It depends on the state and rental company. In my rental days, we could not deny someone who did not have insurance a car. If they had a credit card and a license, they could rent up to a certain car type.
Every car carries minimum financial responsibility and is more than likely self-insured by the rental car company.
Source: former rental manager
Not OP, But does it mean that in the US the car insurance belong to the driver rather than to the car ?
Let's say that I rent a car by myself, and don't have a fancy credit card, travel agent or whatever exeternal insurance covering rental-car. If I don't take the extra insurance package at the front-desk and I have an at fault accident. Do I just need to pay let's say 1500 US$ of copay ? or am I fully liable ?
Just to know for next time I rent a car in the US by myself
If you have any active auto insurance policy, they will request proof of it at the counter. Some areas are more strict than others depending on risk. Airports are less likely to ask for insurance info. However, you do not NEED auto insurance to rent a car because the company carries minimum financial responsibility for each car. If you do not take the coverage that they offer, and you do not have an active auto insurance policy, then you will be fully liable for all damages to the rental car. Generally, if you're domestic flying, they will send a legal team after you. If you are international, most rental car companies have Euro and Canadian branches to pursue damages.
Certain states are “no-fault” states. It doesn't matter whose fault the accident was, the renter is responsible for damages to the car if the additional coverage is not purchased. Some companies or local areas may allow you to pursue the at-fault person, but only with a police report and insurance/contact information of the at-fault person. If at-fault party and cannot pay, you are still responsible.
They also can send people to collections
If the car company you're renting from has out-of-state tags on their cars, they're probably self-insured.
Most rental car companies in airports deny debit cards, you need a credit card to rent. Some get away with a debit card if they have a return flight out of the same airport, but local policies may vary.
I will forever and always take the coverage for a rental car, and factor in a $ 25-a-day charge for it. I've seen too many headaches and hearts broken to not pay the extra. The last thing you want when you're traveling cross country with family is to deal with damages that were not caused by you to ruin your insurance/finances.
I always just buy secondary insurance online
The UK version is something like "insurance4carhire"I think
For an extra few quid it covers everything
When I rent in the UK they always tell my that each incident will incur a fixed penalty (e.g. large scratch: £1000, damaged windscreen: £1000) presumably to cover loss of earnings on the vehicle, but also to pressure me into purchasing excess protection.
So I wonder if having the extra insurance would cover these "fine" types of charges that are beyond the cost of repair.
Yes that's the whole point of it. It's called excess insurance. It's insurance for insurance 😂
I've never claimed on it but looking at the reviews there have been very few complaints
I know that it is to cover the excess of damage costs.
I'm asking if they would only pay "reasonable" repair costs if the rental company charges me 1 or 2 thousand for just a large scratch, for instance, which is what Enterprise tell me that they do. (It's usually £1000 but was £2000 when I had a larger vehicle).
I dunno if you're misunderstanding what "excess" is
The car hire company insures you to drive the car, same as you would do with your own car, meaning that's what you pay towards the cost of repair while the insurance company pays the rest.
The excess is what you pay towards the repair cost before the insurance company covers the rest
It doesn't matter whether the damage is a tiny scratch charged at 1000, or the car is totally written off, you only pay the amount you agreed beforehand
You're still insured through the car hire company, the extra insurance is to cover the excess, no matter what the repair company charges, that's not your problem
The distinction that I'm concerned about is that this isn't a charge from the repair company, it's a fee decided by the rental company. Unrelated to the cost of the repair.
It wasn't an invented example, the figures I gave are what they tell me they will bill me for any repair that's needed.
So thank you for clarifying, but I don't think that I'm musunderstanding what an excess is. I'm just wondering if the excess protection would still cover these arbitrary charges from the _rental company.
In Europe, yes it does. In the US, I wouldn't trust anycunt 😂
in order for the vehicle to have plates, it must have the state minimum liability insurance. your auto plan probably explicitly excludes rentals unless you pay extra or have some premium coverage.
Maybe I'm missing something and this isn't what you're asking, but I've always used a credit card with auto rental insurance included (Chase Sapphire to be exact). From everything I've read about that, you get rental insurance via credit card if you decline the rental company's. So if you have a card that provides that, I would just go that route.
At the end of the day, you are the only one who is genuinely interested/invested in ensuring that your ass is protected with a rental vehicle. Rental insurance is one of the things you should neveral generalize; always investigate and fully understand your specific car rental. Never trust that just because you're in province/state X that the rental vehicle must adhere to the local insurance requirements - rental companies often register vehicles outside a specific province/state (because its cheaper) and the liability limits may be very different. Vehicle rental companies generally offer add-on insurance - if you want to go this route then fully read the details and ensure that you are satisfied that you're adequately covered; this is particularly important when you're out-of-country.
Personally, when feasible, I always pay for my rental with a credit card that includes rental insurance that I have confirmed adequately covers me. As a backup, my personal vehicle's insurance also includes full rental coverage. In all cases, make sure to speak with the insurer ahead of time and discuss the limits of the insurance and what their procedure is if you get into an accident, particularly when you're out of your home province/state or country.
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