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It’s road trip season! Two reasons why you need rental car insurance

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Summer is peeking just around the corner – warm nights, brisk mornings, time spent with family on vacation, and hopefully, a few adventurous road trips!

 

If you’re like most of us, you like to rent a car instead of putting your own car through the drama of a long drive. But if you’re not an insurance pro, you’re probably not aware of all the risks involved in renting a car.

 

When you’re renting a car, do  you ever feel pressured by the rental car agent when he or she asks you if you want to buy additional rental car insurance?

 

Well, we’ll break it down for you here.  When considering if you are going to buy rental car insurance or not, ask yourself these 2 questions:

 

  1. Does my personal car insurance policy include liability and full coverage?
  2. If an accident happens, am I prepared to pay out of pocket for loss of use? What about loss of depreciation?

 

If your answer to question #2 is “no,” then yes, you DO need rental car insurance. Sadly, if you answered “yes” to question #1, may still want to purchase rental car insurance because your own insurance won’t cover everything with a capital “E!”

 

While your personal auto insurance policy may cover any property or personal damage that you cause, there are still some gaps in your coverage.  And unfortunately, even if you have what we consider as “full” coverage, there are still holes in rental car coverage if you were in an accident.

 

So don’t ruin your road trip, here are two reasons to buy rental car insurance:

 

#1 – Loss of use

Loss of use it is exactly what it sounds like.  It is loss of use of the rental car.  If you wreck the car and it is your fault, during the time that vehicle is being fixed and unusable the rental car company is losing money because it can’t rent that car.  You are responsible for that cost.  99% of all insurance companies specifically exclude this coverage, meaning they will not pay and the bill is put on your credit card.

 

#2 – Loss of depreciation/value

This Is coverage that comes into play in the instance that you wreck the rental car and the value of the car becomes less than before the accident. For example, if you wreck a $25,000 car and after repairs it is valued at $20,000, you are responsible for the difference. This can add up to a huge expense and most insurance companies will not cover this.

 

Before you take off on your road trip this summer give yourself some instant peace of mind, and protect your pocket book by purchasing rental car insurance.  Don’t let the rental car agents pressure you into buying insurance.  Go in there decidingly knowing that you want rental car insurance and get rid of the other pressure that will hinder complete enjoyment and freedom during your road trip summer.

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by gabenix

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