Check Before Purchasing Insurance On A Rental Car
Chances are good that you already are covered by your auto policy or through a credit card.
Los Angeles Times:
If you’re renting a car over the holidays, chances are a clerk at the counter will try to sell you some pricey insurance options. Should you fork out the extra cash?
Probably not, experts say.
That’s because there’s a very good chance the auto insurance policy you already have would kick in if you had an accident while driving a rental. And sometimes the credit card you use to rent the car offers coverage too. In both cases, however, it pays to check because there can be some significant exclusions.
‘Many auto insurance policies do provide all the coverage you need and it would be a waste of money to buy insurance at the rental counter,’ California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said. ‘But there is a great variation between policies.’
Your own policy follows you, no matter what car your drive, said Candysse Miller, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Network of California. That means that your rental car – or a car you borrow – is insured up to your existing policy’s coverage limits and is subject to the same deductible.
But under certain circumstances, that coverage might be inadequate or might not apply. Read on…
