Whether you are on a business trip or on vacation, you may have heard the question that is normally asked by rental car companies; that is if you want additional insurance for your rental car. You could say yes and buy it out of fear or turn it down, believing that you are covered for rental car purchases. However, the reality is that unless you look up your current auto insurance policy and see if you are covered, you won’t truly know and may lose out on some savings. It’s always a good idea, then, for you to call your insurance agent to get the details about your policy.
Normally, there are two cases in which you are covered by car insurance for a rental car. Both of these ideas have their pros and cons.
Having an auto insurance policy. Some insurance companies extend their coverage to rental cars as well, as long as you are taking a leisure vacation, so be sure to question this to your insurance agent. But know that whatever coverage gaps that you have in your policy will extend to your rental car, too. And if you are traveling for business, you should have your employer pay for the insurance, since your car insurance policy will not apply.
Having auto insurance protection with a credit card company. Some credit card companies can give you protection for automobiles that are rented by their credit cards. While coverage varies by credit card company, the terms and conditions of your policy may change from time-to-time. However, insurance protection usually only covers the physical damages of the car; it usually does not cover personal injuries, liability, or theft of personal belongings.
Types of Additional Auto Insurance Coverage By Rental Services
If you know that having additional coverage fits your situation, then know that there are usually four common insurance options that are given by most automobile rental companies:
Collision Damage Waiver and Loss Damage Waiver (CDW and LDW). Pays out if you lost your rented car due to theft, or if it’s vandalized or damaged from a collision.
Personal Accident Insurance (PAI). Pays out for your medical costs due to a car accident in your car rental.
Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI). Gives you up to $1 million in extended liability coverage.
Personal Effects Coverage (PEC). Pays out for any personal belongings of yours stolen from your car rental.
Some Things To Keep In Mind With Auto Insurance
Here are some tips to keep in mind as you figure out whether you want to add on additional coverage to your car rental:
Don’t purchase the same coverage twice, if you have an auto insurance policy, unless you have coverage gaps.
Talk to your auto insurance agent before deciding to buy additional auto insurance for your car rental.
Ask the rental car company for a copy of their insurance policies.
Compare company’s price to auto insurance quotes in your area to see which one’s better.
By: Tom Lustina
Posts Tagged ‘Auto Insurance Policy’
Back Up Your Used Car With Auto Insurance
January 24th, 2010
Many of us would like to know whether it is necessary to have auto insurance for a used car. Since the state has laws which clearly specifies that every driver need to have some kind of auto insurance and the value of the car has nothing to do with it. So you need to have auto insurance, even if your car is used. A typical auto insurance policy provides the customers with different type of coverage. A lot of flexibility can be gained through the amount of coverage chosen by you. You need to purchase liability insurance as it is made compulsory by the law. Through the liability insurance you can get financial assistance if you get involved in an accident which causes bodily injury to some person or a property. A minimum amount for such type of coverage is fixed by the state. This type of law ensures that every person who is driving should be able to pay the victim if an accident occurs. But if you just purchase an auto insurance based on the minimum coverage then you can never compensate for the actual damages due to the accidents through the coverage money, as the minimum amount is ridiculously low. So it important to have coverage more than the minimum amount set by the law.
Purchasing medical coverage and uninsured motorist coverage are mandatory in some states and in other states it is optional. The medical coverage will take care of the medical expenses incurred by the policy holder on the account of an accident. Uninsured motorist coverage takes care of the damages that are caused to you by a person who does have any insurance or does not have enough coverage to compensate you. An insurance agent will be the right person to judge you if inclusion of these coverage in your auto insurance policy is not mandatory in your state. Based on your budget and requirement you can get this coverage for your used car.
The collision and comprehensive coverage takes care of the physical damage that is caused to your used car due to collision or other reasons. If your used car gets stolen then you can receive compensation through this coverage. If the value of your used car is less than thousand dollars then it is not feasible to include this coverage into your auto insurance scheme as the rate of deductibles and premiums will not make it a profitable proposition.
By: David Hunter