Rental Car Insurance

Our agency gets many inquiries from clients who want to know what, if anything, their insurance covers when they rent a car on vacation, business, etc. It seems like a simple question, but (like everything with insurance) there are a number of different considerations that make the answer a little more complicated than a simple "yes" or "no".

The good news is that the Georgia personal Auto policy "follows" YOU and HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS when renting or borrowing private passenger autos on vacation. The policy stipulates that the rented or borrowed vehicle must be a "replacement" vehicle, which means that the vehicle from which coverage is being temporarily transferred must not be in use at the same time as the rented or borrowed vehicle. Obviously, only the coverages that you have on your Georgia personal auto policy would transfer - if you don't have medical payments, collision, comprehensive, etc. coverage on your own car then your policy would not provide those coverages on a rental car, so be sure to be familiar with your policy before renting a vehicle.

The Georgia personal auto policy is also very clear about the fact that it will only provide coverage to other private passenger autos while being used by you or a household member with the consent of the owner, which in the case of a rental car would be the company from whom you rent the vehicle. Rental contracts list specific violations that void the contract and could cause you to "lose consent of the owner".

A few other items in the Georgia personal auto policy to consider when renting a car:

• All policy coverages have a "regular use" exclusion. If you rent a vehicle for too long a period of time - usually 30 days - the policy will exclude coverage

• Collision and comprehensive coverage pay on an ACV (actual cash value) basis. Some rental contracts require replacement value, fair rental value, or "manufacturers buyback program value".

• Rental contracts require additional values such as loss of use, administrative charges, diminishment in value, towing, and storage charges should the vehicle be damaged.

Another important consideration is whether your Georgia personal automobile policy will cover loss of use (downtime) charged to you by the rental car company for the rental income they are unable to collect while a vehicle you damaged is being repaired. This subject is not specifically addressed in the Georgia auto policy, but a careful reading of the policy language leaves one with the impression that loss of use is most likely covered. It's a claim that would have to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, but the policy does not specifically exclude loss of use coverage so it's a claim that could be valid - at least until the Department of Insurance changes the policy language.

Finally, there are some other issues that should be considered when renting a car; specific situations that may void the rental contract, whether insurance coverage purchased through the rental car company is primary or secondary, possible coverages available through a credit card, etc. The best advise for these and many other specific questions is to READ THE RENTAL CONTRACT! It's also a good idea to also familiarize yourself with the specifics of your automobile insurance policy and the insurance that you may have through your credit card. If you have further questions about rental car insurance please don't hesitate to contact us at: info@griffinagency.com