We have all been there. We are flying to a vacation or work destination and need transportation when we arrive. Enter the rental car. Most of us book before we leave and compare prices so we get the best deal possible. I mean they all have four wheels and a motor right? As long as all of our luggage and kiddo’s fit, there is no reason to over pay for the car.
So we take off and finally make it to the rental counter just wanting to get the car and start relaxing. That’s when they ask the question. “You do want the Damage Waiver right? It’s only $28 a day and will cover you for anything that may happen to the rental car.” If you’re like me, everything that could go wrong starts to pop into your head. Will a rock crack the windshield, or a person dent the car in the parking lot? What if someone hits me while I’m driving? I know I’m a good driver, but man are there some horrible drivers out there. Then I start to rationalize, “$28 dollars a day to not have to worry about anything seems like an okay deal. I mean I am here to relax right?”
But is it really an okay deal? If you do purchase the waiver coverage for a trip lasting 5 days that’s an extra $140. Now the deal we looked around so hard to get just became less of a deal. But when we look closer, there is something else that makes it seem even worse. If you have a full coverage policy on your vehicle, you may already be covered for anything that would happen to the rental car. That means you are essentially paying for insurance on the rental car twice.
What the Damage Waiver offers is comprehensive and collision coverage on the vehicle, supplemental liability, personal effects coverage, and personal accident insurance. If we look at most full coverage policies, the policy holder is covered for any vehicle driven, as long as you have permission to drive the vehicle. So as long as the policy limits are adequate, there should be little worry as to whether anything would happen to the rental car. This would also negate the need for the supplemental liability insurance because all this insurance would cover is any expense that would be greater than the vehicle insurance policy limits (think umbrella policy). As far as the personal effects coverage and the personal accident insurance, most individuals who have either renters or home insurance and health insurance are already covered in these areas as well.
The key here is to talk to your insurance agent and make sure your policy covers you for rental cars and that your policy limits are adequate. If your policy does cover you, then you know you can skip the rental car insurance with confidence. Taking a few minutes to talk to your agent may save you a couple hundred dollars that can be better spent on the important things in life, like novelty vacation shirts or sea shells with googly eyes.