Liability Auto Insurance in California

If you live in the state of California, you may want to read this as it is important to learn about auto coverage.

The state of California can be such a fun drive, checking out every nook of what it has to offer from the beautiful beaches to the wild nightly entertainment in San Francisco and Los Angles, but what happens when you get hit by another car? Is it your fault? Where do you turn? All of these questions can be frustrating, but easily answered.

There are many auto insurance groups in the state of California alone. They range from well known ones to local ones right down your street. But how do you figure out who to go with? The first thing that you ask yourself is how much for liability.

Liability – First you need to define what liability really is. In simple terms, all it is covering someone else’s losses. That doesn’t sound like something that you would need, but you would be surprised. If and when you get into an accident it may be technically your fault. No one likes to think that it will happen to them, but it does and all too often. So don’t feel that putting liability as part of your auto coverage means that you’re a bad driver because you’re not. All it does is add an extra measure of protection onto your existing policy.
Cost and Features – Liability does not stop at just covering someone else’s belongings. It does so much more to make sure you’re safe. As for the cost, you won’t have to sweat the small stuff as it runs very low. Each provider has a set cost for what they would charge. You have to do research and see which ones could end up benefiting you. Besides general liability there are two other kinds. The first ones acts just like the original liability but it also covers businesses. Yes, to answer your question, traditional liability does not cover businesses because they are their own separate entity. The second type is called D & O this stands for directors and officers. What this type does is covers any director or officer who serves in the military. If at any time an accident occurs and you hold this type of position you will be covered by adding this onto your insurance.
What Else Does Liability Cover? That’s a great question because liability does, in fact, cover more than the other person; it also covers you. That’s what is called physical injury liability. It’s the most basic and most carried policy. So if you’re involved in an accident, this will cover the other person. This is a good thing because it prevents money from coming out of your pocket.

Property damage is the other thing that it protects from coming out of your pocket. For a few dollars a month, you can have the protection of liability and a shield from having to pay for someone else’s property.

How Much Is Liability Insurance for a Car?

If you are wondering “how much is liability insurance for a car?” it probably means you are in the market for a new policy or you are comparing rates with the current policy provider premiums you already have in place. There are many common questions that arise when someone is shopping around for car insurance, especially liability insurance. So, to help have it all make sense here are answers to some of those frequently asked questions.

How much is liability insurance for a car? There is no flat rate that can be quoted for liability auto insurance because so much of it depends on variable factors. For example, the very state you live in plays a big part in deciding your rates because different states require different minimum amounts. Not only that but your liability costs could even vary based on your zip code. You can try doing further research on the average liability car insurance costs per state, but will probably have better luck simply using your zip code to get free liability car insurance quotes.

What does liability car insurance cover? Liability is the most basic auto insurance coverage you can get. In many states there is a required minimum of this to drive legally. If you are the at fault driver in a collision, your liability insurance will cover medical and property damages you cause, up to a certain amount. Keep in mind if you live in a state that requires liability auto insurance coverage and are caught driving without it, you could receive serious fines and penalties.

What does the breakdown for liability coverage mean? Usually when you see the numerical breakdown for your state’s minimum liability insurance it will look like this: 25/45/20. What the first number means is that your coverage includes a maximum of $25,000 per person for medical or injury expenses. The second number is what your insurance will pay for total medical expenses in the event of an accident in which you are at fault and in this case would be $45,000. The last number is for the total amount the car insurance company will be liable for when it comes to personal property damages, and for this example would be $20,000.

What happens if damages exceed the amount of coverage I have? This can be very bad news. While it is important to have at least the state minimum of liability insurance to drive legally, it is an even better idea to have more than this. The reason is for every dollar above the maximum you carry, you are still financially responsible for this. So using the same numerical example, if single person ends up with medical bills over $25,000, if the total for combined injured parties’ medical expenses exceed $45,000 or personal property damages cross over the $20,000 threshold, the remaining balance is still yours to cover. Yes, this means you would have to pay it from your own pocket.

