February 18th, 2013
Car rental insurance is expensive. How can you protect yourself without paying for it directly?
Car rental insurance is expensive. How can you protect yourself without paying for it directly?
Many personal car insurance policies will cover you when you rent a car. You may want to review your policy and make sure you have sufficient coverage. Many companies will allow you adjust your policy for car rental needs just for the time period required for car rental. There are other options like benefits of credit cards that provide insurance. Many credit cards do have exceptions to be aware of. If you don’t have a credit card or personal insurance you may be able to obtain a rental only policy through a reputable insurance company that is cheaper than buying from the rental company.
For those who use insurance benefits through their credit card, is the insurance sufficient? What are the common terms? How do you prove coverage in states that require that.
You brought up many good points, Aaron. The goal here is to use a benefit that we already have to pay for a service that we need while costing us nothing. Many credit cards if not most, will cover the collision and comprehensive insurance deductible for a car you rent. The insurance company has insurance that will cover the remaining cost due to an accident that you are responsible for. Someone else pays the damage if you are the victim of an accident.
If your credit card does not offer this benefit, contact your car insurance company. Many will cover your deductible as well. This deductible can be quite high ($2000 to $3000) and it is imperative that you know these answers long before you show up to rent the car. You want to avoid being there at the counter and not being sure whether you are covered. You will probably buy the very expensive insurance to cover yourself and that would be such a waste if you are covered elsewhere. Educate and apply these smart strategies to reduce your rental car costs. Knowledge is POWER!!