Often times when we rent a car, you will be asked to cover it with rental car insurance. Is this a coverage you will need to buy? This will depend on the coverage you already have on your own vehicle.
Rental coverage is usually not too expensive but you may not need to purchase the policy all together. Unless otherwise stated your auto policy, if you own your own car and have it covered with liability, collision and comprehensive, this policy should cover your rental car. There are a few holes you should be aware of though. Let’s say your driving to your brothers house and you accidentally make an unsafe lane change; someone swipes you. Although your existing auto policy may pay for the damages, that rental car will not be in service for awhile. If it usually makes the rental car company about $30 a day, your insurance company will not pay for that loss of income that the rental car company is now dealing with. The Rental Shop will probably come after you for this loss. If the Rental Place is one of those small local businesses, they probably only have one Shop. Your insurance policy may not cover the towing bill from three states away to get it to a shop back home. This is where you really need to read the fine print of your rental car agreement and also know what your own policy covers.
Read everything very carefully when you choose to rent a car, this especially goes for the rental car insurance policies. If you do purchase a rental car insurance policy, make sure if something happens, everything is covered so you won’t have to deal with any surprises. Rental cars save on the wear and tear on your own vehicle and are usually pretty affordable. However a crash can become a huge headache for you. As always stay alert, drive safe and leave your multi-tasking skills for your place of work, not while driving.
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