What other types of insurance policies are there? When it comes to protecting yourself on the roads these days, the more coverage you have the better, in most cases. If you are auto insurance shopping you will probably see other terms in addition to liability insurance such as no fault insurance, PIP or Personal Injury Protection, collision, full coverage, comprehensive, SR22 insurance, uninsured motorist, non owners coverage and gap policies as well as others.

Is liability car insurance all I need? This can be difficult to determine. While it is better to have too much coverage than not enough, you also do not want to pay for coverage that does nothing for you. For example if you have a beater car that is not worth insuring and you have your own health insurance, then liability may be plenty. On the other hand, if you have a financed car or the paid off vehicle you drive is worth some value you may want or be required to cover more insurance. Also if you do not have health insurance coverage, you have to be realistic about how you would cover your medical bills in the event of an accident.

Now, want to know how to get the cheapest rates possible for liability car insurance premiums? The answer is simple. By using just your zip code you can get quotes from auto insurance policy providers competing for your business. Find out “how much is liability insurance for a car” firsthand from the carriers themselves.

Fun, Fast Facts about Liability Car Insurance

Did you realize the state you live in will determine how much liability car insurance you carry? Or did you know that if your car is financed you will probably have to carry more than liability coverage? Believe it or not, there is a lot to know when it comes to liability auto insurance. The key to being a smart consumer and a protected river is being aware of all of this.

The first thing to know is:

Some states require liability auto insurance and others require PIP (Personal Injury Protection) or no fault coverage. Either way almost every state requires some level of auto insurance coverage to drive legally. Get caught without it and you could end up with penalties, points against your license and hefty fines. Not to mention when you do go to get a policy in place, it could be a great deal more expensive.

With that out of the way, you should probably be aware of some other things about liability insurance coverage. Don’t take this lightly though. Drivers caught without the required state minimum car insurance coverage could also have their license suspended. The worst part is if you are the driver at fault in a collision and do not have insurance, you could be looking at very serious legal and financial issues. In fact even if you are not at fault and are in a collision you may not be covered because you will be considered an illegal driver.

The bottom line is not to take chances when it comes to your auto insurance.

Other Interesting Facts about Liability

Sure, car insurance may not be your number one choice as a topic to read up on, but if you need a policy you realize the importance of learning what you need to in order to get the coverage required. You are probably wondering who needs liability car insurance. Here is a basic run down:

If you do not have a car that is financed, are not borrowing someone else’s car and have health insurance, liability may be your best bet.

However, if you lack medical coverage you may need better car insurance in case you are in an accident and end up with injuries.

Also, if your car is financed, the lender will require you to carry more than a basic liability insurance policy. In fact the amount of coverage you may need can get a bit complicated, not to mention costly.

In addition, if you have a vehicle with any blue book value, you may want to carry more than a basic liability policy. The reason is you will have to buy a new car if yours is totaled in a collision you cause.

Ready to get prices for premiums for car insurance?

By starting with nothing more than your own zip code you can get competitive quotes from policy providers. By doing this, in no time you could have the liability car insurance or an even better policy in no time at all.

The Beginner’s Guide to Liability Auto Insurance

The most important thing about liability auto insurance is making sure you meet your state’s minimum requirements. Almost every state requires some sort of minimum car insurance coverage to be the legal driver behind the wheel of a car. Many drivers make the mistake of driving without any insurance or moving and not meeting the new state’s minimum requirements.

The first thing you should understand is what exactly liability car insurance policy coverage is:

The bottom line is that the basic liability insurance covers damage you cause such as medical bills for injuries and personal property.

Of course this only covers the other driver and does not protect you for your own damages in cases where you are the at fault driver. So the pressing issue at hand is to determine whether or not liability insurance is enough for you or if you need more.

