How to insure short-term car rental

Insurance generally included in the rental contract

Compulsory civil liability insurance

By renting a car, the renter is covered by civil liability insurance taken out by the lessor. This insurance, compulsory for driving a vehicle, covers material or bodily damage that the driver may cause to his passengers or to third parties.

This insurance applies abroad in countries not expressly excluded from the green card.

Other insurance that may be included in the rental contract

The rental contract may include other insurance policies also taken out by the lessor and covering, for example, theft or attempted theft of the vehicle, fire and damage to the rented vehicle.

Franchises

The rental contract generally provides for a deductible, that is to say an amount payable by the lessee, if the rented car is damaged or stolen. The amount of the excess, which can be significant, is fixed in the rental agreement and varies according to the category of car and the rental company.

This deductible also depends on the driver’s responsibility for the origin of the damage:

• The tenant is the victim of an accident : if the responsibility for the damage is attributed to an identified third party, the tenant has no excess to pay.
• The tenant is partially or totally responsible for the damage : the tenant must pay the deductible indicated in the rental contract.

Additional guarantees offered to the tenant

Driver’s insurance: PAI (Personal Accident Insurance) or Super PAI

This insurance can be declined with more or less extensive guarantees. It concerns in particular bodily injury and death of the occupants of the rented vehicle, emergency medical expenses, 24/7 assistance, loss, theft and damage to luggage and personal effects inside the vehicle, the cost of replacing keys and locks…

This guarantee can also cover several drivers. If necessary, it is necessary to indicate the identity of the different drivers who will drive the rented vehicle.

To know :

Only the drivers indicated on the rental contract are authorized to drive the rented vehicle. On the rental contract, when the vehicle leaves, the lessee must indicate a main driver and additional drivers.

The redemption of the franchise provided for in the rental contract

The lessor generally offers the lessee to take out additional insurance which will cover all or part of the deductibles provided for in the rental contract.

CDW insurance (Collision Damage Waiver) sometimes called, according to insurers, LDW (Loss Damage Waiver) or DEW (Deductible Extended Waiver) covers the partial redemption of the deductible provided for in the rental agreement in the event of damage to the vehicle related to a collision.

TPC insurance (Theft Protection Coverage) sometimes called, according to insurers TP (Thieft Protection), or TPW (Thieft Protection Waiver) covers the partial redemption of the deductible in the event of theft.

Depending on the rental contracts, this option allows you not to have to reimburse the market value of the vehicle or a significant deductible in the event of theft.

Some rental companies offer the option of a larger redemption of the deductible or even, for some, its total redemption. For instance, Super TP insurance (Super Thieft Protection) covers a significant part of the deductible or even its total redemption in the event of theft.

Super Cover insurance can also cover up to the total redemption of the deductible in the event of an accident or theft of the vehicle.

Glass breakage insurance : Full repurchase of the deductible is offered by some rental companies for damage caused to the windows of the vehicle.

Support

If the vehicle is used by the lessee under normal conditions and breaks down during the rental, the lessor has the obligation to change it or reimburse the lessee. He must therefore pay for major repairs or reimburse any repair costs.

On the other hand, in the event of a tire puncture, fuel error, loss of keys, discharged battery or locking of the vehicle with the keys inside, for example, the tenant must bear the costs. .

The option Extended roadside assistance offered by some rental companies allows the tenant to meet the costs of assistance.

To know :

The extended breakdown assistance guarantee does not cover the cost of repairs, replacement of parts, damage and/or theft of the vehicle.

Insurance coverage

In case of failure

The lessor’s contract generally obliges the lessee to notify the assistance company quickly before incurring any expense. His contact details are provided by the lessor. The tenant must comply precisely with the instructions of the assistance company, otherwise the costs incurred without the agreement of the latter could remain at his expense.

In case of theft or accident

Regardless of the insurance coverage taken out, the rental contract generally obliges the tenant to:

• report the theft or attempted theft to the rental company;
• lodge a complaint with the police authorities;
• provide the lessor within 48 hours with the filing of a complaint and the original keys;
• declare to the lessor within 5 days maximum any traffic accident and give him a legible copy of the joint report completed and signed.

Case where the insurance will not play

Even by subscribing to optional guarantees, the lessee is liable for all repairs and/or the value of the vehicle upon presentation of invoices by the lessor in certain variable situations according to the provisions of the rental contracts:

• theft of keys and inability to return the keys to the lessor;
• burns, interior damage, overloading, upper parts (above the windscreen), lower parts (under the bumper)… are generally not covered;
• drunkenness, medication, narcotics…;
• damage occurring when the vehicle should have been returned unless otherwise agreed with the lessor (this situation is treated as misappropriation of the vehicle);
• false information on the identity of the driver or his driving licence, on the accident report (if there has been an accident)…;
• damage or loss of personal effects, objects or animals in the vehicle;
• voluntary damage to the car;
• paying passenger transport or use of the car as part of learning to drive;
• overload in number of passengers compared to what is provided for in the gray card (in this case, only the civil liability guarantee may apply);
• use of the rented vehicle for trials, competitions;
• suicide attempt or suicide;
• scam attempt.