Does Car Rental Insurance Cover Liability If I Cause an Accident?

Rental car insurance typically provides liability coverage.

An important consideration when renting a car is whether you need to purchase insurance from the rental company. One type of available coverage is liability, which protects you if you are deemed at fault in a covered accident.

Identification

Liability insurance provides coverage to third parties if you are at fault in an accident. Types of liability insurance include property damage, which pays for damages to the other driver's vehicle, and bodily injury, which pays for medical bills as a result of covered injuries.

Availability

You can purchase supplemental liability coverage from the rental company when renting a car. According to USA Today, you may be able to purchase up to $1 million of liability coverage.

Considerations

In most cases, the liability coverage from your own auto policy will extend to the rental, so you may not need to purchase the additional coverage. However, if you don't have insurance because you don't own a car or your own policy has low liability limits, you might want to purchase the supplemental coverage.

References

• USA Today: Do You Really Need Car Rental Insurance?