Rental car insurance

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
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20,322
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west Texas
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Dave Taylor
My ins co (LibMutual) says they don't provide any coverage. (Texas) Although I wonder if they are required to provide liability on non owned vehicles ie you borrow pal's car to go to the store or you rent a car.

My Amex provides $50K insurance if the rental car is damaged/destroyed/stolen as a secondary insurance. (How does Visa/MC etc fare on coverage?)

So the liability is the missing part, and potentially the very expensive part.

Do you have another solution?
Can one buy rental car coverage other than through the exhorbitant rental agency prices?
 
I would double check on that. Did you read that in your policy yourself?
 
Texas policies provide coverage for rental cars…the only gap is if they want to charge you for loss of use while being repaired…most visa/Mastercard have pretty liberal coverage but it is always secondary. I have never purchased additional coverage and had two rental car claims where I was not at fault but the at fault driver was uninsured. Liberty Mutual must have made you sign an exclusion.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
My ins co (LibMutual) says they don't provide any coverage. (Texas) Although I wonder if they are required to provide liability on non owned vehicles ie you borrow pal's car to go to the store or you rent a car.

My Amex provides $50K insurance if the rental car is damaged/destroyed/stolen as a secondary insurance. (How does Visa/MC etc fare on coverage?)

So the liability is the missing part, and potentially the very expensive part.

Do you have another solution?
Can one buy rental car coverage other than through the exhorbitant rental agency prices?
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I got State Farm. For an extra I think it was $37 a year I could get Rental coverage.
 
luvflyin said:
I got State Farm. For an extra I think it was $37 a year I could get Rental coverage.
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Was that coverage to provide you with a rental vehicle if your personal vehicle is damaged and in the shop being repaired?
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
I would double check on that. Did you read that in your policy yourself?
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i called in and asked.
Think I should call again?
If the answers conflict, call for a tiebreaker?
They’ll never give an answer to my questions in writing. (Ie can’t trust what they say)
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
Was that coverage to provide you with a rental vehicle if your personal vehicle is damaged and in the shop being repaired?
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luvflyin said:
No. It was to cover the rental vehicle. I didn’t ask about deductibles. I assume the same as my vehicle
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Are you sure about that luvflyin? I have State Farm as well, and coverage for rental cars is included in my basic policy, but for roughly $40 a year it would provide a rental car if in an accident.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Are you sure about that luvflyin? I have State Farm as well, and coverage for rental cars is included in my basic policy, but for roughly $40 a year it would provide a rental car if in an accident.
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I ain’t bettin’ a whole paycheck on it, but yeah. I thought I was being pretty clear I was asking is ‘the truck covered.’ I was renting a Uhaul truck.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
i called in and asked.
Think I should call again?
If the answers conflict, call for a tiebreaker?
They’ll never give an answer to my questions in writing. (Ie can’t trust what they say)
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They will for sure answer your questions in writing. Call and ask how you get a copy of your policy.
 
I believe Texas law requires coverage; but, if they don't ditch 'em. Call Farm Bureau (probably a better deal anyway).

--

Edit:

It is not *required,* but it is commonly provided, and if LiMu fails to provide it with your liability, then they are providing an inferior insurance product. Check with other carriers. Also (as referenced above), see what coverage your credit card issuer provides - many will cover for you when you charge it in their card.
 
25 years ago my rental car was damaged while on a work trip. When I called AMEX they wanted my personal car insurance information. Come to find out AMEX would only cover a small amount of what my personal car insurance would not cover. I would not give out my personal insurance information and turned the whole mess over to our company's insurance agent.
 
I've always understood that the AMEX/MC/VISA coverages are secondary to whatever my primary insurance doesn't cover - whether that is the Rental Co's coverage (part of my company's negotiated rate) or my own personal auto insurance (State Farm) which as far as I can tell (and I have researched it a bit), does cover damage to rental cars 'out of the box'. I can pay an extra $$ amount to have State Farm pay for my rental car if/when I need it while my own car is being repaired, which I do not pay for because I seem to keep a spare clunker laying around anyway.
 
Remember, Liberty Mutual is the king of only paying for what you need. So the OP may not have opted for that coverage.

