Business : Car rental insurance: You may already be covered

Summer is the most popular time of the year for families to take vacations, but if your next vacation includes a trip to the rental car counter, you may be paying for insurance that you don’t need.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that in many cases, the coverage and deductibles on your personal auto policy also apply to a rental car obtained for personal use. If you don’t have comprehensive and collision coverage on your own car, however, you will not be covered if your rental car is stolen or damaged in an accident. Contact

your agent to find out if there are any situations in which your auto policy would not cover a rental car.

In addition to your personal auto policy, many credit cards include some level of collision and theft coverage when you use the card to pay for your rental. These benefits are typically secondary to your personal auto insurance or the car rental company’s insurance, meaning the credit card company will only pay claims after other insurance coverage has been exhausted.

Keep these tips in mind:

• If your current auto policy doesn’t include rental car coverage; you may be able to add an insurance rider inexpensively.

• Coverage extended from a personal auto policy may not cover some additional charges imposed by rental car companies.

• When traveling on business, a personal auto policy typically will not apply.

• If it is a longer-term rental, there may be limitations on the coverage your auto policy provides.

When planning your next trip, be sure to contact your agent to learn more about your auto coverage. Knowing more about your policy could save you money at the rental car counter.

Sources: “Do I Need Insurance to Rent a Car?”, Insurance Information Institute, www.iii.org.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners, www.naic.org.

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