Things You Need To Know About Rental Car Insurance
Most of us have been there before. We make all the proper arrangements for our trip, which sites to visit, booked the hotel with the right room package. We even have picked just the right car for that road trip that we need to rent. When the days comes everything seem to work out just fine until you set foot in the car rental agency wanting to pick up the keys to that rental car. When the final bill comes and we have picked the most comprehensive insurance package, we are shocked that the price of the rental car suddenly doubled. Looking through the details, you find that it is the car insurance that is doubling the rental costs. It is quite normal for people to get very aggravated and even shocked that something like the insurance for their rental car can cost so much. In this article it is our hope that we can bring to light some common ways to first arrest the rental car insurance costs and also to look at ways to reduce them substantially.
The first thing to know is that different types of rental car insurance that is offered. We’ll list the most common below although some rental agencies offer more or may call the coverage packages differently.
CDW (Collision Damage Waiver), LDW (Loss Damage Waiver), PDW (Physical Damage Waiver). Its basically a nifty way of saying that if anything happens to your rental car, you don’t need to pay a cent. Nothing. Nada. The problem is it doesn’t cover anybody else that is involved in an accident. It is also prudent to note that some insurance policies have a reduced use limitation. It’s something that limits the coverage, like you driving past a certain zone or driving intoxicated etc. Read and understand the limitation before agreeing to the insurance.
LIS (Liability Insurance Supplement) This insurance is in addition to the one above. It will cover any third party that is involved with any accident that happens with the rental car.
PAI (Personal Accident Insurance or Coverage) This coverage option takes care of the passengers of the ill fated rental car that got into the accident. It will take care of whatever costs from the maiming that requires hospitalization.
PEC (Personal Effects Coverage) or Personal Property Insurance This is normally the least opted coverage. It covers whatever items of value that you lose in an accident or from a break-in to your rental car.
The insurance coverage items that we have described to you above are ordered from the most basic at the top to the extras at the bottom. The most basic insurance package that individuals should drive away with are at least a combination of CDWs and LISs. This is the very minimum coverage that we consider safe. Any less and you could be in for a very messy and prolonged case if you do get into an accident.
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.
We think that the best way to approach this is to first check with your current car insurance company and also your credit card company. Give them a call before you even venture to the rental car agency. There really is no point in doubling up your insurance policy as you won’t be able to make use of both. If you already have the coverage from either your car insurance provider or your credit card an overlap will simply be a waste of your money.
You should also do well to know that most car rental agencies will push you to use their insurance products. It is almost certain that they will charge you more as they know you aren’t in a position to choose when you are already at the rental car lot. It is quite normal to find that for the same coverage, the rental agencies will charge almost double the amount that you’ll find elsewhere. This is because the rental agencies act sort of like an agent for the insurance products and will often take a very large commission from the underwriters.
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.
You don’t need to be in the dark with rental car insurance any longer. We understand that it can be quite confusing so we tackle the problem head on at http://www.InsuranceRelease.com
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