Does my car insurance cover cars I rent, too?

Factual Questions
1

Of course I’ll ask my insurance agent, but in general:

When I rent a car, will the auto insurance I normally carry on my own car–collision, liability, etc.–cover the rental car too?

Renting a car is expensive enough without that $25/day insurance they offer. Wondering if I can get away without it.

Thanks in advance,
E.

2

It depends on your policy. Call them and ask. If your policy does (and you can afford the deductible), you are safe with not getting the expensive per day policy.

3

Many cover it, some don’t.

4

Most companies in my state cover a non owned vehicle or rental car under your primary auto policy.

Now here is the rub.

You are covered exactly the same as in you own car, so if you have a $500 deductible bingo so does the rental. If you get a door ding or are involved in a minor acc. the rental company wants its money right now. To offset this many Gold Visa cards offer a deductible buyback if you rent with a specific card.

Next problem, your car insurance will cover the damages, but not the loss of income to the rental company. So if you total a rental car, your insurance pays the whole thing but you get a bill for $1078. $49 a day times 22 days. Which was how long the car was out of service.

Last problem, but a huge one. If you rent a car and are not the driver of the car during the acc. your insurance does not cover the loss. Say you rent it and let your friend drive; if he has a wreck your company has no coverage on him. If he does not have an auto policy that covers him you get to pay for the whole thing out of your pocket.
Lastly let me tell you a horror story.

One of my insured’s has a good auto policy in force with me as he goes on vacation. He is a prudent person so he also springs for the rental car companies insurance.
Well, he gets a little tipsy at a party and has a friend drive him home. Smart move right?

Well the friend totals the car. Here is the bad part. My policy won’t cover it because I don’t have a contract with the friend. The rental car insurance won’t cover it because the guy is not listed as a driver on the rental agreement. My guy had to pay $22,000 out of his pocket during time he had two insurance policies in force.

5

My insurance covers me and my entire family No matter what car we drive. Rental, neighbor’s or whatever. We are covered.

6

It pays to read your insurance policy. And if there is something you don’t understand, get your agent to explain it until you do.

If you rent a car and total it, your insurance policy may only cover the actual cash value of the vehicle you wrecked. However, the rental company will charge you for the replacement value of the vehicle you wrecked. Ask your agent if you have or can get "gap insurance’. It covers the “gap” between ACV and replacement value. This can be several thousand dollars out of your pocket if you aren’t covered.

7

Mr. Peabody-THANKS!
I have checked with my insurance agent and my policy, as do most, covers a rental car. I understand about the deductable. I had never thought of the loss of income.

8

One detail that hasn’t been covered in this thread: if you’re renting the car for business rather than personal (recreational) use, you may need a special rider on your policy to cover it. Mr. Legend and I ran across this little hitch when his rental car was dinged in a parking lot while he was on a business trip (he’s a consultant, so there was no company coverage). Luckily, he rented it with a platinum Visa that confers rental car coverage.