Car Rental Insurance
Ah, car rental insurance; some say it’s a waste of money- a gimmick, if you will; while others think it’s a great and safe way to protect yourself. Regardless of whatever the case may be, most people tend to shy away from buying car rental insurance because it can be confusing, time consuming, not to mention expensive. After all, what are the chances that you’re going wreck the rental car? You’re only renting it for a day or two! Then again, you could be wrong…
What You Should Know
Most, if not all, car rental agencies offer various sales pitches for collision damage waivers (CDW), which they will usually wait to throw at you once you get to the car rental counter to pay for your vehicle. Many renters know that they don’t need to pay for CDW; however, there are some for whom it makes sense for and others who simply fall into it because of that pitch out of left field that threw them off to begin with.
If you’re not sure whether or not you should get CDW, feel free to contact your own auto insurance agency. It is always a good idea to do this WELL IN ADVANCE before you even make your rental reservations (if possible). If you are the type that travels a lot and rents a car more often than you drive your own personal vehicle, or if you don’t own a vehicle at all, you should consider asking an auto insurance agent about purchasing non-owner liability insurance (which can sometimes save you money over a CDW).
If you do decide to get car rental insurance, there are a variety of options that can be thrown at you in the following four ways:
- Collision Damage Waiver (CDW): This type of coverage usually costs anywhere between $9-20/day and relieves you of financial responsibility if your rental car is damaged in an accident, vandalism or theft.
- Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI): This type of coverage usually costs anywhere between $7-9/day and provides excess liability coverage.
- Personal Accident Insurance (PAI): This type of coverage usually costs anywhere between $3-5/day and covers you and all of your passengers in your vehicle for any medical expenses. However, it should be noted that most renters already have personal health insurance, therefore, it’s not necessary to have PAI coverage.
- Personal Effects Coverage (PEC): This type of coverage usually costs between $2-5/day and provides coverage for theft or damage to personal items inside the rental car. However, most renters already have this type of coverage through their own rental agencies.
The key to car rental insurance is understanding what your options are, what the polices of the car rental agency are and how those policies affect you. If you can do this in advance, it will save you a lot of grief at the car rental counter. If you have a horror story to tell about your car rental experience, leave a comment telling us all about it!
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[…] you’re speculating as to whether or not you need car rental insurance, you are not alone. There are many people, who when they rent vehicles from a car rental […]
[…] Car rental insurance is often times the subject of much dispute because there are a lot of people who simply think that having car rental insurance is nothing more than a tactic that car rental companies use to get more money out of customers. Sometimes, this may be true. The only way to know for sure whether or not you need to get car rental insurance for your rental car is to contact your personal insurance company for your automobile and ask them about it. A lot of the time, you’ll already be covered under your auto insurance. It would also be a good idea to get a copy of the rental agreement from the car rental company before you even make the reservations or before you contact your auto insurance company because then you will have the agreement in hand when you’re on the phone with your car insurance agent and can ask them relevant questions. […]