Car Rental Accident And Collision Insurance

Car Rental Accident And Collision Insurance

By:


When you rent a car you might notice that the rental car company will always offer extra insurance. This will usually include accident, incident (like windows), and extra coverage for your person in case of an accident while you are using their car. I would like to suggest that it could be a good idea, even if you already have insurance that covers you, to purchase extra insurance to protect yourself, and your pocketbook.

Before you rent a car, you should check with your insurance provider to find out what coverage you have while driving a rental car. Many insurance companies only provide partial coverage for rental vehicles. If this is the case with your company, you should definitely purchase additional coverage from the rental car company.

Before deciding whether to take added coverage for your rental car, find out if your policy will even cover an out of state rented car. Policies can be very limited in the state(s) coverage is provided in, whether its coverage includes collision (vehicle damage), bodily injury (coverage for expense incurred by someone injured in the accident). Even though collision and injury may be covered, the coverage could be limited. Finally be sure your insurance coverage includes coverage for your injuries if you are hurt in a rental car accident. Coverage for your expenses or an uninsured motorist may not be covered and you wouldn't want to discover that after an accident.

Insured drivers can often find other unexpected gaps in their coverage. For example, the owner of an older car may not carry collision for that vehicle, but would not think that his or her insurance of a rental car would then also not cover collision of the rental vehicle. Some states assume (in a legal sense) that the holder of long-term lease or rental agreement provides the insurance for a vehicle, not the leasing or rental agency which owns the vehicle. In the event of an accident, the leaseholder and not the rental company would be left with the ensuing bills.

Don't rely on your credit card for full accident coverage when you rent a car. You should have other forms of car insurance, because your credit card company will only reimburse you after all other insurance claims are processed. These payments are for collision only and there is no coverage for liability. So, You should check with your car insurance company to make sure you understand your coverage before you rent a car.

As stated before, it may be prudent to purchase the additional coverage even if your policy covers rentals. Rental companies have standard clauses that state there is no cap or limit on your liability resulting from any use of the vehicle. When you rent a car, you are responsible for all damages regardless of fault, including physical damages, loss of use, and diminution of value and administration fees. Your primary carrier will have upper limits on what they will pay.

You are in a "catch 22" situation in the raging legal battle between rental agencies and primary insurers, with both holding on to their ground. In a number of states, as per the local law, it is mandatory for a vehicle owner's private transport to merit primary coverage in all aspects. But, the argument on the part of the primary insurer's solicitor is that this law does not hold good in the case of rental vehicles as the fall under a different set of rules applicable to rental cars only. Therefore, the insurer is obligated to compensate only for the physical damages of the vehicle, and the onus of clearing other payments on the claim falls on you. Neither side has been adjudged as a loser in the courts. The lesson learned here is to ensure that your vehicle insurance covers all aspects explicitly before you buy the policy.

Car rental accidents don't have to turn into monetary burdens that overwhelm a person. Of course, any agreement that you sign is going to have taxes, additional fees, and some additional costs, but that is normal for our modern market; also, the minor costs needed to get you some extra coverage for a rental vehicle are absolutely worth all the extra money you will spend on them.

About the Author:
Richard Edmunds worked as a manager of a big name Car Rental Agency for the past 20 years before retiring. He now spends his time writing car rental articles for you about such topics as Car Rental Insurance and other rental car tactics



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , , , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Travel-and-Leisure Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.