do I need to take out additional car insurance?

Are you going on vacation and are you going to rent a car? In this case, is your usual auto insurance sufficient? Is it better to take out an additional option or should you bet on your bank card?

Is insurance included in the car rental?

The car must be insured by the lessor because car insurance is compulsory in France. On your side, you must be minimum cover to third to compensate for material and bodily damage inflicted on others. This is called the civil liability. This is usually included in the rental contract.

Then, to avoid paying very (very) expensive in the event of material or bodily damage, we offer you options: breakdown assistance in the event of a breakdown, driver’s guarantee which protects the person driving a car in the event of a road accident even when their liability is engaged or deductible redemption in the event of a large sum to be paid after coverage.

For a city car, it takes between 15 and 30 euros per rental day for optimal coverage, according to the specialist site Serenitrip. Without surprise, the higher the range of the vehicle, the higher the price.

Am I obliged to take out the rental company’s insurance?

No. You can also ask your usual insurer if you drive a vehicle all year round. This can make you an offer based on your driver profile. But insurers like Serenitrip offer short car insurance contracts from 5 euros per day and guaranteed without unpleasant surprises in the event of a claim.

Does my credit card cover me when I rent a car?

Often, high-end cards are seen as a holy grail at holiday time. Visa Premier, Mastercard Gold or American Express are known to cover the loss of a suitcase when traveling by plane, but are they useful in the case of car rental? These cards offer the repurchase of excess which is very useful because the amounts can be raised according to the vehicle rented and the profile of the renter (3 years of license or 25 years minimum required) but also in the event of damage or theft.

Find out above all to avoid subscribing twice to the same guarantee.

How to find it abroad?

Abroad, when renting your car, you will also be offered options. These are technically identical to those found in France but they are formulated in English to make them easier to understand abroad. The most common are these:

  • CDW option for Collision Damage Waiver allows the level of deductible to be lowered, i.e. the equivalent of the repurchase of deductible
  • the PT option for Theft Protection limits the driver’s liability in the event of theft or damage to the vehicle;
  • the IAP option for Personal Accident Insurance protects people in the vehicle against bodily injury.

On this subject, the european consumer center calls on customers to be careful when renting a car, especially through a broker. Indeed, 55% of those checked by the European Commission lack transparency on the rental conditions, on the total price to be paid, on the damage covered by the insurance, on the additional costs (mileage, young driver, etc.) or again on who, the lessor or the intermediary, is contacted in the event of a problem.

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What are the most common exceptions?

The sites of insurers and those of rental companies mainly quote the theft or loss of keysclaims read the drunk driving, taking medication, narcotics, damage occurring when the vehicle should already have been returned; false papers or false personal information or attempted suicide as the usual exceptions for optimal coverage.

Which insurance contract for a car rental between individuals?

Passing by a peer-to-peer car rental platformyou will be offered a basic third-party insurance policy, as with a professional rental company. Warranties are also offered as an option.

For private individual rentals without going through an intermediary, the lessor-owner must contact his insurer. The auto contract taken out must allow use of the vehicle for commercial purposes and driving by a non-family member.

The tenant must for his part present an insurance certificate for the owner’s insurance in order to guarantee coverage in the event of damage.

Car insurance: change contract

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