Temporary Auto Insurance
If you are looking for a short term car insurance policy theres a good chance that you may not even need it…
Is short term car insurance required when you are renting out a car?
The rental company will offer you some combination of liability insurance, personal effects insurance, accident coverage, and/or a loss damage waiver (more commonly known as LDW). If you have your own auto and have the respective auto 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 is a list of the 4 insurance options that the rental car service may offer you and why you probably don’t need them…
Liability insurance: The liability coverage on the auto insurance policy that you already have protects you.
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW): Collision & comprehensive insurance (if you have them on your car), makes this coverage superfluous. Your collision insurance pays for damages to your car regardless of who is at fault in an accident. Comprehensive insurance protects you from damage or loss caused by everything from the weather to burglary.
Personal accident coverage or accident insurance: This type of insurance from rental car companies is health related. If you already have Personal Injury Protection (PIP), health insurance, or Medical Payments coverage, this type of insurance is unnecessary.
Personal effects coverage: This type of coverage protects from the loss of personal items or baggage. If you have homeowners or renters insurance, you likely do not need this coverage as both types of home insurance also cover belonging outside of your house.
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 insurance, you needn’t worry. Your own auto insurance transfers over. Additionally, the lenders car insurance policy will transfer to you. But what happens if you want to borrow a car and don’t have auto insurance for yourself?
If you want to borrow somebody’s car and do not have you car insurance, the main thing, which can hurt you, is lack of liability coverage. Yes, the lenders liability protection will cover you when you borrow their car. But if their liability coverage is not enough, you are liable for any amount, which is not covered by the lenders liability insurance. You can easily prevent this from happening by purchasing a cheap nonowners policy. As always, if you are innocent in an accident, the other person will pay for the cost to repair the lenders vehicle (although this isn’t the case in some states).
But whose going to pay for damages done to the car that was given to you? The owner of the car will pay if they have comprehensive and/or collision coverage. Or you may pay if you have these two coverages.
Tags: Auto Insurance, car insurance, insurance, short term car insurance, temporary car insurance
