You’ve finally decided to head out on a vacation, and are planning to get a rental car. When you visit the rental car company to pick up a rental car, it’s likely that a company representative will offer your rental car insurance for an additional cost. But, should you take it?
While it may seem tempting to opt for the rental car insurance plan that’s offered by the company, it’s important to check if you already have this coverage. Remember that you don’t have to get rental car insurance from the rental company. If you already have rental car insurance coverage as part of your regular auto insurance plan or as one of your credit card perks, you need not get additional insurance offered at the rental car company.
Is Rental Car Insurance Necessary?
Rental car insurance is what provides you financial coverage if the car is stolen, damaged in a collision, or vandalized. So, yes, it is important that you have rental car insurance. But, a separate rental insurance plan may be redundant if you already have the coverage.
Pros and Cons of Using Your Insurance Coverage for The Rental Car
Most people already have rental insurance coverage under their regular car insurance plan. If you, too, have this coverage, you will need to review your auto insurance coverage and its limits to see if the coverage is adequate. If you already have adequate rental insurance coverage, you can ignore the insurance offered by the company and save a good amount of money. Also, since you know your auto insurance company and have established a relationship with them, you know exactly how reliable they are.
But, there are a few drawbacks to using your own insurance coverage rather than opting for the plan offered by the rental car company. For one, your own auto insurance coverage may be inadequate and some places may even have rules against you using your own auto insurance plan’s coverage.
So, make sure to take these factors into consideration before opting for rental car insurance offered by the company.