Liability and Your Need to Know

Aside from some states that require drivers to carry “no fault” or PIP (Personal Injury Protection) insurance, you may only be required to carry liability. If you relocate, make sure your current car insurance provider alters your policy to reflect the guidelines of the new state you are calling home. Often this gets overlooked and you either:

Do not have enough coverage for your current state when it comes to your required minimum car insurance or
Pay more for extra coverage you are not required to have as mandated by your new home state

Should you be caught driving with less than is required by the state,you could receive tickets, fines and other related penalties. Even worse, in the event of an accident you may not even be covered at all. The important trick is not to wait until it is too late. Check with your current provider or shop for a new policy today. This will help you get the liability car insurance coverage you need at the prices you want.

The Liability Car Insurance Breakdown

If you are not familiar with liability auto insurance coverage you should be aware of what it all means. Generally you would see it written out like this:

20/50/25

Of course the numbers will vary on your individual state’s minimum requirements, but the format will be the same. The first number represents how much minimum coverage your liability policy must include per person for personal injury expenses and in this example would be $20,000. The middle number represents how much minimum coverage you must carry on your policy for total medical expenses per accident and in this case would be $50,000. Finally the last number is the amount of minimum liability auto insurance coverage you must have for personal property damages and here would be $25,000.

Of course it is often a good idea to carry more than the required minimum. Keep in mind if any of these expenses exceed the basic amount you are carrying, you will be financially responsible for the remaining balance. For instance, if you are the at-fault driver in a collision and the other driver is hospitalized, every dollar over that $20,000 will be yours to pay out of your own pocket.

The costs involved for a prolonged hospital stay, surgery, prescriptions and follow up care such as physical therapy can add up to $20,000 quickly. Many drivers who carry just the minimum end up in financial trouble and may even have to claim bankruptcy in the aftermath of a tragedy like this. The bottom line is that to protect yourself you should consider carrying more than the state minimum for liability.

Keep It Legal

Too many drivers also take the risk of breaking the law and driving without any insurance in place at all. For the small amount of money liability car insurance premiums can cost you per month, you can have total protection. Without the minimum required coverage you could end up in serious trouble with the law. Not only that but if you let your auto insurance coverage lapse for more than 30 days, you will find out you will have to pay much higher premiums when you do try to get car insurance coverage.

It is never worth the legal or financial responsibility when you could protect yourself with cheap liability insurance. In fact you can make the change and get started right now. By using just your zip code, you can get all those affordable liability auto insurance quotes delivered to you today.

Auto Insurance Liability for Seniors

According to the last US Census, the senior citizen group is currently the largest in terms of population and is also the fastest growing. One of every eight people are likely to be at least 65 years old. Some 10,000 people turn age 65 every day. No longer considered as much of a rarity, there are five US states that have a higher than average concentration of people over the age of 100. Those states:

Iowa
South Dakota
Nebraska
Mississippi
Kansas

The population of older drivers is only expected to continue growing as well, perhaps tripling in size in the coming years.

Why Insurance for Seniors Is So Costly

Apart from teen drivers, senior citizens make up the most costly insured group because they are the most likely to be involved in an accident. And while teens may cause more accidents, the likelihood for a fatality with a senior driver is much higher. Some more statistics about senior drivers that influences the factors for buying auto insurance:

Drivers over the age of 75 have the highest rate of fatal accidents.
Senior drivers make up 5% of the people injured in all accidents.
Seniors are also involved in 13% of all fatalities as drivers.
Another 13% are involved as the passenger in a fatal accident.
Senior drivers are involved in 18% of all pedestrian fatalities.
82% of all fatal crashes involving a senior occur in the daytime hours.
71% of those accidents happen on the weekdays.
75% of all fatal senior related accidents involve a second vehicle.
70% of all seniors involved in an accident are wearing their seat belt.
27% of seniors involved in an accident were attempting a left turn at the time of the accident.

