What you need to know before renting a car
Remember your last experience when you rented a car? You waited in a long line, and when you finally reached the counter you had to make quick decisions on what kind of car to rent. Should you buy the gas from the rental car company? Who could drive the car? Were you going to leave the state? Do you want to purchase a variety of different insurance coverages? Here are some pointers to making an informed decision on insurance.
Rental car companies (not all) sell different forms of insurance. Personal Accident Insurance (Health Insurance), Collision and Comprehensive (physical damage) and Personal Effects Coverage for your possessions, to name a few. A brief description of some of these coverages include:
Personal Possessions.In most cases, personal possessions will be covered under your homeowners policy minus the deductible, with some restrictions and limitations on coverage. This would provide coverage for perils such as fire or theft that took place with personal possessions in the rental car.
Collision damage waivers and loss damage waivers. can be purchased for additional fees from the rental car company. These waivers will exempt customers from legal responsibility for damage to the rental car and for incidental fees such as:
- Loss-of-use charges while a vehicle is being repaired;
- Diminution-in-value (or diminshed value) fees, which rental companies may charge when the resale value of the rental car is adversely affected because of damage that was repaired.
- Admininistrative fees charged for processing the insurance claim.
In most cases, damage to the rental car usually is covered under your personal auto policy when you carry full coverages (collision and comprehensive). The incidental fees listed above frequently are not covered.
It is good to remember that most personal automobile policies limit the amount of damages paid, up to the value of your personal car.
Credit Card Insurance Coverage.another source of insurance coverage (provided by many credit card companies) for rental cars is a premium credit card, such as a Gold Visa or MasterCard. Such coverage is usually provided free as a courtesy to customers. In most cases, credit card companies provide secondary coverage for travel in the United States and primary coverage outside the United States. Secondary coverage means that in case of an accident, your credit card will pay only after any primary insurance is exhausted. Different credit card companies vary in their policies, it is best to check with them for coverage, time limits, exclusions and claim procedures.
Happy motoring!