News and Events
April 17, 2007
The Mysteries of Rental Car Insurance Revealed
The Mysteries of Rental
Car Insurance Revealed
Going on vacation this year? I hope you have a great time! If you rent a car you'll undoubtedly be faced
with the question, "Does my auto policy cover the rental, or should I buy
the rental company's insurance?"
Unfortunately, rental car coverage
can be trickier than anybody would like it to be. What you decide to do depends on several
things.
First, your auto policy most likely
extends coverage to rented vehicles.
HOWEVER, that will not always be true!
It depends on where and how you use the rented vehicle. Be sure you check before you go. If you have questions, give us a call.
Unfortunately, things get a little
more complicated...
Rental car companies have little
tricks up their sleeves when you don't buy their insurance. These tricks could stick you with hundreds of
dollars of unexpected charges on your credit card if you wreck their car.
First, the rental car company
receives income by renting their cars - obviously. If you wreck their car, they can't rent it to
anybody else until it's fixed or replaced.
In theory, they're losing money and they'll charge you for that
"loss of use."
And that makes sense. Business insurance commonly pays for such
losses - when they're real. However,
insurance companies don't pay for theories.
They only pay for actual economic loss.
The rental company has many cars
sitting on its lots un-rented. It's not
ACTUALLY losing money because the one car you wrecked is out of
commission. So, your insurance company won't
pay a "loss of use" charge.
But that won't stop the rental car
company from charging you for it! And it
could be hundreds of dollars.
The second complication is
administrative fees. These fees
compensate the rental company for all the paperwork they must do to process the
claim, to get the car fixed or replaced, etc.
Again, your insurance company isn't
going to pay that fee. It's not an
insurance loss. It's the rental car
company finding a way to get more money out of you. Such fees could be as high as $250 ... or
more!
So, should you buy the rental
company insurance at the rental counter or not?
First, call us before you leave to
make sure of your personal situation.
That's why we're here, to help you!
Second, if you're willing to risk
paying "loss of use" and administrative charges - which could be
hundreds of dollars - then don't buy it.
But if you're not willing to take that risk, buy the insurance and sleep
well on your vacation!
All of us here at Insurance
Networking System wish you safe travels all the time.
Welcome to Insurance Networking
Systems, we are the in-house insurance agency for Next Generation Realty. We are an independent insurance agency, which
represents over (9) different companies for auto and home insurance. “Your Protection & Peace Of Mind Is Our
Only Business”…this is not just our motto, but it’s the way we do business with
our clients…we’re not like your typical insurance agency….we’re not going to
tell you what you want to hear, but rather what you NEED to hear.
Call us today at 243-1223 or email
me at joe@insnetw.com to get your FREE no
obligation quote and start SAVING up to $223, $393, $571 or more a year.