My insurance covers when I rent a car in the US. And I charge my rental cars on an AMEX. But yes, the charge card coverage is secondary to your own insurance.

If you are on a work trip, your personal insurance would not cover you, as that is business use of the car and that is covered by your employer. Interestingly, if you travel for work, and drive your own car to and from the airport, if your employer reimburses you for the mileage, that is business use and not covered by your personal insurance. You would file any claims through your employer.

But for most insurance, I think coverage for non-owned vehicles (rented or borrowed) is included. Extra cost rental car coverage is, as many stated, is to pay for a rental car if yours is not useable while being repaired.
 
Clip4 said:
I have State Farm and pay nothing for rental insurance.
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I called and asked years ago and they said yes. I don’t have that car any more. When I called recently they said no, but you can get it. Maybe they’ve changed and your’re grandfathered in. I dunno
 
Chase Sapphire (VISA) is a primary in the case of a car rental damage, acting as the primary CDW coverage to 75K. It's the only reason I keep the thing around despite the $95 annual fee. They don't provide one cent of liability cover, however, so I'd be asking my auto insurer about it in detail or switching.
 
schmookeeg said:
Chase Sapphire (VISA) is a primary in the case of a car rental damage, acting as the primary CDW coverage to 75K. It's the only reason I keep the thing around despite the $95 annual fee. They don't provide one cent of liability cover, however, so I'd be asking my auto insurer about it in detail or switching.
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I have a sapphire. Got it because of no foreign transaction fees. And ya get points you can transfer to other airline cards. I’m gonna look into it. Thanks.
 
Even though most car insurance provides coverage for rental cars, any opinion on getting the extended Collision Damage Waiver from the rental company? Maybe it's an unnecessary expense, but I like the idea of paying a couple hundred extra bucks to potentially save a lot of hassle, increased rates from your insurance, etc. But maybe I'm not understanding it correctly.
 
luvflyin said:
I called and asked years ago and they said yes. I don’t have that car any more. When I called recently they said no, but you can get it. Maybe they’ve changed and your’re grandfathered in. I dunno
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Different State
 
Things I’ve learned. AMEX insurance excludes SUVs. State Farm covers rental cars and borrowed cars driven by insured drivers. State Farm has an agreement with Enterprise to waive loss of revenue claims against State Farm customers. I always use Enterprise as a result.

I had a brand new Enterprise Tahoe burn in in a driveway in Texas. My policy is for Alaska. I got a replacement car in about an hour. End result was the fire didn’t cost me a penny. State Farm covered everything.
 
F01LA said:
Even though most car insurance provides coverage for rental cars, any opinion on getting the extended Collision Damage Waiver from the rental company? Maybe it's an unnecessary expense, but I like the idea of paying a couple hundred extra bucks to potentially save a lot of hassle, increased rates from your insurance, etc. But maybe I'm not understanding it correctly.
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Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. In some areas it's still relatively cheap, under $15/day. When I don't get it, I take a bunch of photos before I even get in it, to show what the condition was before rental.

I did have the coverage help considerably one almost comically-bad day about 10 years ago, when my rental got broken into (smashed rear door window), and while I was driving it to the airport to swap out for another rental car, I took a big rock in the windshield about 3 miles from the airport. If felt like John Belushi handing the smashed guitar back to guy on the stairs in Animal House when I handed them the keys.
 
F01LA said:
Even though most car insurance provides coverage for rental cars, any opinion on getting the extended Collision Damage Waiver from the rental company? Maybe it's an unnecessary expense, but I like the idea of paying a couple hundred extra bucks to potentially save a lot of hassle, increased rates from your insurance, etc. But maybe I'm not understanding it correctly.
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What "lot of hassle" are you referring to? Making a claim?

Once I learned (gotta be 40-50 years ago) that (a) my insurance covered rental car damage and (b) my credit card covered rental car damage, it was the end of the CDW for me.
 
Plano Pilot said:
25 years ago my rental car was damaged while on a work trip. When I called AMEX they wanted my personal car insurance information. Come to find out AMEX would only cover a small amount of what my personal car insurance would not cover. I would not give out my personal insurance information and turned the whole mess over to our company's insurance agent.
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That's standard. If you look at the information on auto card rental coverage (at least from every credit card issuer I've seen). It is secondary to other insurance.
 
