The best rental car insurance is your personal car insurance policy. If you already have car insurance for your personal vehicle, you should be covered up to your normal policy limits when driving a rental car in the United States and Canada. If you don’t have a personal car insurance policy, you can purchase rental car insurance from the rental car company or third-party providers like Bonzah and Allianz.
Third-party rental car insurance providers are affordable, costing around $11 to $23 per day, depending on the type of coverage. In comparison, the insurance a rental car company will sell you at the counter can easily cost twice as much.
Best Third-Party Rental Car Insurance Companies
- Bonzah
- Sure
- Allianz
- RentalCover.com
Bonzah is the best third-party rental car insurance provider because it’s one of the few options with supplemental liability insurance and the only one that offers liability coverage for cars rented in both the U.S. and Canada. Bonzah also offers the required, state minimum liability as primary coverage for an additional cost. Most of the other major providers protect you from the cost of rental car repairs, vehicle breakdowns, trip interruption, and/or stolen personal items, but they lack liability coverage options.
Some credit cards also provide rental car insurance, though they only cover damage to the rental car itself rather than bodily injury or property damage liability. Most cards offer secondary coverage, too, meaning that you must file a claim with your own car insurance company first – if you have one – before filing a claim with the card.
How to Choose the Best Rental Car Insurance for You
Determine whether you want to use your personal car insurance policy.
Some drivers consider their primary insurance to be the best option, especially when paired with the right credit card, since there’s no extra cost. But drivers who need additional coverage or who don’t want to pay their normal insurance deductible can purchase third-party rental insurance. Finally, buying insurance at the rental car counter is the most expensive choice, but it does add convenience and peace of mind.
Read the fine print of your insurance policy or credit card’s terms.
If you plan to use your standard insurance policy or your credit card as rental car insurance, just be sure to read the fine print or call your insurer to make sure you’ll be covered. Also, check that you’ll fulfill the state’s minimum requirements for car insurance to avoid driving without sufficient coverage.
Make sure you’re following the state’s insurance laws.
In most states, rental car companies automatically include the mandatory minimum coverage in your contract. Some states, like California, allow companies to rent out cars without providing any insurance. Consequently, if you don’t have a standard car insurance policy and you rent a car in California without purchasing liability coverage from the rental car company or a third-party insurer, you will be driving illegally without insurance.
To learn more, check out WalletHub’s complete guide on rental car insurance.
This answer was first published on 04/11/24. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.
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