# Rental Cars and liability insurance question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 28, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rental-cars-and-liability-insurance-question/332982 "2005-11-28T01:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bobalude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bobalude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobalude)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rental-cars-and-liability-insurance-question/332982/1 "2005-11-28T01:38:16Z")
I am planning a trip with a caravan of 8 vans, 2 drivers per van. Now every driver has their own personal auto insurance (liability coverage) with different companies. I am wondering if this means that every driver in the caravan is considered covered for auto liability? Is it standard for auto liability coverage to extend to the driver regardless of which vehnical they drive (rental cars included)? or is this something that must be checked with each person’s individual policy/company? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rental-cars-and-liability-insurance-question/332982/2 "2005-11-28T01:58:14Z")
It is fairly standard for liability insurance to apply to rental cars. However, it is not universal and that means that you still must check it for everyone because one misunderstanding could be costly. All it takes is a quick call to the agent that sold you the insurance. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rental-cars-and-liability-insurance-question/332982/3 "2005-11-28T02:00:47Z")
> [@Bobalude](#): > > I am planning a trip with a caravan of 8 vans, 2 drivers per van. Now every driver has their own personal auto insurance (liability coverage) with different companies. > > I am wondering if this means that every driver in the caravan is considered covered for auto liability? Is it standard for auto liability coverage to extend to the driver regardless of which vehnical they drive (rental cars included)? or is this something that must be checked with each person’s individual policy/company? Check each policy. MOST policies in the USA do cover you while renting cars, but it would be wise for each driver to make sure s/he is covered and to what extent. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rental-cars-and-liability-insurance-question/332982/4 "2005-11-28T02:39:11Z")
Something else to beware of is your insurance company may not cover all the expenses if you are involved in an accident that is deemed your fault. Things such as loss of revenue during repair or depreciated value can come back and bite you in the butt. My brother just found out the hard way. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rental-cars-and-liability-insurance-question/332982/5 "2005-11-28T06:34:59Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > Something else to beware of is your insurance company may not cover all the expenses if you are involved in an accident that is deemed your fault. Things such as loss of revenue during repair or depreciated value can come back and bite you in the butt. My brother just found out the hard way. However, some credit cards do cover damage, at least to the rental vehicle, even if it is your fault. So between your own insurance and the credit card (if it is one of those that does cover this) you could be covered. I’ve noticed that rental companies don’t push their insurance nearly as hard as they used to. Or maybe that’s just true for the company I use.