An accident in a rental car

Right after the crash

1. Make the scene safe and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Call the police when the state where you are requires it; a report helps with the rental company, your insurer and the card issuer.
2. Exchange details with the other driver as you would in your own car, and give the rental company's name and the rental agreement number along with your own insurance.
3. Call the rental company at the number on the agreement or the key tag. It will tell you where to take the car and how it wants damage reported.
4. Photograph the rental car from every side, plus the odometer, the fuel gauge and the other car. The rental company will run its own inspection later, and your photos are your record.
5. Tell your own insurer and, if you paid with a card that offers rental benefits, the card's benefit administrator. Card benefits often have their own reporting deadlines, listed in the card's guide to benefits.

Keep the rental agreement, the waiver form if you signed one, the receipt for the rental and the police report number together. Every payer will ask for some of them.

Who pays for what

The Texas Department of Insurance lists accidents while you or someone covered by your policy is driving a rental car among the things most policies cover, and notes that your own policy might already give the protection the rental company sells, under your liability or comprehensive coverage. It also suggests asking your agent whether the policy covers a rental you drive for work. The NAIC adds that if you have comprehensive and collision on your own car, you will likely not need the counter protection, and that if your policy doesn't cover rentals, a rider can often be added. If you carry only liability coverage, nothing in your policy pays to repair the rental car itself.

The damage waiver is not insurance

Rental companies sell a collision damage waiver or loss damage waiver at the counter. Texas regulators put it plainly: the damage waiver isn't insurance; it's an agreement that the rental agency won't charge you for damage to a car you rent. If you bought it and kept to the contract, the company shouldn't bill you for the damage it covers. The contract lists what the waiver excludes and what voids it, so read those terms before you assume the bill is covered.

Some states regulate waivers and what a rental company can charge. New York is one example. Under General Business Law §396-z:

• Your liability for damage is capped at the lesser of the company's actual and reasonable repair costs or the car's fair market value before the damage, less what the company gets for disposing of it.
• Loss-of-use damages and related administrative fees can't be recovered from an authorized driver.
• The contract must warn you to consider whether your credit card or auto policy already covers damage to the rental before you buy the waiver.

Rules like these exist only in some states. Your state's page in claim rules by state lists its claim rules, and the New York claim rules cover that state's deadlines.

Credit card rental benefits

Many credit cards include a benefit for damage to a rental car. The NAIC notes that these benefits are secondary to your personal auto insurance or the rental company's coverage, meaning they pay only what is left after other coverage, such as your deductible. Some cards state that their benefit is primary. The card's guide to benefits decides which, and what it covers.

• Conditions. Card benefits usually depend on terms such as paying for the rental with that card and declining the counter waiver.
• Exclusions. Guides may leave out some vehicle types, long rentals, some countries, and liability for injuries or damage to other people.
• Fees. Check whether the benefit includes loss of use, towing and administrative fees, and what proof the administrator wants.

The NAIC suggests calling your card issuer to ask about benefits before you rent. After a crash, ask the same questions in writing so the answer is on record.

The bill from the rental company

A rental company may bill you, or your insurer, for more than the repair. Common lines are the repair itself, loss of use for the days the car couldn't be rented, a reduction in value, towing and storage, and an administrative or processing fee. Whether your policy or card benefit pays each line depends on its terms; some policies cover only the repair.

1. Ask for an itemized bill with the repair estimate or final invoice and photos of the damage.
2. Ask how loss of use was counted: the daily rate and the number of days the car was out of service.
3. Send the bill to your insurer and card administrator before you pay it, and ask each in writing which lines it will pay.
4. If another driver caused the crash, give the rental company that driver's insurance details; it can claim against that insurer.

Questions people ask