How rental car insurance work? basic guide

If you're renting a car, you may be asked if you want to purchase rental car insurance . But do you really need it? Here's a look at what rental car insurance covers and how it works.

Rental car insurance is a type of insurance that you can purchase when you rent a car. It is designed to protect you from financial loss if you have an accident while driving the rental car.

Rental car insurance typically covers damage to the rental car, as well as any third-party liability claims (e.g., if you cause an accident and injure someone else). It does not, however, cover your personal belongings that may be 

What is rental car insurance?

Rental car insurance is an insurance policy that covers you financially if your rental car is damaged or stolen. If you don't have your own auto insurance policy, you may want to consider buying  rental car insurance from the rental car company, because if you are not covered, you will be financially responsible for all the taking damage from your rented car. 

What sort of rental car insurance are available？

There is 4 rental car insurance available for any driver, however, there are several car insurers that only have one out of the four possible  rental car insurance policies, for example, they could only offer you personal effects coverage. Depending on the rental car insurance policy you buy will affect the price you have to pay but also the coverage you will get for your rented car.

Loss and Damage Waiver (LDW)

LDW insurance is also named "Collision Damage waiver" or CDW insurance, this policy won't give you full coverage, instead, this is a liability waiver just in case your rented car has been stolen or damaged.

That means this Loss and Damage Waiver insurance will not charge you any sort of fee if your rented car has been damaged or stolen. But, there are some exceptions, for example, if your rental car insurer finds out you deliberately damaged that rented car for no good reason.

Important: If you already have a comprehensive collision damage policy from your car insurance company, you don't need to pay an extra fee for your rental car agency.

Personal accident protection

Just like it sounds, Personal accident protection will cover you from any medical costs for you and/or your passengers in case you suffer an accident while driving your rented car. Again, if you already have your car insurance that includes personal injuries, or just covers your medical bills in case of an accident, you may not need this coverage for your rented car.

Supplementary Liability Protection

This is a supplemental coverage policy that covers any possible damage you may do to other cars or properties during any accident while driving your rented car. This policy will cover most charges coming from your rented car, however, this policy won't cover the cost of the change of a spare tire.

Again, if you have a comprehensive collision damage policy for your personal vehicle, I recommend you verify the declaration page of your car insurance policy, this way you will know if your personal car insurance covers your rented car or not.

Personal Effects Insurance

Most Rental insurance companies will include this policy in the cost of your belongings that are stolen from your rental vehicle. Keep in mind that if you already bought a homeowner's insurance or a renter's insurance policy , you might already have coverage for your stolen effects inside your rented car.

What can be the cost of a Rental Insurance policy nowadays?

Pricing a rental insurance policy may vary drastically depending on several factors such as:

• The state where you live
• The company where you buy your rental car insurance policy, and the rental car form.
• The rental car specs 
• How many miles are you planning to drive

The cost of  rental car insurance may range from $50 minimum to several hundred maxima, everything depends on what you want to cover. A short way to calculate this is the more time you want to use this rental car insurance, the more you are going to pay for your comprehensive car rental insurance.

Do I really need to buy a rental insurance policy?

No, but I can tell you several reasons why you need  rental car insurance :

• As you don't have any sort of coverage, you will be the sole responsibility for any damage caused to any vehicle, individuals, or properties caused by your accident.
• You may have car insurance, but you don't have a comprehensive collision damage policy. That means you will also be the sole responsibility for any damage caused to any vehicle, individuals, or properties caused by your accident.
• You're going on a business trip, and some insurance policies have coverage limitations while driving a rented car while driving to the destination of your business trip.
• You don't really want to pay the deductible in case of an accident happens in your rented car.  In most cases, your rental car insurance policy will be cheaper compared to the cost of a deductible after an accident.

What if my own car insurance covers rented cars?

Then you don't really need a  rental car insurance policy at all, however, I recommend you check your car insurance declaration page, and be sure what is your personal car insurance policy covers and what not. Let's say your personal car insurance covers comprehensive and collision from your rented car, but it may not cover your personal belongings.

Let's say that your rented car has been stolen, you won't have to pay for the theft itself. But they won't reimbursedreimburse your personal belongings price in case of theft. Just in case, you may need to buy Personal belongings protection for your rented insurance. 

Conclusion

-Rental car insurance is a mandatory policy for most travelers.

-Rental car insurance provides coverage for accidents and damage to the rental car.

-The amount of coverage provided by rental car insurance typically depends on the type of rental car.

-Rental car insurance can also cover any associated costs, such as towing and rental car repair.

-Many rental car companies offer self-insurance, which means that the company pays for any claims that are made.

-If you are not covered by your own insurance, you may be able to get coverage through a rental car insurance policy.

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