What insurance for a car rental

Published on : 04 April 20193 min reading time

Do you want to rent a car and already have car insurance for your own vehicle? So, it may be superfluous to buy another through the renter. However, it does not necessarily leave you the choice. And often he is not wrong …

Driving on public roads must be ensured. This obligation applies irrespective of the owner of the vehicle. If you just have your driver’s license and rent a car, you must have a car insurance policy. The renter provides it to you with the rental agreement. What does it cover? And what if you already have auto insurance for your own vehicle?

Driver’s license holder, without car: car insurance of the renter

If you do not own a 2, 3 or 4 wheel vehicle, you are not insured for driving on public roads. Once you have a valid driver’s license, you are free to rent a car. The holidays are conducive to this type of rental.

Once the renter has chosen, read the rental agreement in full before signing it. This is the only way to know exactly what type of auto insurance you buy: damage covered, exclusions (the list is often very long: study it closely), franchises, ceilings beyond which you will be not compensated.

The insurance of car rental companies

In general, car rental insurance contracts simply provide for liability insurance (CR), to repair the damage caused to others with the rental car. In addition, theft, theft, fire, damage to the vehicle by a third party are sometimes added. Nevertheless, these benefits are accompanied by deductibles, that is to say of sums remaining at your expense whatever.

After a careful reading of the proposed conditions, you have 2 possibilities:

  • The insurance offer is right for you, considering the routes envisaged and the risks that you will take.
  • The auto insurance policy does not seem to you enough. In this case, the renter offers additional options, via surcharges, to cover for example theft, breakage, troubleshooting, punctures.

You already have auto insurance

If you are already a driver of a car, you have car insurance. Before you even go to the lessor, take your insurance contract, or call your insurer. Check together if the lease of a vehicle is provided for in the contract. Indeed, many contracts extend, for example, insurance of bodily injury of the driver to the driving of a rental car. A particularly interesting guarantee.

Other contracts also buy out the insurers’ insurance franchises. In other words, your own auto insurance policy will pay the amounts that the renter leaves to you.

All these reasons justify a thorough examination of your contract. Especially if you keep the rental car all the holidays. And, if you want additional guarantees, more appropriate to your destination or your trips, call an insurance broker. The latter will help you find a contract complementary to that of the lessor, at a fair price.

Online advice on choosing car rental insurance
Car rental: what type of insurance do you need?

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