Rental car insurance? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Rental car insurance?

daught

daught

Well-known member
I am looking at renting a car for a week. I am a bit confused about the insurance that comes with it. Most companies offer an optional Damage Waiver for $25-$30. From my understanding that covers damage to the vehicle I rented. What about third party liability? Is it included in the rental itself?

I found http://airportrentalcars.com/ where they offer their own insurance against damage to the rented vehicle for $11. That's a lot better than $25. Unfortunately when I booked my rental through them I got an error for the insurance part. Anyone know where I can get reliable damage insurance for rentals?

I have a VISA but it only covers up to $5000 in damages. I don't have a car insured, only my motorcycle.
 
check your existing policy, it *may* just cover rented vehicles.

mine does; but I have a car insured.
 
I was under the impression the insurance adder was to cover the deductible which is usually high on rentals. I always take it because if you don't some sleasy outfits go over the car marking down every scratch, door ding etc. And yes a lot of car policies cover you on rentals. There is a standard code for that but it might only drop the deductible to what you have and the renter can go after you for the parking lot rash. Get the info from your insurance agent for your policy.
 
Check your credit card. My Visa card covers rental car insurance with no deductible. This is on a free visa, not one of those fancy ones that gain useless points. :p
 
Check your auto insurance policy for an opcf27. If you have that coverage it clones the coverage on your own car and you can decline the rental companies coverage all together.
 
CruisnGrrl said:
called my insurance company, they said it is included when you have comprehensive & collision coverage - it is not something you can purchase separately. so if you have comprehensive & collision you're likely covered.
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Most companies will only sell the opcf27 with coll/comp. it still has to be on there tho, it's not enough to just have coll/comp.
 
wasted is right you do need to have it added on its usually 30$ per year and your liability extends from your auto insurance policy as well...
 
In Ontario - as you know - liability insurance is statutory and follows the car (unless you have specific endorsements on your own auto policy that would extend to rental vehicles). The rental company will have liability - and you pay for it. From what I have seen, you are better off to ask what the limit is. My understanding is the minimum limit of liability insurance is $200k in Ontario, and I have seen some rental companies just have that limit. I would look for at least $1M (again, you will likely pay for it).

The Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) - for interest sake - is not insurance, its a waiver that the rental company will not sue you for damage to their vehicle. I would enquire about this as well. I have seen, in one case, a deductible amount of $3,500 for the CDW, so you are better off to "buy this amount down" to a level you can live with. I'm not sure of the insuring agreement with your credit card, but i would ask for a copy and read it well (specifically the endorsements/exclusions section) to see if it would apply to a deductible buy down on any CDW (call them up, they can usually email a pdf).

My own personal theory is that the rental companies use low limits of liability and high deductibles in order to stay competitive with each other.

Remember as well, when you sign the rental agreement that you have to put all those "initials" everywhere indicating you understand and are accpeting/declining the various components...

Good luck - and yes, I agree, i find it confusing as well!
 
CruisnGrrl said:
according to the agent i spoke to saturday, the company i'm with for my car (rbc) adds it in complimentary with collision & comprehensive.
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I used to work for rbc. They may not charge you for it but you have the opcf27. It's likely included in a package that has the opcf20 which more or less provides you with a rental vehicle in the event of an accident. It'll be listed under the endorsements on the certificate of automobile insurance that they mail you every year.
 
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