Car Rental Insurance: Are You Covered?

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Car Rental Insurance Are You Covered?
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• Picture it youre planning a weeklong trip to
  tour around the province, starting in St.
  Catharines or Niagara Falls, going up through
  Algonquin Park and back through the Haliburton
  area, with stops in Toronto and Hamilton, to see
  the sites.
• Sounds great, right? Then you get an email from a
  car rental company you used once, with a special
  week long offer. Your car already has a lot of
  mileage so this seems like a great solution.

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• Off you go. Halfway through Algonquin Park,
  you have an accident with another vehicle that
  shot across the road in front of you, so they
  could photograph a moose. Now what?
• The steps you take following an accident,
  whether in your car or a rental car, are more or
  less the same except that you will need to notify
  the car rental agency as well.
• The more important thing to know is the
  steps you need to take BEFORE you leave the
  agency lot with your rental.

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• Before You Go Pick Up Your Rental, Check Your
  Insurance Coverage
• Actually, dont just check double check and
  triple check your insurance coverage. There are
  three ways you can be covered in your rental
  vehicle
• Your own auto insurance policy

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• Insurance providers in Ontario have an
  endorsement available for auto policies called an
  OPCF 27Legal Liability for Damage to Non-Owned
  Automobiles. Its more commonly known as the
  rental vehicle endorsement. The OPCF 27 is
  intended to extend your insurance policy to
  include rental vehicles.

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• Many policies have this included but its not
  automatic, so you need to check your policy to
  see if you have it. It can be added on to most
  policies for a minimal annual cost. Certainly,
  its cheaper than the daily rate for the
  Collision Damage Waiver offered by the rental car
  company (more on that below!)
• A couple of caveats with regards to relying
  on the OPCF 27 endorsement to cover your rental
  vehicle

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• It will only apply to vehicles being driven in
  Canada and the US. If you decide to venture
  further, into Mexico for example, or if you are
  renting a car overseas, you would need additional
  coverage.
• The endorsement only applies if the person
  renting the car is the same as the person named
  on the policy. Further, it might not cover any
  other drivers who are not named on your policy.
  So if your cousin is coming with you on the trip,
  they cant drive the rental without additional
  coverage being purchased.

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• If something were to happen to your vehicle at
  homesay, it got stolenAND you had an accident
  with the rental car, the insurance company might
  only cover one claim.
• What coverage you have on your existing car is
  what coverage you have on your rental. If you
  dont have collision on your car because its an
  older model, you wont have it on the rental.

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• Your coverage wont extend to a high end or
  luxury vehicle, so you can forget about renting a
  Ferrari, if what you normally drive is a Toyota!
  It will also not extend to trucks and vans, so if
  youre renting a truck to help your brother move
  to a new apartment, buy the coverage the rental
  agency offers you.
• But Im covered on my credit card

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• Many credit cards offer collision damage
  protection as part of the benefits but you need
  to check your contract with them to make sure of
  the details.
• Most cards also have conditions such as
  requiring that you rent from certain companies in
  order for the coverage to apply, and limitations
  as to who may drive the vehicle.
• Also, not all cards include third party
  liability coverage so if you dont have a car
  insurance policy of your own, you might not have
  liability coverage.

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• Youll also have to use that card to pay for
  the entire rental, and they might require that
  you decline the Damage Waiver that the rental
  company offers you. And again, forget about the
  Ferrari
• Car rental agency coverage
• Car rental agencies will require you to
  accept or decline a Collision Damage Waiver
  policy, charged on a daily basis, for the
  duration of your rental.

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• For most collisions, having the waiver
  basically ensures that you dont have to deal
  with the cost of some damage to the vehicle.
• This coverage only covers the value of the
  vehicle. If you dont have an OPCF 27 on your own
  insurance policy, or you dont have a car with a
  policy, you wont be covered for injury, loss of
  property, or even liability.
• You could end up facing a lawsuit if you are
  at fault in a collision. Some agencies offer
  additional coverage for medical expenses, but
  these too need to be carefully reviewed.
• As with the other options, there are
  exceptions, so read the fine print carefully!

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When You Pick Up Your Car Rental, Double Check
The Fine Print On Your Rental Agreement

• If you decide to drive along unpaved roads while
  on your trip to Algonquin Park, and you bought
  the Collision Damage Waiver coverage from the
  rental company, you might not be covered for any
  resulting damage from an accident on said road.

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• If you drive to a different province without
  having specified that in the contract and have an
  accident there? Your coverage could be void. If
  you break the law in the course of the accident,
  and receive a ticket, you could void the
  coverage.
• These and other exceptions vary from rental
  agency to rental agency so its absolutely
  essential that you check the fine print before
  you sign.
• It sounds complicated, but really, its all
  about checking the details with your insurance
  broker / agent and / or your credit card company
  before you leave on your trip, to make sure you
  are covered for all eventualities.

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• The cost of a damaged rental car is NOT
  something you want to have to deal with, to say
  nothing of injuries of people in the other
  vehicle, if youre at fault. Take your time, read
  the fine print, and enjoy your trip.
• https//derekwilsonlaw.ca