Every time you rent a car, you won’t get away from their counter without either accepting or rejecting their form of car insurance, known as loss damage waiver (LDW) and collision damage waiver (CDW). Is this insurance necessary? It’s best to find out in advance, before you rent the car.
There are a couple ways you may already be covered. The first place you should look is your own auto insurance. Contact your insurance broker and find out if your collision and comprehensive insurance covers you in a rental car. Where you are renting the car will also matter, you may be covered in Canada and the United States, but not in other countries.
The second form of coverage may be the credit card you use to pay for the rental car. Check the agreement that came with your credit card to see if you have coverage for a rental car. If you are not sure, call the number on the back of your card. You may want to ask for the details of this coverage in writing as all cards are not the same and may not provide complete coverage.
With these forms of coverage already available to you, you may not need the insurance offered by the rental car companies, just be sure before you head out on your trip.
This wraps up the first week of articles in the Insurance You Can Do Without series. I’ll have another four posts in the series in a month!
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Tom Drake is the owner and head writer of Canadian Finance Blog.
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I hold a foreign driver’s license and though I have car insurance, my car insurance does not cover a rental car overseas. So I guess for people like myself, those car insurance matter.
I was aware of coverage for rental cars on personal auto insurance but I never heard of coverage on credit cards for rental insurance. I sure learn something new today and in fact I am about to make a call see if I have this kind of insurance. Thanks for the tips!
Its true that in many cases you are already covered by your current policy or in some cases your credit card you used to reserve the car. Of course this all depends on the class of the vehicle.
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Nice series, Tom. I always wonder about foreign car rental insurance. I guess I should just call my credit card and insurance before hand?
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great info…” coverage for rental cars on personal auto insurance yes but I never heard of coverage on credit cards for rental insurance”
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Agree, if you have personal insurance, you should be covered. That’s not even to mention the credit card protection most cards offer.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned here is that if you are renting a car while on business, oftentimes your employer may have you covered for rental insurance. If you are going on a trip, find out beforehand whether you’ll require rental car insurance. It’s not a decision you want to make in haste at the rental car counter, although in most cases the rental car insurance is not necessary.
If you have plans on going to Israel and decide to get a rent a car service, try Avis – http://www.avis.co.il/avis/site/local/avis/english/IsraelRentals.jsp . I have heard nothing but good things about them. Mainly, they came highly recommended by individuals I trust, and who have exceptional travel experience.
Thanks for this wise advices. I travel a lot and rent a lot of cars so i needed to konow a little more about insurances.
In my experience, you really don’t need insurance when you are renting a car. Just don’t crash it.
It’s so stupid for someone who drive without car insurance. But it’s really hard to find the most suitable auto insurance quote company. I myself found some useful information in your post. Really great one. Thanks. car insurance
Thanks for sharing. Insurance is always a smart idea, I wouldn’t go without it. It may save you a few dollars up front, but for those “what if” scenarios that do occur, it can save you thousands.
You maybe have quality knowledge of what your discussing or just did some great research but I like it so much.
I was aware of coverage for rental cars on personal auto insurance but I never heard of coverage on credit cards for rental insurance. I sure learn something new today and in fact I am about to make a call see if I have this kind of insurance.
The first place you should look is your own auto insurance. Contact your insurance broker and find out if your collision and comprehensive insurance covers you in a rental car.
Sometimes is necessary, this insurance. One time i went to Germany and i want to rent a car. I had a driver license but i was not covered by m insurance, so i had to pay it.
In Germany they all have a car insurance, and if you have an accident, most of the time the insurances will agree that both parties have the same amount of fault and both parties pay and both Insurance percentages go up. The only ones who win, are the insurances.
I once got a free rental courtesy of the auto dealership when I brought my car in and didn’t get the rental insurance because my own car insurance covered it. However, my policy had a deductible and the rental insurance didn’t have one so I ended up paying $300 for my deductible cause some guy pumped into my rental car while parked and took off! I was really mad at myself for not paying the $10 / day after that.
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You obviously put a lot of work into that post and it’s very interesting to see the thought process that you went through to come up with those conclusion.
Thank you for sharing this information. I found the details very helpful.
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Outstanding, what an amazing way to convey your current thoughts and opinions? Cool I must say? I do think you’re correct. Hope to read more write-ups from your end and I am seriously looking ahead for it.
I was aware of coverage for rental cars on personal auto insurance but I never heard of coverage on credit cards for rental insurance. I sure learn something new today and in fact I am about to make a call see if I have this kind of insurance.
Well, rentals coverage has been around for a while. Most people don’t know they benefits and fail to take advantage of it.
The rental car industry is in a state of recovery. Although it may seem like the industry is performing well financially, it is nonetheless gradually regaining its footing relative to its actual economic position within the last five years. As a way of insuring profitability, besides seeking market shares and stability, most companies throughout the chain have a common goal that deals with lowering the level of dependency on the airline industry and moving toward the leisure segment. This state of motion has engendered some fierce competition among industry competitors as they attempt to defend their market shares. From a futuristic perspective, the better days of the car rental industry have yet to come. As the level of profitability increases, I believe that most of the industry leaders including Enterprise, Hertz and Avis will be bounded by the economic and competitive barriers of mobility of their strategic groups and new comers will have a better chance of infiltrating and realizing success in the car rental industry.
Great things you’ve always shared with us. Just keep writing this kind of posts.
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