Enter Your ZIP Code

Buying Insurance While Renting Cars

By
Published:

It is wise to keep track on all your expenses during these times where every cent must make sense. Even necessary things must be bought cheap but in high quality and one can hardly say getting low cost car insurance is mundane when it entails more than just complying with a requirement but also responsibility towards yourself and other people. Most governments require that a car owner should also own a policy that would ensure that everybody involved in an accident, for instance, is covered no matter if it was the driver who caused it.

Even if you rent a car if you go on a vacation or a business trip somewhere far away from home, you will always be confronted with the dilemma of whether or not to buy car insurance. Car rental companies offer waivers known as Loss Damage Waivers (LDW) and Collision Damage Waivers (CDW) in place of collision and liability coverage. On one hand, buying these waivers can double your rental costs. On the other hand, not buying it might drain your financial reserves once you get into an accident.

Consider everything carefully when dealing with car and insurance because these matters are serious financial considerations. If you do not have collision and comprehensive coverage, it is financially wise to purchase the LDW or CDW as offered by your rental company. You may want to get the one that will give you the broadest protection because car rental companies have several levels of damage waivers. You can forego the LDW if you have collision and comprehensive coverage in your policy because you would only be paying for “double coverage” if you don’t. Nonetheless, put in mind that you will still pay your deductible if the car gets stolen, vandalized or crashed.

If you do not own a policy yet you still yearn for low cost car insurance, you can compare products offered by your credit card company, car rental company and a non-owners auto insurance offered by regular car insurers. Car rental companies are also mandated by most states to automatically provide you at least the minimum required liability coverage without charge. And then, of course, if you do not have a car then it would be useless to own a policy.

In summary, keep in mind to check your auto and homeowners or renters policy before renting a vehicle to get an idea whether or not you need to buy car insurance at all and what coverage you have while driving your rented vehicle. Also, do not hesitate to be overly cautious and take some time to find out exactly what your car rental company offers. Do some comparisons between the coverage that you already have and the ones they offer so that you can avoid buying what you already have.