I want to know if the car I’m renting comes with liability insurance. I just want to be sure that if I am at fault in an accident, that the other car will be covered. Lets try to ignore any personal car insurance policy and let’s ignore collision insurance for now.
I am under the impression that in many countries they are required to give you liability insurance when you rent the car, but I don’t have a good source. Many articles have mixed information.
For the US, this article says:
For a registered car rental company in the US, they must provide a minimum level of liability protection for cars they rent out.
But this other article says
In the U.S., every state requires a minimum amount of liability insurance on car insurance policies, so you may already have liability coverage through your personal auto insurance.
Which sounds like in the US your personal insurance is all you have.
If you have any active auto insurance policy, they will request proof of it at the counter. Some areas are more strict than others depending on risk. Airports are less likely to ask for insurance info. However, you do not NEED auto insurance to rent a car because the company carries minimum financial responsibility for each car. If you do not take the coverage that they offer, and you do not have an active auto insurance policy, then you will be fully liable for all damages to the rental car. Generally, if you’re domestic flying, they will send a legal team after you. If you are international, most rental car companies have Euro and Canadian branches to pursue damages.
Certain states are “no-fault” states. It doesn’t matter whose fault the accident was, the renter is responsible for damages to the car if the additional coverage is not purchased. Some companies or local areas may allow you to pursue the at-fault person, but only with a police report and insurance/contact information of the at-fault person. If at-fault party and cannot pay, you are still responsible.
They also can send people to collections
If the car company you’re renting from has out-of-state tags on their cars, they’re probably self-insured.
Most rental car companies in airports deny debit cards, you need a credit card to rent. Some get away with a debit card if they have a return flight out of the same airport, but local policies may vary.
I will forever and always take the coverage for a rental car, and factor in a $ 25-a-day charge for it. I’ve seen too many headaches and hearts broken to not pay the extra. The last thing you want when you’re traveling cross country with family is to deal with damages that were not caused by you to ruin your insurance/finances.