Does My Auto Insurance Cover Rental Cars in Florida?

If you’ve flown anywhere on vacation, you’ve probably asked yourself does my personal auto insurance cover rental cars. When you’re at the airport rental company counter, you don’t have a lot of time to dwell on the question. But you might be owed money if you purchased optional car insurance from National, Alamo or Enterprise in Florida within the last four years.

Will My Auto Insurance Cover Rental Cars if the Rental is Stolen or in an Accident?

As long as you have collision and comprehensive coverage on your own auto insurance policy, your rental car is normally covered, too. Keep in mind that your own auto policy’s deductible will apply if the rental vehicle is lost or damaged in an accident.

Ditto if cars are rented using credit cards, although the credit card coverage is usually secondary to a driver’s auto insurance policy.

The rental company might ask you to purchase a loss-damage waiver (LDW) that allows you to relinquish responsibility for damage incurred, or theft of the rental car, while it’s in your possession. Also known as a collision damage waiver (CDW), the waiver is not really an insurance policy. Instead, it’s a release that means the insurance company won’t hold you responsible in the event the car is damaged or stolen, according to nerdwallet.com.

What If I Damage Another Vehicle or Property While in the Rental Car?

If you own a car, your liability insurance on that car will cover you while you are driving a rental. If you have minimal liability coverage on your own car and are worried about it providing sufficient coverage for a rental car, your best bet is to increase the liability coverage on your own policy.

The rental car company may try to convince you to pay for supplemental liability protection, but the only reason you might need to purchase this is if you do not own a vehicle of your own, which means you have no backup coverage.

What If I Receive Injuries in An Accident While Driving My Rental Car?

As long as you have health insurance, you shouldn’t need additional coverage offered to you at the rental car counter. If you in a state outside the location of your residence, though, find out if there are consequences for “out of network” care.

The personal accident insurance offered at the rental car company should not be necessary if you have your own health insurance and if your own car insurance policy includes personal injury coverage or MedPay, which is a third-party administrator.

What If My Own Stuff is Stolen from a Rental Car?

You might be surprised to learn that your own homeowners insurance or renters insurance will take care of the loss of your possessions, even if they are not taken from the residence itself. Always file a police report to make sure your theft claim is valid, and remember that your deductible will still apply.

The car rental counter person may try to convince you to pay extra for personal effects coverage if they are stolen from the rental car, but you most likely don’t need such protection.

Why Do Car Rental Counters Push Additional Insurance?

Even though they know that more than likely, the rental agency may suspect that you’re not aware that a customer’s personal auto insurance covers rental cars, the car rental company makes a huge profit from the additional insurance products and waivers they sell.

Smartertravel.com reports that a typical collision damage waiver charged by rental car agencies starts at about $30 per day. The daily cost to the rental car agency for that insurance? About $4 per day. That extra money goes directly to the rental car company.

Join a Free Florida Rental Car Insurance Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased optional car rental insurance from National, Alamo, or Enterprise in Florida within the last four years, you may be eligible to participate in a Florida Rental Car Insurance Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.

Fill out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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