Is Insurance for Car Hire Necessary?

Filed in archive Car Rental Tips on July 16, 2010

© daveynin

When you arrive a the car rentals desk, one thing that the agents will most likely advise is to take car rental insurance as well. You hem and haw, and can't be sure whether you existing insurance policies will cover accidents that may happen with you driving a rental car. Is car rental insurance worth the extra $$$?

Well, in many cases personal insurance may be enough. However, you need to check your policies to be sure, and verify everything before you proceed to the car rental counter.

In certain cases, however, personal policies will not cover accidents that occur during business travels, so if it's a work-related travel, check with your employer if the company's insurance policy will cover car rentals. If you own a car and have insurance, check if your policy covers rental insurance. Consider also that if you have an older car, your insurance policy coverage might not be enough to pay for damages to a brand new SUV.