A question we are often asked by my customers is "Do I need to buy the insurance from the rental car company when I am renting a car?"
It is a good question, and something most of us will need to deal with from time to time.
Generally, if you are renting the car for personal use, and you have a Minnesota personal auto policy, you will not need to buy the additional insurance from the rental car agency. Any damage to the rental car will be covered by the property damage liability coverage on your Minnesota personal auto policy. As always, you may want to look at your policy limits to determine if you may need additional coverage. Your Minnesota policy will provide property damage liability with a limit of at least $35,000 when renting a car, but you may need more coverage than this minimum limit. For example, if you are in an accident that is your fault, and you cause damage to both the rental car and another vehicle, the total amount of damage may be higher than your coverage limit. Or, if the value of the rented vehicle is greater than your policy limit, and there is a total loss to the vehicle, you would not have enough coverage to pay the entire loss.
This coverage for rental cars is provided by an endorsement that must be added to all personal auto policies issued for the state of Minnesota, so if your policy is issued in a different state, this information would not apply.
For the coverage to apply, you must be renting the car in the coverage territory, generally this will be within the United States or Canada. The car must be rented for personal use, not business use. The rental period cannot be more than one month, and the rental rate must be determined on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Also, the rented vehicle must fit the description of an auto in your policy, so if you are renting a truck, motor home or trailer, you may not have coverage for that vehicle. You would have coverage for a typical moving truck if the gross vehicle weight is 26,000 pounds or less.
As always, if you have questions about your own policy, please be sure to contact our office & we can discuss your individual situation. That is why we are here.