If you are on the look for an auto insurance policy for a short period of time, there is a big likelihood that you don’t even need to buy it…
Is car insurance for a temporary period of time required when renting an automobile?
The rental service will offer you some combination of liability coverage, personal effects coverage, accident insurance, and/or a loss damage waiver (more commonly known as LDW). If you have your own auto and have the respective car insurance, you are most likely covered for each of these 4 insurances. As such, getting even one of them is likely a waste of money. You just have to make sure that you are using the car for recreational and not business use.
Below is a list of the 4 insurance types that the rental car service may offer you and why you probably don’t need them…
Liability coverage: The liability insurance on your own policy will protect you.
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW): Collision & comprehensive insurance (if you have them on your car), makes this coverage superfluous. Your collision insurance pays for damages to your auto regardless of who is at fault in an accident. Comprehensive insurance protects you from damage or loss caused by everything from the weather to burglary.
Personal accident insurance or accident coverage: If you already have either Personal Injury Protection, Medical Payments Coverage, or health insurance, you can skip on this additional insurance.
Personal effects coverage: Rental car companies offer this type of coverage for stolen items. However, it is very likely that your homeowners or renters insurance already covers items that are stolen not just inside the house, but outside of it as well.
To be on the safe side, it is best to call both you car and house insurer to make sure that both policies carry over. Or, you can just read your policy. Its likely that you’ll get some type of insurance from your credit card company as well.
What if you’re borrowing somebody’s car?
If you have your own car insurance, you needn’t worry. Your own auto insurance transfers over. Additionally, the lenders car insurance policy will transfer to you. But what happens if you want to borrow a car and don’t have auto coverage for yourself?
If you don’t have you own auto insurance coverage and want to borrow someone else’s car, liability coverage may come back to haunt you. Although the lenders liability will transfer over to you, if it is not enough to pay for damages, which you are responsible, you have to pay the difference. If you don’t have a car you can make sure this doesn’t happen by getting a nonowners policy. Of course, if you’re not guilty in an accident, the other persons liability coverage will pay for the damages (although this may not be the case in some states).
If you borrow a car, who pays for damages done to the car itself? The collision and/or comprehensive coverage of the owner will pay if you are guilty, the other party will pay if they are guilty, and your coverage may pay if you have your own full coverage (comprehensive & collision).
Tags: auto insurance, car insurance, insurance, short term car insurance, temporary car insurance