There are many questions one might have about car insurance policies. What type of policies are available, do the policies cover all the damages to your car or different policies are needed for different damages? Perhaps the greatest confusion that arises regarding car insurance is the type of coverage you get for a rental car. For example, what if your rental car breaks down? Does your car insurance cover it, or are you on your own? Let’s find out.
Does Car Insurance Cover Breakdowns for Rental?
It is important to know that no car insurance policy will cover the cost of fixing a car breakdown. So no matter what car you are driving, or if it is your car or a rental car, if your car breaks down, you are liable to pay for the repairs. There is no car insurance policy, at least offered by any major car insurance companies, that covers car breakdowns.
When it comes to rental cars, the same rule applies. You can have liability coverage, collision coverage, rental car coverage, and even roadside assistance. Yet none of the policies will pay for car breakdowns. You are on your own.
What do Different Policies Cover
To get a better picture of what car insurance policies cover, take a look at some of the most popular car insurance policies and their coverage that might be relatable to a car breakdown.
Collision Damage Waiver: There could be many reasons why a car breaks down or malfunctions. Usage, internal damage, and improper maintenance are some of the usual suspects. A collision damage waiver is the car insurance coverage that pays for the repairs needed to fix damages due to collision accidents.
So if you are driving your car and hit another car, or someone else hits your car, or you just hit a pole or a tree, the damages directly or indirectly due to the collision will be covered under collision coverage. You will be reimbursed for the repair bills.
So here’s the scenario; if your rental car, or any car for that matter, breaks down and it is due to a collision accident, even a bad hit due to a pothole, then you can claim your collision coverage policy and get the money needed for the repairs. But there must be a collision accident.
If there isn’t a collision, and the car just breaks down, a collision damage waiver is useless in such situations. Coming to rental cars, if you have a collision damage waiver policy, it usually covers rental cars as well. So you can claim it (if applicable) if you crash a rental car.
If you do not have a collision coverage policy, you’ll be asked to buy one by the rental company as these companies do not hand over the car keys unless there’s a valid collision coverage to safeguard their investment.
Something worth noting is that collision coverage policies are usually very expensive, as expensive as liability coverage. So you must choose the right policy at the right price. If you are looking for policies, make sure that you choose the best car insurance coverage in your state.
For example, if you live in Georgia, then search for cheap Georgia car insurance policies and select the one that fits your requirements the best. Remember to keep a sufficient coverage limit, and make sure that the policy has all the features you’ll be needing. With all these assured, you’ll have a great policy without breaking the bank.
Comprehensive Coverage
Picture this; you are using a rental car and staying at a motel. In the middle of the night you hear some noise and in the morning find that someone was trying to get inside your car. While the attempt failed, your car sustained damages and now it won’t start. Does your car insurance policy cover such specific cases? If you have comprehensive coverage, then it would.
A comprehensive coverage policy covers all the damages that may happen to your car while it is parked. So if your car or a rental car gets damaged due to a theft attempt (or gets stolen), animal attack (rats, etc), riots, vandalism, or lightning strikes it (along with all the other natural calamities such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricane, etc).
But comprehensive coverage is only applicable when the damage is due to these specific conditions. A normal malfunction or a breakdown without any damage from an external source will not be covered. If you have comprehensive coverage, it will cover both personal cars and rental cars.
But if you do not have comprehensive coverage, the rental company will ask you to buy it from them on a per-day basis. Consider getting it especially if you are going to someplace where natural disasters or extreme weather conditions are common.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage is a very important car insurance policy with a very specific use case. This policy can be claimed if the at-fault driver either does not have liability coverage or has one but it is not enough to pay for the entire cost of the accident.
If your car gets hit by another car and it’s in a hit-and-run condition, then you can claim UM/UIM policy and get the money needed to fix the car. But this policy does not cover normal car breakdowns.
Roadside Assistance
Many people might get a roadside assistance add-on to their existing car insurance policy and think that it will cover the breakdown repair charges, but this is false. Roadside assistance does not cover the cost of car breakdowns. If your car breaks down, roadside assistance will cover the cost of towing the car, and that’s all. You’ll have to pay for the repairs from your pocket.