Buying Car Insurance for Seniors: Discounts, Training Programs and More

To make senior car insurance a little less expensive, there are several discounts that should be considered. Seniors can also make their insurance costs a little less expensive by agreeing to take a driver’s refresher course and passing it. There are a number of senior citizens’ organizations that offer these types of courses in various locations. Some discounts that senior drivers might qualify for:

Multiple policy discounts since most seniors do own their home
Safe car policies
Insurance discounts through senior citizen memberships and organizations
Loyalty discounts as most seniors buy insurance and then continue with that agency for a long period

Additional Considerations to Keep in Mind When Buying Car Insurance for Seniors

In addition to discounts and other considerations, there are other things that you should know about car insurance for seniors. These include:

In California, all drivers who are involved in a fatal car crash or those who have been involved in more than three accidents in a single year must be retested. This applies to all ages. Other states are looking to add a similar type of law to their insurance rules, especially for senior citizens.
In Pennsylvania, a doctor is under obligation to report any medical condition that could impair a senior’s ability to drive safely, including conditions such as epilepsy, uncontrolled diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Texas Liability Auto Insurance: What You Need to Know

In Texas, the state requires minimum liability insurance coverage. However, it is estimated that as much as 20 percent of the drivers on the road there are not covered in any way. In addition to those drivers who do not have auto insurance, there are a number of others who do not have their license or their insurance. The minimum coverage amounts include:

$25,000 towards a single person in an accident (bodily injury)
$50,000 in an accident (for more than one person)
$25,000 coverage per accident (for property damage)

There are no maximums for how much you can have- if you can afford more than the liability basics, it is well worth the cost to cover your vehicle. The average cost of car insurance in Texas is $808 per year.

If you would prefer not to use an insurance policy to meet the state’s legal requirement, there are other options that you can use instead. Those options include:

File a surety bond with the county clerk. However, that bond must include two people and both of those people must own real estate property in the state of Texas.
Put down $55,000 in securities or cash to the comptroller (of the county).
Put down $55,000 as cashier’s check or in cash to the county judge.

You can also certify with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to prove that you are a self insured provider. This is restricted to only people who have twenty five or more cars.

What if You Don’t Have Texas Liability Auto Insurance?

Texas participates in the TexasSure program, which electronically verifies that all licensed drivers have valid liability (or more) insurance. If there is a question about your coverage, your license and/or registration can be suspended. For a second suspension, the car can be impounded for as long as 180 days.

During the time that your car is impounded, the impound lot will charge $15 each day for a potential total cost of $2,700. In addition to this expense, you will have to prove that you have valid auto insurance before the car will be released. In most cases, you might be required to buy the more expensive type of insurance called a SR-22. You may be required to carry this insurance for several years consecutively.

Reasons That You Might Consider Texas Liability Insurance More Important

There are more than 40,000 accidents in the state of Texas every year. The leading causes of those accidents can vary, but the top of the list includes:

Speeding. Despite strict laws and stiff penalties, speeding drivers in the state of Texas are the number one cause of accidents.
Driver inattention. Drivers who are talking on their phones, texting, eating or doing any number of other things are also a leading cause of accidents in the state.
Failure to stay in one lane. Swerving, merging incorrectly and more also cause accidents.
Failure to yield while turning left is also a major cause of accidents.

Buying Texas Liability Insurance: All of Your Options

There are a number of ways that you can buy the required insurance if you do not want to use any of the other types of alternatives. These include:

Buying insurance from a licensed agent in person
Buying from the agent’s website
Buying from a discount insurance site online

Keep in mind that you should get at least two quotes to comparison shop, looking at prices and coverage amounts before you make your choice. Not all companies write the same coverage types. Not all companies offer the same kind of discounts, which can also dramatically change your insurance costs. Your agent will tell you about discounts, but you should be aware of the others that you might be eligible for. It never hurts to ask about certain discounts that you have heard of in the past. The worst they can do is say no.

Potential Liability Insurance Discounts

Some of the discounts that you might be able to get from your agent or other sources include:

Multiple policy (home, health, life and more)
Good driver insurance
Having certain cars or certain safety equipment
Certain types of occupations may qualify for discounts
Paying in full, paying online or having your payment automatically withdrawn from your bank account may also give you a discount

Why Do You Need to Get Liability Auto Insurance Quotes?

