You want to go where?

Newbie advice needed!

OK. I need someone to explain this to me. First the facts, then the question.

Facts: I recently got a US driver's license after many years without one. I live in a city with decent mass transit and traveled frequently (but never to a place where renting a car was a good idea). It just wasn't worth the hassle (in my jurisdiction, you have to make an appointment months in advance to test for a driver's license.
I do not own a car and do not intend to get one. For the occasional local trip, I use car2go where insurance is automatically included. I want to rent a car for a longer distance trip.

How do I go about insuring the rental? I know that the car rental company can provide insurance, but I have heard that those policies are expensive and can have significant gaps in coverage. I believe some credit cards provide free insurance if you book the car with their card.

So, what recommendations do you have for insurance? Thanks in advance.

Mwenenzi

What state? Insurance requirements can vary by state
Look here:- http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/renta...surance-l.html

guv1976

How many days a year do you plan to rent cars? In what state do you live?

IAHtraveler

Also, most rental insurance provided by cards is secondary (only applies after all other policies pay out) and covers the rental vehicle. That doesn't cover you for:
1. Bodily injury for you
2. Damage to other vehicles
3. Damage to property (guard rail, buildings, etc)
4. Bodily injury to people in other vehicles

You want to go where?

I am likely to rent in a number of jurisdictions, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia DC. I expect to rent a car perhaps 3 or 4 times a year.

You want to go where?

Any idea what insurance policies provided by car rental companies cover?

guv1976

You answered two questions I did not ask.

How many days do you expect to rent -- not how many times do you expect to rent. It's the total number of days per year that you will have to estimate in order to determine whether a non-owned-auto liability policy is cheaper than paying for the rental-car company's supplemental liability insurance for each day of rental.

And the state of your residence -- not the state where you will be renting -- will determine whether a non-owned-auto liability policy will also cover you for loss/damage to a rental car -- in addition to third-party liability.

IAHtraveler

They have several different plans that will include some/all of the items I mentioned. Depends what you want/how much you want to pay.

You want to go where?

I don't live in a state. I live in DC. 16-21 days a year. Sorry, since you hadn't indicated why you were asking and since it is isn't very likely that I would rent a car in my own jurisdiction, I thought it more useful to tell you where I would rent.

guv1976

Based on your estimated number of rental days, get a quote for a non-owned-auto liability policy, and then compare that to the daily cost of purchasing SLI from the rental-car companies in the places where you are most likely to rent. SLI prices can vary from location to location.

If it matters to you, SLI coverage is typically $1,000,000; the maximum liability that Travelers has offered me on my non-owned-auto liability policy with them is $500K.

You want to go where?

Thanks, although you didn't really explain why where I live matters. Are there jurisdictions where this type of policy is not available? After all, I am likely to move at some point, and it is more helpful to the general FT public to have a broader understanding of this area.

Often1

OP - What guv1976 is providing you with is invaluable. It is not just the cost, but the policy limits.

People tend to fixate on who pays for the dent to the rental vehicle and what the deductible is. That may be an immediate issue.

But, what happens if someone else is injured and spends the next year in a hospital and you have the required minimum coverage of $20K, but earn decent money? A judgment in the US is good against you for 20 years and personal bankruptcy is not really an option these days. $1 Million in coverage sounds like a lot, but it isn't.

You want to go where?

I am well aware of this. I noticed both that the SLI coverage from the rental car companies is $1 million and that the non-owned-auto liability policy is even less at $500,000. It seemed to me that both are inadequate.

guv1976

From Post #7 :

"And the state of your residence -- not the state where you will be renting -- will determine whether a non-owned-auto liability policy will also cover you for loss/damage to a rental car -- in addition to third-party liability."

In NYS, for example, all personal auto-insurance policies must provide coverage for rental-car loss/damage. That is a mixed blessing. It means that, unless you have a credit card that provides primary -- not secondary -- coverage to New York residents for rental cars charged to the card, you will be forced to claim against your personal auto-insurance policy for rental-car loss/damage, even if you do not cause injury or damage to a third party, and even if you rented the car elsewhere in the U.S.

Re: liability limits, if $1,000,000 coverage is not sufficient for you, you might explore whether a company that offers a non-owned-auto liability policy can also offer you an umbrella policy with higher limits. But that might require that you have your home/condo/renter's insurance policy with the same company.

guv1976

For high-net-worth individuals, Chubb "Masterpiece" home-owner's insurance is a potential option: It offers an excess-liability option that specifically covers third-party liability when driving a rental car.

https://www2.chubb.com/ca-en/individ...liability.aspx