Purchase Insurance
for a Rental Car
Melissa asks:
Can you purchase insurance for a rental car from someplace other than the rental company? I have no other insurance and need to rent a car for a week. They want to charge me $20.00 per day.
My Response:
The first thing I'm going to assume is that when you ask about buying rental car insurance coverage, you are speaking of a collision damage waiver or loss damage waiver for the rental car itself and NOT liability insurance. (If you are asking about basic public liability and property damage insurance, it's probably not something you need to buy; for most states it is generally included in the car rental rate up to the minimum limits required by law (California is a common exception)...see this page on Liability Insurance. )
Ok, back to your question. The answer is Yes, you can purchase insurance for a rental car from someone other than the rental car company - you can often buy it from companies that sell travel insurance.
Free Travel Insurance Quotes from
Travel Guard
The main thing you need to know is, that while it is a cheaper per day price than the rental car insurance coverage offered by the car rental company, it is not quite the same, nor offers the same amount of coverage.
I don't believe that when you purchase insurance for a rental car, one is better than the other, just that they are different and you just need to be aware of all facts in order to make an informed decision.
There are different sites or companies that offer different types of trip insurance coverage, including rental car insurance coverage. This answer will focus on one such company, only for brevity. I encourage you to research other such options and make sure to check all terms and conditions of coverage before you purchase insurance for a rental car.
That being said:
I did some research on rental car insurance coverage through
TripInsuranceStore.com
They offer a CDW Plan for $9 a day, plus a one time $3 service fee (note: price and info below accurate at the time of this response.. prices and details below may change - check the website to be sure).
Certainly a much better price for you when you need to purchase insurance for a rental car! Here's a breakdown of the differences between this coverage and the rental car insurance coverage offered by the rental car company.
The tripinsurancestore.com CDW plan does NOT apply if you're renting an off road vehicle, SUV, exotic vehicles or any vehicle registered or licensed as a truck.
The rental car company coverage would include any of their vehicles.
In order to qualify for tripinsurancestore.com CDW plan, you would have to be taking a business or pleasure trip and going AT LEAST 50 miles from home - not renting a car for local use
The rental car company coverage would cover the rental no matter the distance between where you live and where you rent.
With the tripinsurancestore.com CDW plan there is a $250 deductible
With the rental car company coverage you just walk away, there is no deductible.
The renter and any additional drivers listed on the rental contract must have a US or Canadian mailing address and live in the US (EXCEPT Puerto Rico, Kansas, New Hampshire & Texas residents), US Virgin Islands or Canada to be eligible for to purchase the plan.
The rental car company coverage is available for any authorized renter, regardless of state of residence.
With the tripinsurancestore.com CDW plan you get a maximum of $35,000 coverage. If the total of damage or loss is more than $35,000 you would have to pay the difference.
The rental car insurance coverage from the car rental company offers maximum coverage for up to the full fair market value of whatever vehicle you have rented, if it is damaged, vandalized or stolen during the rental.
You can purchase insurance for a rental car from tripinsurancestore.com CDW plan in advance of your trip, before you sign the Rental Car Agreement.
The rental car company coverage would only be available to purchase at the date and time of pick up of your rental.
With the tripinsurancestore.com CDW plan, you have to purchase to cover all the calendar days you have the car - even partial days. for example if you picked up the car on Nov 1 at 12 noon and returned it on Nov 8 at noon, you would be charged for each calendar day --- Nov 1, Nov 2, Nov 3, Nov 4, Nov 5, Nov 6, Nov 7 and Nov 8 - 8 days @ $9 = $72
With the car rental company coverage, you would be charged for 7 - 24 hour periods if you purchased the $20 insurance. = $140
The tripinsurancestore.com CDW Plan does not cover theft or stolen vehicles.
With the rental car company coverage, if you purchase LDW, this covers theft (loss). If you purchase a CDW, it will only include Damage (collision), not loss (theft)
If you look into this option to purchase insurance for a rental car from tripinsurance.com , make sure to check the "certificate of coverage" link for the state that applies to your situation.
If you plan on having additional drivers on your rental, you would want to check if this option would carry over if they were driving as well (the rental car insurance coverage from the car rental company covers the renter and all authorized additional drivers).
You may want to check also, with your car rental company of choice as well as with this provider, of the "turn around time" for coverage. By this, I mean, how quickly will the car rental company charge you for damage? Is it charged to your credit card? Will they bill you and be willing to wait until the claim goes through to be paid for damages to the rental car?
Depending on the type of trip that includes your car rental (for example if your trip involves airfare and accomodations as well), you may also be able to get rental car collision insurance as part of a complete travel insurance package. As we've already discussed, make sure to check all terms and conditions of coverage to make sure that it fits your car rental needs. Click here for Free Travel Insurance Quotes from Travel Guard.
I hope this helps!
Pages from this site, relating to this topic:
Car Rental Insurance Overview
Personal Auto Insurance Coverage
CDW and LDW Coverages
Credit Card Coverages
Personal Protection Offers
See what others are asking about Car Rental Insurance:
Return to Car Rental FAQs
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