Are you thinking about getting a new vehicle? If so, you need to remember that there are going to be many other expenses besides the purchase price of the vehicle, including the cost of insurance, which is required by law in most states. Drivers must be able to prove financial responsibility, and the most common way to do so is by having a minimum amount of liability insurance coverage. In order to make sure that you are getting the best prices for this type of coverage, it is a good idea to get as many liability auto insurance quotes as possible. Then, you can sit back and study the quotes to see which insurers are offering the best deals.

Should You Have More than Just Liability Coverage?

Many people find that they are fine with just having the minimum amount of liability coverage that is required by the states they live in. But, it may be that you have a need for additional coverage. When you get liability auto insurance quotes, you may also want to ask about the cost of other types of coverage. That way you can take a look at the types of coverage offered and the prices, and decide if it is worth it or not to have it.

Find Ways to Save Money on Insurance Rates

If you look hard enough, you can find many ways to save money on the cost of your insurance coverage. For example, if you have a clean driver’s abstract, many insurers will offer a safe driver discount. In fact, the will continue to offer discounts for every year that your driving record remains clean. This is just one of many ways to save money on the cost of auto insurance, and you can ask about it when you get liability auto insurance quotes. Other things you can do include:

Don’t drive a flashy sports car. It is a well-known fact that sports cars are more expensive to insure than other vehicles. This is because they are meant to be driven fast, and they often are. If you have a safer, more reliable vehicle, insurers will not charge as much for coverage.
Have as new a vehicle as possible. Newer vehicles have most or all of the latest safety features, and these features will help you save money on your auto insurance. Some of the safety features you should look for in a vehicle include air bags, ABS brakes and locking seatbelts. If you are looking for full coverage, you can also save money if your vehicle has an anti-theft system.
Shop around for the best deals. Don’t take the first policy that is offered to you, because it may just be that this is not the best policy for you, and the rates may be more than you can afford to pay. Shopping around for anything, including auto insurance, will ensure that you get the best prices.
Learn to be a better driver. The more driving skills you have, the better a driver you are going to be, and the better your insurance rates are going to be. You can learn to be a better driver by taking driver training classes, which you can find out about through your local department of motor vehicles. Many insurers will offer discounts to customers who have taken these classes.

Before you start shopping for auto insurance, you need to sit down and figure out what you need for coverage, and the maximum amount you can afford to pay for it. If you don’t know a lot about auto insurance, you may need to do a little bit of homework. The Internet has all kinds of great information about insurance, and you can learn everything you will need to know in order to make sure you have the right amount of coverage.

How to Get Liability Auto Insurance Quotes

It is easy to get liability auto insurance quotes. You have a few options available to you. If you want to take the time, you can either call or visit various insurance companies to get the quotes you need. The only problem with this is that you end up having to talk to insurance agents, and you could end up feeling pressured into buying a policy before you are ready.

You can save yourself from all this hassle by giving us your zip code and letting us get liability auto insurance quotes for you. It only takes a few minutes, and you never have to pick up a telephone or leave your home. You will get liability auto insurance quotes from insurers in your area, as well as many of the national insurers.

Do You Need Commercial Auto Liability Insurance?

Do you run your own business? If so, do you simply run it from your home, or do you have an actual office you work out of, and vehicles that are used by your business? Any business owner who uses vehicles in their business needs to have commercial auto liability insurance, whether they are the only driver of the vehicles or there are employees who also drive them.

Commercial auto liability insurance will protect your business in case you or one of your employees is sued after an auto accident where a vehicle for your business is involved. Without this type of coverage, you won’t have any protection for your company’s assets, and you could end up losing your business or even worse.

Is Commercial Auto Liability Insurance a Legal Requirement?

Whether you own a business or not, if you have a vehicle most states will require you to have a certain amount of liability insurance. In the case of business owners, they must have a certain amount of commercial auto liability insurance, or at least be able to prove financial responsibility in the event of an accident.

