In my previous post, I explored the possibilities of whether you need to buy car rental insuarnce, and suggested the ways that you can go about to find out if you need to purchase the insurance.
In this current post, I am going to assume that you have find out that you don’t have any existing car insurance policy or is no longer valid. So, now before you rent a car, you are actually required to buy a car rental insurance.
Now, there are two ways you can purchase the car rental insurance if you don’t have any existing coverage. You can either purchase the car rental insurance coverage from the car rental company at the time you rent the car, or, you can also buy a non-owner auto liability insurance policy from your insurer.
Today, I am going to cover the first way and tomorrow the second method. So, check out my post tomorrow also on the second method.
The insurance coverage that car rental companies provided are as followed:-
- Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
Or some called a Loss Damage Waiver (LDW). This coverage is very important when you rent a car. It is because in the events that your rental car is stolen or damaged when involved in any accident, it can help relieve you of your financial responsibility.
But, CDW can be expensive and it may increase the rental cost up to another 20%. So, you should be very careful when buying this coverage. If you are going to pay your car rental by credit card, you may want to check with your card company on whether this coverage is provided and to what extent. - Supplemental Liability Insurance
Supplemental Liability Insurance usually pays over and above what your personal or business insurance covers. If you do not already have personal liability coverage you could purchase this insurance. - Personal Accident Insurance.
This provides coverage to you and your passengers for medical/ambulance bills. This insurance may not be necessary if you already covered by health insurance or have adequate medical coverage under your existing policy. - Personal Effects Coverage.
This provides coverage for the theft of personal items in your car. Same as item 3, check out your existing insurance, if you already have this coverage in other existing car or homeowner insurance policy, you may consider not to purchase this coverage.
So, the cost of insurance for car rental will vary, depending on factors like the rental Car Company, state, and location of the dealer and the type of car you rent. So, do check out in detailed before you make the move to start renting a car.
BB's site is at
Los Angeles Auto Insurance