Do I need to pay for insurance on my rental car?

June 1, 2017 11:47 AM

We're carless, and I'm not sure if I need to pay for the rental car company's insurance when we rent a car or not.

My wife and I do not own a car, and thus do not have car insurance of our own. We're renting a car this weekend, from Enterprise if it matters, and all the information I can see from both Enterprise and our credit card (B of A Alaska Airlines Visa) makes mention of the fact that credit card insurance plays a secondary role to one's existing auto insurance.

But what if we don't have auto insurance? Does the CC insurance cover everything we'll need, or should we pay for insurance through Enterprise? Looking at Visa's benefit explanation, it seems to be the same(ish) as a rental car CDW, but I've never rented a car without insurance of our own before so these are kinda uncharted waters.

posted by pdb to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

My understanding is that very few credit cards offer full coverage of rental cars. It may be a premium card feature. You do need insurance when you rent a car. If your CC doesn't cover it, or covers it incompletely, then you need insurance from the rental car agency. This can easily double the cost of renting the car, in my experience. Your next step is probably to speak with your credit card and find out exactly what they do cover in regards to a rental car.
posted by Cranialtorque at 11:56 AM on June 1, 2017

My understanding is that, if it's your fault, the credit card covers collision damage to the rental car. It does not provide liability protection. So if you crash into somebody else, you will still be liable for damage to them, their car, and any surrounding property. If someone crashes into you, their insurance should cover everything, but they may be uninsured. So you'll want to buy at minimum liability protection and uninsured/underinsured motorist protection.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 11:58 AM on June 1, 2017

If you plan to rent frequently, consider non-owner liability insurance. Only a few companies sell it, and I found Geico to be by far the least expensive.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:06 PM on June 1, 2017

Your nice card will provide collision/comprehensive insurance.

Most (all) states have liability insurance included in rental, but the coverage is week, like 10-20k. Supplemental Liability is worth the peace of find.
posted by sandmanwv at 12:07 PM on June 1, 2017

I don't own a car, and used to rent from Enterprise frequently, a few years ago. They always offered: Liability, Collision, and Medical. I always got liability and collision, and declined medical, since I have health insurance. I didn't have a credit card at the time that covered collision, but yours might. You have to find out the terms. I suspect you'll at least need liability.
posted by quarterinmyshoe at 12:16 PM on June 1, 2017

Even IF your CC offers full coverage, it would be highly unlikely that it will cover the rental company's 'out of service' fees. Hubs and I got snagged with $1k+ of out of service fees that neither our regular auto insurance nor our CC would cover. So now we ALWAYS take the rental insurance. Always.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 12:42 PM on June 1, 2017

Seconding non-owner liability insurance. Can be expensive, but the peace of mind (and declining extra coverage from Enterprise) was worth it for us in the long run with frequent car-share use.
posted by supercres at 12:58 PM on June 1, 2017

I just wanted to pipe up and address the liability issue. Your credit card usually provides you with free collision insurance, as noted above, but you should always download the most updated document proving it for safe measure. You should also check the laws in your state regarding liability, and other insurance. Some state Attorneys General provide guidance on this issue — as part of a measure to prevent fraud. In the case of New York, for example, the Attorney General notes that extra liability from the rental agency is not necessary.

For many renters who have modest amounts of assets, the minimum coverage the car rental companies must provide as a part of the rental may be enough to protect them from lawsuits by victims of accidents involving the rental car.... SLP [supplemental liability protection, what car rental agencies offer for a fee] usually provides $1 million of liability protection, considerably more coverage than most consumers have under their own automobile insurance policies.

Here's the entire link to that Attorney General page in New York: Car Rental Tip Sheet
posted by Violet Blue at 1:20 PM on June 1, 2017

spitbull: the point of my question is that I don't own a car, so I have no car insurance of my own. Trying to figure out the best plan for coverage when I do rent a car. I get the point of insurance, and fully believe it's necessary - I'm just unsure the best way forward when I rent, given my overall insurance-less status.

Thanks to everyone who suggested non-owner liability; I'll definitely check in to that.
posted by pdb at 1:54 PM on June 1, 2017

The long answer to this question depends on where you live and where you're renting the car. We live in DC, where I got a serious runaround trying to find non-owner liability insurance ("we don't offer that, try Progressive." "I did. They referred me to you.") In most (but not all) states, the rental carrier is legally required to meet the minimum liability coverage (self-linking here on the green, since I did a lot of research for that answer). If you are renting a car in Texas or California (to name two states where I know the rental companies are not required to meet the minimum liability coverage) you'll be required to purchase liability insurance if you don't have it. In other states the rental car company will meet its legal obligation, and it's up to you whether you're comfortable with that minimum or you want more liability coverage.
posted by fedward at 2:05 PM on June 1, 2017

By the way, ZIP Cars do come with insurance. When my son was in your situation, he found that zip cars turned out to be more affordable for that reason than a regular rental car.
posted by metahawk at 4:21 PM on June 1, 2017

As to the above, Zipcar's also have an additional monthly opt-in for full coverage if you ever do go that route.

Check your credit card for the insurance coverage but unless it's a travel card with full insurance coverage (excepting exotics and trucks) it's probably not enough.

There are cards out there with comprehensive coverage, but they are premium cards with fairly hefty annual fees. Having said that, as a frequent renter I've found that it only takes about 5-10 rental days a year to make back the fee through insurance savings so if you think you'll be renting regularly it's worth it.

Also - I've had to make 2 claims through credit card car insurance and while in one case there were some upfront costs, I got all the money back. The paper work is a pain, but again, if you're renting often it's worth it for the savings.
posted by scrute at 5:32 PM on June 2, 2017

As someone who ended up on the hook for $3000 in damages when there were three insurance companies in play, I tend to be conservative now, and advise others to do the same.
posted by Nothing at 2:02 PM on June 3, 2017