Pay attention to what isn’t covered, like the rental company’s loss of income while in the repair shop. Insurance usually won’t cover that, and you can’t control what that expense might be.
 
A good rule with insurance policies.

The words of anyone talking to you about your policy coverage, whether your personal agent or the rental car desk person, are meaningless.

The only thing that matters is what's written in the agreement. That's what will be upheld before money is paid or not paid.

Download and read your actual policies, people. :yesnod:
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
My Amex provides $50K insurance if the rental car is damaged/destroyed/stolen as a secondary insurance. (How does Visa/MC etc fare on coverage?)
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I know with my Amex I can also pay extra before the rental for full primary insurance, but still just damage to the car. Also they exclude moving trucks on both policies.

I did have a claim with the normal plan a few months back, they covered my insurance deductible which was about half of the damage and I paid the rest out of pocket to not have an insurance claim.
 
F01LA said:
Even though most car insurance provides coverage for rental cars, any opinion on getting the extended Collision Damage Waiver from the rental company? Maybe it's an unnecessary expense, but I like the idea of paying a couple hundred extra bucks to potentially save a lot of hassle, increased rates from your insurance, etc. But maybe I'm not understanding it correctly.
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So you are willing to pay $5500 per year (at $15 per day) for duplication of the coverage you already have? IMO, the rental car company insurance is nothing but profit for them
 
Stewartb said:
Pay attention to what isn’t covered, like the rental company’s loss of income while in the repair shop. Insurance usually won’t cover that, and you can’t control what that expense might be.
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I talked to my insurance agent about this very topic yesterday. While she said while it is possible, the car rental company has to show that there were no other vehicles available for rent and customers were turned away. Again, she said that while it is possible in her 30 years of being an insurance agent, she’s never actually seen a rental company collect on that item.
 
My lawyer has seen it. I had a rental agency send me a bill over a year after renting for a broken windshield and loss of revenue. I fought it until they escalated it to their attorneys, so I did the same. There was no comment about broken glass when I turned the car in (it wasn’t broken) but they tried hard to collect. Ultimately my lawyer won.
 
Stewartb said:
My lawyer has seen it. I had a rental agency send me a bill over a year after renting for a broken windshield and loss of revenue. I fought it until they escalated it to their attorneys, so I did the same. There was no comment about broken glass when I turned the car in (it wasn’t broken) but they tried hard to collect. Ultimately my lawyer won.
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I would guess in that situation, only the lawyers won. Probably cost both parties more than the windshield was worth.
 
Update with liberty mutual discussions.

1st call to call center "we don't cover rentals" (youthful ESL, SE-Asian voice)
2nd call to call center "It says right here on your website that 'coverage from your auto policy generally extends to the rental just like you were driving your own vehicle'; am I covered or not?"
"No, you don't have coverage...just a moment" (different youthful ESL, SE-Asian voice).

Then a US-sounding voice (clear enunciation, faster speech, more confident and pleasant) "blahblah introduction; you have the same coverage on your rental as you do in your own vehicle!"
I said, can you send me a note to that effect?
She said, no but she can send the Declarations page of the policy that outlines it.

The email arrives with 36 pages of the policy but no mention of rental/hired/non-owned vehicles anywhere - not even in the exclusions page.
So I still don't know where I stand.

I responded to the email (amazingly it was not a donotreply) and today got an email back confirming the website note about coverage ("yes but not loss of use")
I figure between this and the website I have some evidence of coverage.

LM1.jpg LM2.jpg
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
i called in and asked.
Think I should call again?
If the answers conflict, call for a tiebreaker?
They’ll never give an answer to my questions in writing. (Ie can’t trust what they say)
Click to expand...

If you have it, it's in your policy. If it ain't in your policy, it ain't. Read your policy, don't expect a phone call to control what's in writing. The other place you might look is the at the law in your state regulating auto insurance to see what coverage may be mandated.
 
I recently received pricing for a one day rental. 52 for the car and 37 for insurance!?!?!!!?!

seems crazy to me
 
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