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The Reis Group Blog

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Insurance

Car Rental Insurance

car rental

If you’re on the road this holiday season, you may be considering car rental insurance. What type of coverage do you need? While regulations and coverage vary from state to state, consumers can typically choose from the following coverage types:

LOSS DAMAGE WAIVER, (LDW)

Also known as Collision Damage Waiver, an LDW is technically not an insurance product but it does relieve renters of financial responsibility if a rental car is damaged or stolen. Waivers also provide coverage for “loss of use” if you can’t use your rental because it is in the shop for repair. In addition, an LDW may also cover towing and administrative fees.

Chec with your insurer to make sure you aren’t duplicating coverage you already have, especially if you have existing comprehensive and collision coverage.

LIABILITY INSURANCE

By law, rental companies are required to provide the state-mandated amount of liability insurance. These amounts are typically low and don’t provide much protection. If you already have adequate amounts of liability protection on your own vehicle, you may decide to opt out of additional rental liability protection.

An umbrella policy may be more cost-effective, providing extra coverage on top of your existing auto and homeowners liability policies.

If you don’t own your own car, and frequently rent vehicles, you may consider purchasing a non-owner liability policy. Contact your insurance agent to learn more.

PERSONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE

This type of optional insurance covers you and your passengers for medical and ambulance bills for injuries sustained in a car accident.

If you have sufficient health insurance or are covered by personal injury protection under your own auto policy, you may not need this additional coverage.

PERSONAL EFFECTS COVERAGE

This is a type of optional insurance that protects against the theft of items in your vehicle. If you frequently travel with valuables in the car, you may want to consider purchasing a personal articles floater under your homeowners or renters insurance policy.

To learn about rental car insurance and other types of insurance, contactThe Reis Group!