When you rent a car on vacation or because your car is getting repairs, you will typically be responsible for any accidents that occur while you are driving. If you are involved in a car accident with a rental car, your first concern should be insurance. Does your insurance cover the rental car accident? Some rental car agencies provide additional coverage for renters. This coverage is optional, but may be a good idea if you are sure that your credit card or personal insurance won't cover an unexpected accident. According to AOL Autos, it is essential to know whether or not you are covered when it comes to a rental car.
Some credit cards provide insurance for items that are purchased on the car. If this is true for your credit card, the credit card insurance probably only provides for damage to the vehicle. Credit card coverage cannot help you if you have injured others or damaged other cars in the accident. In this case, the victims of the crash may be able to sue you personally, especially if you violated a traffic law in causing the accident.
If you assume that your credit card coverage will be enough, make sure that it is primary coverage. If you only have secondary coverage, this means that you will have to go through your own insurance company first to seek coverage. The credit card company will only pick up any expenses that are left. In these situations, your insurance premiums will probably increase. This is because your insurance company will be notified of the accident.
Even if you have primary coverage on your credit card, remember that all cards are not created equal. Some cards that are geared towards travelers have great rental car insurance. Others have very specific exclusions to coverage. This means that you may not be able to get coverage depending on the nature of the accident. Some credit cards won't cover luxury rental cars, so if you crash a Porsche or a Bentley, you shouldn't expect any help from your credit card company.
Other policies exclude vans and SUVs. If you use your business credit card to rent a car, it is important to make sure that it's truly business travel. If you use the business card for a pleasure trip, or even for a trip that is part-pleasure and part-business, then you may be out-of-luck when you ask for coverage. Normally, businesses will require that you confirm that your trip was solely business as part of the approvals process for the claims.
Some credit card insurance policies also exclude specific countries from coverage. According to Shuman & Adams, there are at least five countries that are rarely covered in credit card insurance policies. When you rent a car in Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Italy, or Ireland, be aware that you are probably not covered by your credit card. In these countries you will want to purchase any insurance policies that the rental company offers as a preparation.
Whenever you are travelling, you should contact your credit card company ahead of time and ask if they cover rentals in the area that you are heading to. You should also ask if there are any exclusions regarding the car policy, to make sure that the car that you are renting is covered. If you are injured in a rental car accident, but believe that the accident is the rental agency's fault, you may be able to seek compensation from them. For example, if the tires were not changed and they burst on the freeway because of neglectful maintenance, then you may be able to sue. Contact a local car accident firm today if you want to learn more!