges. Some companies may provide an insurance rider to cover some of these costs, which would make it less expensive than purchasing coverage through the rental car company. Keep in mind, however, that in most states diminished value is not covered by insurers.

2. Credit Card Company
   Insurance benefits offered by credit card companies differ by both the company and/or the bank that issues the card, as well as by the level of credit card used. For instance, a platinum card may offer more insurance coverage than a gold card.Credit cards usually cover only damage to or loss of the rented vehicle, not for other cars, personal belongings or the property of others. There may be no personal liability coverage for bodily injury or death claims. Some credit card companies will provide coverage for towing, but many may not provide for diminished value or administrative fees. Some credit card companies have changed their policies, too, so you may not have as much coverage as you thought.

   To know exactly what type of insurance you have, call the toll-free number on the back of the card you will be using to rent the car. If you are depending on a credit card for insurance protection, ask the credit card company or bank to send you their coverage information in writing. In most cases, credit card benefits are secondary to either your personal insurance protection or the insurance offered by the rental car company.

   If you have more than one credit card, consider calling each one to see which offers the best insurance protection.

At the Rental Car Counter

Since insurance is state regulated, the cost and coverage will vary from state to state. Consumers, however, can generally choose from the following coverages:

• Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)
  Also referred to as a collision damage waiver outside the U.S., an LDW is not technically an insurance product. LDWs do, however, relieve or “waive” renters of financial responsibility if their rental car is damaged or stolen. In most cases, waivers also provide coverage for “loss of use,” in the event the rental car company charges the renter for the time a damaged car can not be used because it is being fixed. It may also cover towing and administrative fees.Waivers, however, may become void if the accident was caused by speeding, driving on unpaved roads or driving while intoxicated. If you already have comprehensive and collision coverage on your own car, check with your personal auto insurer to make sure you are not duplicating coverage you already have. Should you decide it is necessary, this coverage generally costs between $9 and $19 a day.
• Liability Insurance
  By law, rental companies must provide the state required amount of liability insurance. Generally, these amounts are low and do not provide much protection. If you have adequate amounts of liability protection on your own car, you may consider forgoing additional liability protection. If you want the supplemental insurance, it will cost between $7 and $14 a day.An umbrella liability policy, however, may be more cost-effective. Umbrella liability insurance is so named because it acts like an umbrella, sitting on top of your auto and homeowners (or renters) liability policies to provide extra protection including accidents while driving your own car or one that you rent. These policies, usually sold in increments of a million dollars, cost as little as $200 to $300 annually for a million dollars worth of coverage and another $50 to $100 for each additional million.

  Those who do not own their own car and are frequent car renters, can also consider purchasing a non-owner liability policy. This not only provides liability protection when you rent a car, but also when you borrow someone else’s car.

• Personal Accident Insurance
  Personal Accident Insurance offers coverage to you and your passengers for medical and ambulance bills for injuries caused in a car crash. If you have adequate health insurance or are covered by personal injury protection under your own car insurance, you may not need this additional insurance. It usually costs about $1 to $5 a day.
• Personal Effects Coverage
  Personal Effects Coverage provides insurance protection for the theft of items in your car. If you have a homeowners or renters insurance policy that includes off-premises theft coverage, you are generally covered for theft of your belongings away from home, minus the deductible. If you purchase this coverage through the rental car company, it generally costs between $1 and $4 a day.If you frequently travel with expensive items such as jewelry, cameras, musical equipment or sports equipment, it may be more cost-effective to purchase a personal articles floater under your homeowners or renters insurance policy. With such a floater, your valuable items are protected at home as well as while traveling anywhere in the world and the coverage is broader.

Jennifer Jackson: I do not have a car and am going for for a rental car what coverages do I require for my personal belogings and let me know about other coverage I might need.

Response: Those who do not own their own car and are frequent car renters, can also consider purchasing a non-owner liability policy. This not only provides liability protection when you rent a car, but also when you borrow someone else’s car.

Personal Accident Insurance offers coverage to you and your passengers for medical and ambulance bills for injuries caused in a car crash. If you have adequate health insurance or are covered by personal injury protection under your own car insurance, you may not need this additional insurance. It usually costs about $1 to $5 a day.

Personal Effects Coverage provides insurance protection for the theft of items in your car. If you have a homeowners or renters insurance policy that includes off-premises theft coverage, you are generally covered for theft of your belongings away from home, minus the deductible. If you purchase this coverage through the rental car company, it generally costs between $1 and $4 a day.

If you frequently travel with expensive items such as jewelry, cameras, musical equipment or sports equipment, it may be more cost-effective to purchase a personal articles floater under your homeowners or renters insurance policy. With such a floater, your valuable items are protected at home as well as while traveling anywhere in the world and the coverage is broader.

Remember to compare auto insurance quote at all times, since you are sure to find out the best offers and savings if you make a small effort.

Jennifer : What is a Loss damage waiver?
Response : This is a auto insurance coverage that can be opted for and is applicable for a rental car. This coverage is also referred to as a collision damage waiver outside the US. n LDW is not technically an insurance product. LDWs do, however, relieve or “waive” renters of financial responsibility if their rental car is damaged or stolen. In most cases, waivers also provide coverage for “loss of use,” in the event the rental car company charges the renter for the time a damaged car can not be used because it is being fixed. It may also cover towing and administrative fees.

Waivers, however, may become void if the accident was caused by speeding, driving on unpaved roads or driving while intoxicated. If you already have comprehensive and collision coverage on your own car, check with your personal auto insurer to make sure you are not duplicating coverage you already have. Should you decide it is necessary, this coverage generally costs between $9 and $19 a day.
Compare your auto insurance coverage before you opt in for a new coverage or buy auto insurance so that you get the right coverage at the lowest rate. Review your auto insurance quote from time to time.