When rental cars, pickups, and moving trucks are involved in accidents, liability for damages, injuries and fatalities can vary significantly depending on the type of vehicle rented, the insurance that is obtained, and the cause of the crash. While credit card insurance policies, supplemental insurance that is offered by the rental company, and personal car insurance are often used to cover damages, their coverage limits, terms and exclusions are not uniform. A car accident lawyer may review all of the potential sources of recovery so that his or her client receives fair compensation for the losses that he or she suffered.
Table of Contents
What to Know About Coverage
Credit card insurance may cover rental car accidents in some cases. However, people should read their policies carefully to identify the terms of coverage. In many cases, rental car accidents are only covered when the cardholder pays for the rental in its entirety with the card. These policies may limit the coverage to the rental vehicle only, and vehicles that weigh more than 9,000 pounds might be excluded.
If people have personal insurance coverage, their policies might also cover accidents in rental vehicles. Since coverage and terms vary between types of policies and companies, they may need to review their policies to determine what damages their policies cover in the event of an accident. If an accident is caused by another driver, that motorist’s insurance should pay for the damage to the rental vehicle and for any injuries that the rental car occupants may have sustained up to the available policy limits.
People who only have liability coverage on their personal cars or whose insurance will not cover rental trucks or cars may purchase the supplemental insurance offered by the rental companies. Consumers may also decide to purchase supplemental insurance if their personal policy has a high deductible. Most rental companies offer a number of coverage options in a variety of price ranges that cover different types of damages. When electing to buy insurance from a rental company, consumers should review the different supplemental insurance coverage options and choose the one that will provide the most appropriate level of protection.
A car accident lawyer may review all potential sources of recovery when people have been injured by someone who was driving a rental vehicle.
