Short Term Car Insurance
If you are searching for a temporary auto insurance policy there is a very good possibility that you do not need it…
Is car insurance for a short period of time required when renting an automobile?
The rental service will offer you some combination of liability insurance, personal effects coverage, accident insurance, and/or a loss damage waiver (more commonly known as LDW). If you have your own car and have the respective car insurance, you are most likely covered for each of these 4 insurances. As such, getting even one of them is likely a waste of money. You just have to make sure that you are using the car for recreational and not business use.
Below you’ll see a list of the aforementioned 4 insurance types and the reasons why they are probably not needed…
Liability coverage: The liability insurance that you already have pays for any damages, which you are found to be liable for.
Loss Damage Waiver: The collision & comprehensive coverage, which you probably have on you auto, make the LDW unnecessary. Collision coverage pays for damages to the car regardless of who is at fault and comprehensive coverage pays for damage caused by things such as a thunderstorm or a collision with a deer.
Personal accident insurance or accident coverage: If you already have either Personal Injury Protection, Medical Payments Coverage, or health insurance, you can skip on this additional insurance.
Personal effects insurance: This rental car coverage covers any stolen items. You should know that if you already have renters or homeowners insurance, this insurance is unnecessary because both cover stolen property not just inside your house, but outside of it.
If you want to be 100% sure that your homeowners, renters, and/or car insurances carry over, call them or read the policies for yourself. If you pay for the rental using a credit card, the card company may automatically give you some coverage, so its worth calling them as well.
What if you’re borrowing somebody’s car?
If you have your own car and thus have the respective car insurance, you needn’t worry. Furthermore, the lenders policy (as long as they give you permission to drive the car) transfers over to you. But what if you’re borrowing somebody’s car and don’t have your own car insurance?
If you don’t have you own auto insurance coverage and want to borrow someone else’s car, liability coverage may come back to haunt you. Although the lenders liability will transfer over to you, if it is not enough to pay for damages, which you are responsible, you have to pay the difference. If you don’t have a car you can make sure this doesn’t happen by getting a nonowners policy. Of course, if you’re not guilty in an accident, the other persons liability coverage will pay for the damages (although this may not be the case in some states).
If you borrow a car, who pays for damages done to the car itself? The collision and/or comprehensive coverage of the owner will pay if you are guilty, the other party will pay if they are guilty, and your coverage may pay if you have your own full coverage (comprehensive & collision).
Tags: Auto Insurance, car insurance, insurance, short term car insurance, temporary car insurance
