This is a tricky question because not all auto insurance policies are created equal when it comes to coverage for rental cars. In Pennsylvania, it is required that your personal auto policy state in bold on the Declaration Page that the policy covers rental cars. That seems all well and fine. Take a look at the Declaration Page, and you can see if you have rental car coverage. But not so fast…
You may have coverage to repair the vehicle if you are in a collision or hit a deer, but when you signed your rental agreement, you agreed to pay for the rental company’s loss of use for that vehicle too. That means they can charge you whatever they are losing each day that the vehicle is being repaired. So think a vehicle that rents for $50 per day, and it is out of service for 10 days. That is $500 that they can charge. A lot of insurance policies do not cover that loss of use charge that you are obligated to pay, and the ones that do are often limited to $20 per day. You could be responsible to pay that loss of use on your own.
The rental car companies always offer coverage to you. If that coverage is a reasonable cost, it is always worth it. It is the only guarantee that if you damage the vehicle you can walk away and everything will be paid for to fix the vehicle.
Scott A. Surra, CIC – Insurance Producer/Insurance Educator, St Mary’s Insurance Agency & Affiliates, Inc.
