Information On Rental Car Insurance
3:36 AM
We have all experienced walking into the car rental agency wanting to rent a car. We go through the normal process of picking the right car, where we are allowed to drive but one crucial part that has most of us stumped is the insurance side of it. Most car rental agencies have multiple insurance plans which can really put the spanner in the works of someone who is simply looking for a simple insurance plan for their rental car. Of all the processes involved in renting a car, the car rental insurance is by far one of the most difficult to understand and an area where people can be easily taken advantage off. In this article we will explore the many ways that rental car insurance is used as a way for rental companies to get you to part with more cash than necessary.
Let's first explore the common insurance items that are available for car rentals: We'll list them below, and yes, it is important to know them:
CDW (Collision Damage Waiver), LDW (Loss Damage Waiver), PDW (Physical Damage Waiver) This is the most basic of coverage that you absolutely must have before leaving the rental car lot. It covers you from any financial impact when there is damage to the car. There are however normally some very strict conditions. These normally include distance and area restrictions along with your sobriety.
LIS (Liability Insurance Supplement) This is addition cover to what is already available in your CDW, LDW and PDW. This is the extra bit that most people opt for. It covers extra third party damage that might occur in an accident.
PAI (Personal Accident Insurance or Coverage) This coverage item takes care of any passengers that you might have and any eventualities that might occur should they be maimed and hospitalized.
PEC (Personal Effects Coverage) or Personal Property Insurance This coverage item looks after any belongings that could either be damaged in an accident or be stolen or lost for whatever reason.
The insurance coverage options that we have listed above are listed from the most important and essential to the extra ones at the bottom. You shouldn't even think of driving away the rental car from the lot without some sort of combination similar to what is available with CDW and LIS coverage. Without these basic coverage options you would certainly be risking too much for just a rental car. If you get into an accident without these coverage options then you could be in for a very inconvenient time indeed.
One thing that many people don't know is that if they have comprehensive car insurance for their car, it might even be comprehensive enough to cover the CDW and LIS needs of your rental car. What this means is you might actually be covered right from the get go from your own car insurance. This is a situation that happens more often than you think. It is however vital that you check with you current insurance provider to see if your policy extends to rental cars. Never get a rental car assuming that you already have rental car insurance from your own comprehensive coverage. There are times when your policy changes from year to year and your rental coverage may change without you knowing.
In some rare cases, credit cards may even have some insurance coverage that can be extended to rental car insurance too. This is particularly the case with higher end "gold" or "platinum" cards which have a focus on the regular traveler. Most of the time these cards will have some sort of personal effects coverage or even extend an personal accident coverage too. Again, each person would have a very different circumstance and it would be prudent to check with your credit card provider before signing on the dotted lines.
It is only after you check with both your current car insurance provider and your credit card should you even think of purchasing the rental car insurance from the rental company. Naturally, if you do it the other way around you could very well be wasting money with double coverage. The coverage that you buy at the rental agency could very well overlap the coverage that you already have with your current comprehensive insurance or your credit card.
It should also be noted that if you opt to get insurance from the rental car agency that it will actually cost more than what you can get from your own car insurance company or as provided by the credit card. It isn't abnormal to find that rental car agencies will charge almost double for the insurance coverage. This is a part of their profit model to catch customers with no insurance so they are forced to get it or not get the rental car.
Rental car insurance is certainly needed however you don't need to get it from the rental car agency. Most rental car agencies sell insurance as a side-income and are certainly trying their best to make you part with more money than you are comfortable with. It would be prudent to first check that you aren't covered and only rely on the rental car agency insurance products as a last choice.
Let's first explore the common insurance items that are available for car rentals: We'll list them below, and yes, it is important to know them:
CDW (Collision Damage Waiver), LDW (Loss Damage Waiver), PDW (Physical Damage Waiver) This is the most basic of coverage that you absolutely must have before leaving the rental car lot. It covers you from any financial impact when there is damage to the car. There are however normally some very strict conditions. These normally include distance and area restrictions along with your sobriety.
LIS (Liability Insurance Supplement) This is addition cover to what is already available in your CDW, LDW and PDW. This is the extra bit that most people opt for. It covers extra third party damage that might occur in an accident.
PAI (Personal Accident Insurance or Coverage) This coverage item takes care of any passengers that you might have and any eventualities that might occur should they be maimed and hospitalized.
PEC (Personal Effects Coverage) or Personal Property Insurance This coverage item looks after any belongings that could either be damaged in an accident or be stolen or lost for whatever reason.
The insurance coverage options that we have listed above are listed from the most important and essential to the extra ones at the bottom. You shouldn't even think of driving away the rental car from the lot without some sort of combination similar to what is available with CDW and LIS coverage. Without these basic coverage options you would certainly be risking too much for just a rental car. If you get into an accident without these coverage options then you could be in for a very inconvenient time indeed.
One thing that many people don't know is that if they have comprehensive car insurance for their car, it might even be comprehensive enough to cover the CDW and LIS needs of your rental car. What this means is you might actually be covered right from the get go from your own car insurance. This is a situation that happens more often than you think. It is however vital that you check with you current insurance provider to see if your policy extends to rental cars. Never get a rental car assuming that you already have rental car insurance from your own comprehensive coverage. There are times when your policy changes from year to year and your rental coverage may change without you knowing.
In some rare cases, credit cards may even have some insurance coverage that can be extended to rental car insurance too. This is particularly the case with higher end "gold" or "platinum" cards which have a focus on the regular traveler. Most of the time these cards will have some sort of personal effects coverage or even extend an personal accident coverage too. Again, each person would have a very different circumstance and it would be prudent to check with your credit card provider before signing on the dotted lines.
It is only after you check with both your current car insurance provider and your credit card should you even think of purchasing the rental car insurance from the rental company. Naturally, if you do it the other way around you could very well be wasting money with double coverage. The coverage that you buy at the rental agency could very well overlap the coverage that you already have with your current comprehensive insurance or your credit card.
It should also be noted that if you opt to get insurance from the rental car agency that it will actually cost more than what you can get from your own car insurance company or as provided by the credit card. It isn't abnormal to find that rental car agencies will charge almost double for the insurance coverage. This is a part of their profit model to catch customers with no insurance so they are forced to get it or not get the rental car.
Rental car insurance is certainly needed however you don't need to get it from the rental car agency. Most rental car agencies sell insurance as a side-income and are certainly trying their best to make you part with more money than you are comfortable with. It would be prudent to first check that you aren't covered and only rely on the rental car agency insurance products as a last choice.
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