Many people have to travel out of state so they have to rent vehicles so that they can get around. Most people are familiar with the conversation at the car rental desk with the representative where they ask if you would like to purchase rental insurance coverage. Most drivers think that this type of insurance coverage is a scam and is unnecessary but in actuality there are many valid reasons as to why drivers should purchase that additional insurance coverage.
The coverage may seem like a scam but paying an extra 10 to 25 dollars per day could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars if you are in a car accident while driving the vehicle. Most people use car rentals to drive long distances to places that they might not be very familiar with. This can be a recipe for a disaster because often car rentals can be involved in accidents or end up getting stolen while they are being used.
Even if you have liability coverage on your personal vehicle it may not have enough coverage on it to cover your medical bills if you are hurt in an accident. The personal accident insurance coverage that you can buy can help to ensure that all of your medical bills get paid. In today’s economy, where one injury can have more than $100,000 in medical bills alone it pays to be prepared.
It is important if you will be using your own insurance coverage to ask your insurance agent about time period limitations. In most cases, if you are driving a rental for longer than 30 days then the coverage will not be valid anymore because it can be seen as your primary vehicle.
It is important to have the rental coverage especially if you are not the best driver. One man crashed his rental car and was seriously injured and did not have the coverage and the rental company tried to get him to sign a statement saying he would pay for all of the damages but he did not and luckily his own car insurance company paid the bills. Not everyone is this lucky so it pays to have more than enough insurance on your rental car.
It is a good idea for all drivers who have credit cards to contact their credit card companies to see if the companies have rental insurance coverage as one of their provided benefits. It is a great way to save money and have the coverage already in place.
If the rental car has been badly damaged in the collision then drivers could be in trouble while the vehicle is in the shop. When you sign a car rental agreement, there is something called loss of use mentioned. This means that for every day the car cannot be used while it is being repaired that you will be charged for what the rental company would have made off of its use.
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Brian O’Connell is a nationally recognized journalist who writes about how drivers can save money on car insurance. At CheapCarInsurance.net, he turns complex auto coverage pricing comparisons into easy-to-follow advice for finding the cheapest car insurance rates by state and city.