Why Buy Auto Insurance for Rentals?

Whether you're on vacation, going out of town for business, or renting a car while yours is in the shop, everybody who has ever rented knows that the service staff will try to get you to buy insurance for the vehicle. They'll make you feel stupid for not wanting to buy it! After all, you'll have to pay so much if you crash it. You'll only be using it for a week! But even then, minimum coverage is soooo cheap, they say.
Most give right in and pay the extra money, not wanting to take any risks.
Guess want—it's totally unnecessary! Well, for most people.

You Probably Already Have Rental Car Coverage

Most auto insurance policies come with liability coverage, which extends to your rental cars as well. This protects you from getting put in a difficult financial position if you injure somebody or damage another person's property in a collision—if you are found at-fault, that is. And whether you're driving your own vehicle, your mother's, a friend's, or a rental, you are protected by your insurance policy.
Your current insurance policy probably even gives you some physical damage coverage. If you get in a crash in a rental car, you are technically damaging someone else's property. Being that you are responsible for damaging the rental agency's vehicle, your insurance will cover it.
There's one catch: you only have so much coverage. This stuff is not unlimited, so if you wreck a Ferrari, you might not have the $100k to pay for the damages, but most cheap rental cars will fall within your scope of coverage.

Why You Should Pay by Credit Card

Believe it or not, credit card companies frequently include insurance coverage for purchases you make using their card. So if you rent a car with your credit card, the credit card issuer might provide some limited insurance already. In fact, it may be as much as the rental agency.

Credit card companies often have special deals with certain rental car companies—Hertz, Enterprise, Budget, Avis—that give you special rates as well.
If you can afford to pay off your credit card right away, there really is no downside to charging your rental.

Another Reason to Buy Collision Coverage

Let's face it: nobody can be in complete control of their vehicle at all times. While we all may be skeptical of the term "at-fault", thinking we are safe drivers and will never be at-fault, these things just happen. Even to the best of us!

It takes just a stressful day at the office, being late for an appointment, or a sneeze to be liable for a collision that totals your car.

If that's the case, your auto insurance is not going to cover the repairs to your vehicle—or the costs of a rental car while you're getting repairs.
However, if you have Collision coverage, you have nothing to worry about, aside from increased premiums.

Collision coverage will make sure your vehicle is replaced or repaired and it will often pay for a rental vehicle for you in the mean time.

When you have Collision auto insurance coverage, you don't have to worry about crashing the rental. Collision coverage on your normal auto insurance policy will protect you and your rental car too!

Pay As You Drive Implementation

Spy boxes will also help with "pay as you drive" auto insurance, where you are charged by the number of miles—and where—you drive. Keep an eye on your state to see if you can get this for your car insurance.

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