Rental Cars and Insurance Coverage in Oklahoma

Protect Yourself When You're in a Rental

Let’s say you have just arrived at the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, on a trip for either business or leisure purposes. You gather your luggage, make your way to the rental car counter, and select your vehicle. As you are in the process of wrapping up the transaction, the rental agent asks the inevitable question of whether you want to purchase rental car insurance. The right answer to this question? It depends.

Why Buy Rental Insurance?

Reasons why people renting a car might want to consider purchasing supplemental rental car coverage include:

• Their own personal auto policy may or may not cover rental vehicles, and even if it does, it may only cover damage to the vehicle or liability (or both).
• They may have credit card coverage for rental vehicles, again, which may or may not cover comprehensive, collision, or liability claims.
• Their health insurance may cover any or all injuries they sustain in an accident, but would not cover injuries sustained by another person.
• Some types of vehicles, or some types of travel, are excluded from their coverage.

The bottom line is that knowledge truly is power. While reading your car insurance policy and credit card coverage documentation can be about as much fun as watching paint dry, most of what you need to know in order to make an informed decision is written in the pages.

What Kinds of Insurance Do You Need To Consider?

When renting a car, there are several types of insurance available:

• Collision damage (also known as loss damage): This would be relevant in instances where there is damage to the rental vehicle itself or other property. This could be sustained in an accident, or be something as simple as a flat tire. Depending on the severity of the vehicle damage, this waiver would potentially save you thousands of dollars in repair costs. To be clear, these costs may be covered under your own comprehensive or collision policy.
• Personal liability: This would be relevant where there are injuries to property or persons other than you. Most states, including Oklahoma, require drivers to maintain a minimum level of insurance, which may NOT be sufficient to pay for the damages sustained by an injured party. This would then be a useful and helpful extension of insurance.
• Personal effects coverage: Covers your stuff while it is in the car. This would essentially allow you to cover the contents of the vehicle.
• Personal insurance: Covers the medical costs for injuries after an accident.

Whether you are the cause of an accident with a rental car or the unlucky victim, it is essential that you understand the nature of insurance with respect to rental vehicles. IF you are the driver and you cause an accident, and you declined to add rental insurance, you may be looking at significant out-of-pocket costs. And if you were the victim of an accident with a rental car, you may be forced to jump through multiple hoops to figure out who to turn to for help with coverage of lost wages, medical expenses, and other damages.

Regardless of whose fault it is, getting advice and counsel from an Oklahoma car accident attorney is a wise choice. If you or a loved one was involved in a rental car accident, call Car Accident Help at (405) 285-4357.

Additional Information

• What to Do If You Get into an Accident in a Rental Vehicle
• Should You Buy Extra Rental Car Insurance at the Counter?
• Why You Don't Need to Buy Extra Car Rental Insurance
• Car Rental Insurance Tip Sheet
• Rental car insurance - III

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