Car Rental Insurance Overview: What You Need to Know

Introduction

If you are planning a trip for business or pleasure, the issue of a car rental likely is towards the top of your list. In this regard, you may be debating whether or not you actually need or require the supplemental car insurance that will be offered to you at the time you rent a car. This article will provide you an overview of factors that you need to consider and keep in mind when it comes to trying to decide whether or not the supplemental car insurance that is offered by a car rental company or car rental agency is the right choice for you.

How Car Rental Insurance Coverage Works

Car rental insurance really is a supplemental type of automobile insurance. In this regard, car rental companies and car rental agencies want you to demonstrate that you have car insurance as part of the car rental process in the first instance. However, in each and ever instance, the car rental insurance company or agency will offer to you car rental insurance for the period of time that you are using a rental car.

Car rental companies and car rental agencies want to sell you car rental insurance because they receive or obtain commission each time they sell such coverage to a renter. In the end, the car rental insurance coverage will extend to you should you have an accident while driving the rental car. The car rental insurance coverage will be the primary coverage for you while you are operating the rental car. However, if there are damages or injuries that extend beyond the scope of the car rental insurance coverage, your personal car insurance will come into play anyway.

Car Rental Insurance Coverage Through Your Automobile Insurance Policy

In the end, many people conclude that they have sufficient coverage through their individual policies of car insurance when it comes to renting a car for a business or vacation trip or for some other reason. You likely are in the same position. Thus, the question becomes not whether you’ve enough car insurance coverage in the first instance to cover a car rental situation but whether you want to use your individual car rental insurance policy should you have some sort of accident with a rental car.

Your Homeowners Insurance Policy

Finally, many homeowners who have what is known as umbrella liability coverage under the terms and conditions of their homeowners insurance policy actually may have enough coverage to protect them when renting a car thereby making supplemental car rental insurance unnecessary. With this in mind, you will want to examine your homeowners insurance policy very closely to make sure your coverage will extend to a car rental situation. You most certainly do not want to find out the hard way that you do not have appropriate and sufficient insurance coverage for car rental purposes.