If you are insuring a commercial vehicle, don’t forget to ask if you need to have coverage for uninsured/underinsured motorists, which is a requirement in some states. You can also include collision and comprehensive insurance, but this is optional and not a legal requirement. It is just for your own added protection.

How Much Coverage Should You Have?

Even though your state may have a minimal amount of commercial auto liability insurance that is required, you may want to consider having more than this. While it will cost more to increase the amount of liability protection you have for your commercial vehicles, it will really help if you do get sued and the amount you are being sued for is more than what would be covered by a small policy. This is not something that any business owner wants to face, especially owners of small businesses that could face financial destruction in the event of a lawsuit.

Every insurance company is different, which means that they all charge different rates and offer different insurance products. When it comes to figuring out the minimum amount of liability insurance you need to have, in many cases it is at least $50,000 to $100,000 in coverage per vehicle. It is actually recommended that business owners carry more coverage than this. It is not uncommon for many business owners to have between $500,000 and $1 million dollars in commercial auto liability insurance.

Can You Get More Coverage?

Business owners who want to have even more coverage can opt to have a commercial umbrella policy. This is coverage that is over and above what you get from your regular liability insurance coverage. If you want to have additional coverage and not pay a whole lot for it, a commercial umbrella policy may be the way to go. It is inexpensive, and it will provide you with additional coverage should you or one of your employees have an accident while driving a company vehicle for business purposes. This coverage will pay for bodily injury and property damage and other expenses, including the costs that can be incurred if you are sued for more than your insurance would normally cover.

Other Commercial Auto Insurance Coverage

In addition to commercial auto liability insurance, there are other types of coverage you can have that will make sure that there is enough money to pay for any expenses following an auto accident.

Your liability coverage will extend to any vehicles that are owned by the company and used by yourself or employees, including cars, vans, trucks, trailers, etc. Business vehicles can be private passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and public vehicles (these could include taxis, limos and buses), and coverage will be more expensive than it is for regular family vehicles. Coverage includes:

Liability Coverage – This covers expenses if you are sued following an accident that is caused by yourself or one of your employees. It will not cover any of your own expenses. You will need to have additional coverage for repairs, medical expenses, etc.
Physical Damage – This will pay for damages to your company vehicles if they are being operated by yourself or one of your employees and there is an accident where the driver of the company vehicle is at fault.
Comprehensive Coverage – Other things can cause damage to vehicles besides accidents, including fire, flooding, hail and other severe weather, vandalism, etc. In order to be able to have these damages paid for, you must have comprehensive insurance coverage.

Saving Money on Your Commercial Auto Insurance

If you own a business and you have commercial vehicles, you need to have insurance. This is especially true if your vehicles are used to transport passengers from place to place. In fact, if members of the public are going to be in your company vehicles, you really need to have as much commercial insurance as you can possibly afford. Of course, just because you need to have this coverage it doesn’t mean that you have to break the bank to get it.

You can find all kinds of ways to save money on any type of insurance. All you have to do is ask. Many discounts could be available to you, but you won’t know about them because most insurers aren’t going to be forthcoming with this information unless they are asked about it.

Get Quotes to Get the Best Insurance Rates

In order to make sure that you are getting the best rates for your commercial auto liability insurance, you need to get quotes from at least a few different insurance companies. After all, they are all different, and no two insurers are going to offer the same packages at the same rates. Getting quotes is easy, especially when you let us do most of the work for you. Simply provide us with your zip code, and we will get you quotes for commercial auto liability insurance from national insurers as well as local insurers in your area.

How to Get Cheap Auto Liability Insurance

If you have a car and you want to be able to drive it legally on US roads, you need to carry insurance. Each state has its own insurance requirements, and they all require drivers to carry a certain amount of liability insurance. This is coverage that will pay for expenses incurred by other drivers if you are in an accident where you are at fault.

