Originally Posted by
boggs
Thanks for the tip - Love CA. I live in CA and sometimes do rent here, but mostly it is out of state when I travel.
There was a point brought up about insurance by several posters - I am wondering why it matters to the insurance company that you were not on the renter's agreement? Why would they care that you paid $20/day to the rental company? They get no benefit out of one being an authorized driver... I have a good insurance policy that covers any vehicle I drive (with exceptions of course) but if I drove a rental, it is no different than driving my cousin's car.
Well, after 34 years in the insurance business, I have a simple, straight forward answer to this. When I look at my company's NY State automobile insurance policy, it states that coverage extends to a vehicle owned by a non member of your family as long as it is being driven by you or a relative. If the other driver is not a relative, no coverage.
Also, if the other driver has a liability claim, their insurance would cover them - not yours. The rental company needs to know the name of each driver so they can go after them if needed after a claim.