I do not own a car and I want to keep it that way. It costs far less to rent a car on occasion for this or that than owning was does (in my case).
I was mystified to find the credit card I used which promised rental insurance will not cover medical. I have health insurance but if I get in an accident the medical of the other person/people is not covered (near as I can tell).
So now I have to consider buying the rental car offered insurance which is stupidly expensive (really outrageously expensive).
So, can I buy driver’s insurance that will cover any costs, INCLUDING medical? E.G. I hit someone else and this insurance covers it all like normal driver’s insurance (minus deductibles)? Insurance offered at a rational price?
Basically like driver’s insurance most people have but for someone who only rents a car on occasion.
Auto insurance follows and applies to a specific vehicle as opposed to an individual. I am unaware of a generally available policy for your situation other than a custom policy but you may be facing Lloyds of London premiums…
I suspect that this might be country-specific. In Europe is is certainly possible and indeed common, to take out insurance to cover hire car use.
Basic insurance is normally included within the hire agreement, and this would cover all third part costs (including medical), but often with a fairly high excess (co-pay). The company will usually try to sell you additional (expensive) insurance to cover this excess.
The only problem with this is that it’s not unknown for hire car operators, operating at the margin of profitability, to ‘discover’ minor damage to such things as wheels or tyres after the car is returned and you are on the flight home. The first you know about it is when you see a charge on your credit card. You can recover the cost from your own insurance, but it may take some weeks.
I would suggest that your first step would be to talk to your hirer of choice and discuss it with them.
Is it really? Of course you can buy insurance from the rental company each time you rent a car; but that’s exactly what the OP does not want, as it is disproportionately expensive. What we’re looking for is a kind of ad personam insurance policy, where you pay a reasonable premium per month or year, and then you have the usual insurance cover whenever you rent a car, from whatever place you rent it from. I’ve never seen anything like that on offer (neither in Europe nor elsewhere). I’m in the same situation as the OP: I don’t own a car but occasionally, when I need one, I rent one, so 'd certainly be interested in this sort of product if it exists.
Rental companies carry large fleet insurance which is different to individual insurance. Their policy may well not cover claims less than some large amount - $thousands. There is always a balance between the cost of premiums and the cost of self-covering.
This being so, basic insurance at some level will usually be included. The reason I say ‘country specific’ is that in Europe it is always against the law to drive a car without, at the very least, 3rd party insurance.
When I hired a car in Portugal a couple of years ago, I bought a cheap policy to cover the excess. When I collected the car, the clerk did his best to sell me extra insurance and some other ‘benefits’, most of which I declined. From his attitude it was obvious that he was on commission for selling these s̶c̶a̶m̶s̶ extras.
As I said, the OP should discuss a contract with a hire car company.
If it is only the medical cover that he is concerned about, then some kind of personal liability insurance, not restricted to driving, might be the way to go.
I think more general personal liability coverage would be the way to go. Homeowners and rental insurance generally includes this (and the limits could be increased) but I don’t know if there is some weird exception for car accidents, specifically because they are generally covered by a separate policy.
I agree with MandaJo, and perhaps look into an umbrella policy. It would not necessarily pay their bills but protect you if they want to collect them from you.
According to this article , it exists. But I wouldn’t count on it being less expensive than rental company coverage - and it will certainly depend on how often you rent a car.
I have such a policy. The premium is $24 per year, and covers me for rentals and borrowed cars. This is my only auto insurance in America,since my owned cars are in Europe and covered by a German insurance company.
I know that car insurance is now sold on what is basically a per mile basis. It usually involves installing a device into the OBD2 interface that reports back the mileage. That device could easily be ported to other cars (if the interface is available on rental cars) I don’t think this is intended for the purpose you describe but it might be worth inquiring about it. I have often thought that an insurance product such as you describe would be very popular. Keep in mind that liability coverage is always provided with the car (at least in the states where I have rented a car). I think, but am not positive that this covers injuries to occupants. When you purchase the additional insurance, you are only getting “collision”, i.e. damage to the car and the expense incurred by the rental company for “loss of use” (unrealized rental fees).
The one advantage to buying the rental companies policy is your ability to simply walk away from any damage to the car. No paperwork, just say “Bye”. If you don’t buy their policy you need to be very careful when you pick up the car as you might wind up paying for someone else’s damage to the car. Make note of any dings on the car and make sure they do.
This is what Bear_Nenno’s policy would cover. But it is always a good policy to thoroughly check on collection and return. They give you one of those sheets with some dents and scrapes circled on a diagram of a car. Take pictures and also take pictures of anything else they didn’t circle.
Any reason you can’t call an insurance agent in your state and ask? I thought such policies existed. I seem to recall reading on this board about someone who got such a policy after they disposed of their car and wanted to keep continuous insurance coverage for rental and borrowed cars. I’ve never looked into these policies myself.
You want “Non-owned Auto” insurance. Most major insurers offer it. Look online or call a company direct or contract your nearest independent agent. It isn’t a type of policy that is advertised, but it will be easy to get.
It’s called “non-owner” insurance, and it’s for people who do not have access to a car at their household. There are policies that cover just liability, and others that will cover damage to the rental (rather than damage ‘caused-by’ the rental).It works for borrowed cars as well.
My coverage is just for liability to others and damage to third-party property. I pay 24 bucks a year.
If I actually damage a rental, that claim is filed through American Express, with whom I have the Premium Rental Protection. For like $30 bucks per rental (not per day!) I’m covered for a pretty substantial amount of destruction. The Amex insurance works almost everywhere in the world. I’ve used it quite a bit. The USAA coverage applies only in the US. I’ve only been in the States a month over the past several years of having that coverage. It’s still worth it, though. Plus, by having insurance through them, it entitles me to the annual members’ dividends. The dividends are often more than the premium, so the insurance is effectively no-cost.