Remember, your liability coverage will not pay for any of your own expenses, and if you want to make sure that your costs are also taken care of, you should look into getting full coverage auto insurance. If you only want to have liability for now, here are some ways you can get cheap auto liability insurance:

Don’t Drink and Drive – Obviously, this is just common sense, but it is surprising how many people still drink and drive. If you have a DUI conviction on your driving record, you are going to have a tough time getting a good deal on your auto insurance. Staying sober behind the wheel will give you a better chance of getting cheap liability insurance.
Be a Safe Driver – The longer you have a clean driving record with no infractions whatsoever, the more money you can save on car insurance. Most insurers offer safe driver discounts, and for every year that your record stays clean your rates continue to go down.
Learn How to Drive – You may think you are a good driver, but there are always things you can learn to make you a better driver. Many insurers will offer discounts to people who have taken driver training courses. You don’t have to be in high school to take these courses, and you can find out where they are being held by inquiring at your local department of motor vehicles.
Military Discounts – Members of the military, both current and retired, can enjoy discounts that will help them to get cheap auto liability insurance. This is just the insurance companies’ way of saying “thank you” for everything you have done for your country.
Join Organizations and Associations – You can get cheap auto liability insurance by belonging to certain organizations or associations, such as AAA and AARP. Don’t forget to ask about these discounts when shopping around for the best deals on your liability insurance.

Shopping Around Gets You the Best Deals

In order to get cheap auto liability insurance, you need to shop around and get quotes from insurance agencies. This isn’t really as much work as it sounds like, especially when you let us do most of the work for you. Give us your zip code, and we will use it to get quotes from many of the insurers in your area, as well as from the national insurers. You can use the information you get from the quotes to choose the best insurance company, the one that is going to be able to give you cheap auto liability insurance, as well as great deals on other coverage if you should decide you want it.

You Might Need Car Rental Liability Insurance: Here Is Why

If you are renting a car for a few hours, a few days or even longer, you are going to be asked to buy car rental liability insurance. Before you pay the cost of insurance through the car rental agency, consider whether it would be more cost effective to get your own car rental liability insurance through your auto insurance agent.

What Is the Risk if You Do Not Having Car Rental Liability Insurance?

All drivers must have auto insurance in nearly every state- whether they own the vehicle or not. Borrowing a friend’s car without asking about insurance coverage is bad enough, but not having some kind of coverage on a car you are renting is even worse. Before you drive away from the car rental place with a vehicle, make sure it is covered. Here are some major reasons why:

In the event of an accident, you may be forced to pay out of pocket for the vehicle itself as well as anything else damaged in that accident.
Most car rental companies have large legal departments, which will keep them from paying anything- again, leaving you with that cost to handle.

Why You Are Not Protected if You Don’t Specifically Buy This Coverage

If you think that you do not need car rental liability insurance because you paid with a credit card, think again. While credit cards do provide some protection for certain risks, this is one area that is a huge misconception.

Credit cards do not provide protection for a car rental. You are not making a purchase; it is a rental.
Your own auto insurance may provide your protection for a rental car, that is if it carries you as the driver for any vehicle. But there are things that may make this tricky as well. Certain policies are written for you specifically as the only driver. If someone else drives the car and gets into an accident, the policy can be voided.

Choosing Car Rental Liability Insurance if You Are Not a Car Owner

Not everyone who is a licensed driver actually owns a car. If people who do not own a car want to rent a vehicle, how do they protect themselves in the case of an accident? Just because you do not have a car does not mean that you cannot get an auto insurance policy. But, before you do so, there are some things that you should know.

You can buy a policy called a “non-owner insurance policy” These policies are written for a specific term, not per rental.
If you know that you are going to use a rental car for an extended period of time, it is worth the extra effort to shop around for low rates and best terms.
If you cannot find the right non-owners insurance term for your needs and will only be renting the car for a single use or only one day, you may have to consider getting the rental insurance from the rental company. It is expensive but less costly than being sued.

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