Should you accept or decline coverage the rental agency usually offers to sell you?  Such insurance is offered in order to help to cover accidents while you are on your trip.  In most cases, you’re safe to decline, it providing you have the same or better protection from your personal automobile insurance company.  Also, you may already have rental-car insurance provided by the credit card that you use.  Both options can give you substantial savings over the rental agency’s coverage.  Before declining the coverage, however, you should be certain that your personal auto insurance or credit-card coverage covers you – otherwise you could be driving your rental uninsured.

Since insurance is state regulated, the cost and coverage will vary from state to state.  The following types of coverage are those that are generally available – you should check with your auto insurance company to be sure which coverage you either have or need:

Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)

While an LDW is not technically an insurance product, it does, however, “waive” renters of financial responsibility if their rental car is damaged or stolen.  In most cases, waivers also provide coverage for “loss of use,” in the event the rental car company charges the renter for the time a damaged car can not be used because it is being fixed.  It may also cover “diminution of value”: the decline in value a repaired vehicle incurs.  Additionally, it may also cover towing and administrative fees, so check with your auto insurance company as these are all things your personal auto insurance policy typically will NOT cover when renting a car.

Liability Insurance

By law, rental companies must provide the state required amount of liability insurance.  This is an instance where, if you have sufficient amounts of liability protection on your own car, you might decline the additional liability protection.  Again, this is something that you should check with your auto insurance company on, in order to know if the amount of liability protection on your car is enough to cover a rental.

Personal Accident Insurance

Personal Accident Insurance offers coverage to you and your passengers for medical and ambulance bills for injuries caused in a car crash.  Your health insurance or your personal injury protection insurance under your auto insurance policy may cover the costs of this.  You should check with your health care insurance provider as well as your auto insurance company to make certain.

Personal Effects Coverage

Personal Effects Coverage provides insurance protection for the theft of items in your car.  If you have a homeowners or renters insurance policy that includes off-premises theft coverage, you are generally covered for theft of your belongings away from home, up to a certain limit and minus the deductible.  This is another area where, depending on your auto insurance or homeowners or renters’ insurance, you may be able to save money at the car rental counter.

When all is said and done, the options for properly insuring a rental car can be a confusing process.  This is why it’s a good idea to make two calls before you rent a car.  One call should be to your auto insurance agency or auto insurance provider, and the other should be to the credit card company you will be using to pay for the rental car.  By finding out beforehand how much coverage you currently have on your own car, as well as finding out the insurance benefits offered by your credit card company, you can save yourself both time and money.

This content is offered for educational purposes only and does not represent contractual agreements. The definitions, terms and coverages in a given policy may be different than those suggested here and such policy will be governed by the language contained therein. No warranty or appropriateness for a specific purpose is expressed or implied.

 Major changes to your life can affect many things including your auto insurance rate.  Big events such as marriage, buying a new home, or retiring can mean that it is also time to reevaluate your auto insurance policy.

Overall there are seven events that can affect your auto insurance:

• Relocating
• Getting Married
• Getting Divorced/Being Widowed
• Buying a Home
• Buying a New Car
• Having Children
• Retiring

How do those seven life changes affect your auto insurance?  Here are some of the ways:

• Relocating: If you are moving out of state, you may find that your new state has different laws about required auto insurance coverage.  Your current auto insurer might not even be licensed there.  This is a time when you should check with your current insurer and to determine who could provide you with the right coverage for your new area.

• Getting Married: Many insurance companies offer discounts for multiple cars – by getting the cars of you and your spouse under one policy you can save money through joint policies and multi-car discounts.

• Getting Divorced or Becoming Widowed: As difficult and upsetting as a divorce or becoming widowed can be, this life altering event is also a time when you should reevaluate your auto insurance coverage.  The joint policies and multi-car discounts you received while married won’t be applicable once you are single, so you will need to check with your insurer to find out what type of coverage and what kind of discount could be provided to you.

• Buying a Home: The purchase of a home can mean that you might qualify for multi-policy discounts.  Additionally, factors such as a new neighborhood or being able to garage your car can affect your auto insurance rates.

• Buying a New Car: When buying a new car, consider how much it costs to insure different models. Some companies classify the same car differently, so rates may vary. Rates also are affected by the car’s safety rating, crashworthiness and how attractive that model is to thieves.

• Having Children: The safety of your children is always paramount.  In keeping your children safe, you might upgrade to a better car, or to get the best child restraint system.  Taking these steps to protect your children can mean you may qualify for better auto insurance rates.  Also, as your children get older and start to drive, putting them on your policy or insuring their car can be another major expense.

• Retiring: Retirement can mean either more driving or less driving depending on your lifestyle.  You might travel the country or stay close to home – you might even decide that you no longer need a car.  When planning for your retirement, you should consider how much coverage you will need to protect your assets and to save money.

Regardless of what kind of change may be occurring in your life, it’s always a good idea to do some comparison shopping, especially when it comes to auto insurance.  By keeping in mind your auto insurance costs during some of life’s major events you may be able to save yourself considerable money over time.

This content is offered for educational purposes only and does not represent contractual agreements. The definitions, terms and coverages in a given policy may be different than those suggested here and such policy will be governed by the language contained therein. No warranty or appropriateness for a specific purpose is expressed or implied.

 On August 28th, California Insurance Commissioner, Steve Poizner laid out the groundwork for greener auto insurance options. The new greener options also may reduce premiums. Insurance Commissioner Poizner unveiled last week his Pay as you drive, green insurance option. The ultimate goal of this plan is to reduce co2 emissions and reduce premiums.

Poizner hopes this move will have a positive impact on the environment. The plan envisions that people will start driving less with the immediate goal of saving money, but at the same time putting less co2 in the air from automobile emissions. As a result, the air will become cleaner and less polluted from vehicles. A study conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund estimated that if 30% of Californians participate in this new voluntary coverage, the state of California could avoid 55 million tons of CO2 between 2009 and 2020. That is the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off of the road!

In addition to the positive effects on the environment, the new plan will have a positive impact on Californian’s wallets. One hope is that insurance premiums will go down. Since the new plan calls for miles driven to account for more of the premium base, the hope is that people will start driving less. And as a result of the decreased driving, estimates show that Californians can save approximately $40 billion in vehicle related expenses, including gas, maintenance and repairs.

To participate in the program, drivers will have to verify their actual odometer reading. Drivers will be able to do this through automotive repair/service records or a technical device used to track mileage. While the pay as you drive program is still in the planning stage, contact your auto insurance company for ways to save money right now.

This content is offered for educational purposes only and does not represent contractual agreements. The definitions, terms and coverages in a given policy may be different than those suggested here and such policy will be governed by the language contained therein. No warranty or appropriateness for a specific purpose is expressed or implied.

The state of California requires every vehicle to be insured with a minimum of bodily injury and property damage coverage. These minimums are set to protect the citizens of California from an injury or loss of property resulting from an automobile accident.

The minimum bodily injury liability that a Californian driver may take out is $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident.  The minimum for property damage liability is  $5,000. While it is recommended to purchase as much coverage as you can afford, you can drive with just having these minimums. The State wide minimum requirements are more commonly referred to as 15/30/5 coverage.

The state of California operates under a tort system. By definition, tort is an injury to another person or to property which is compensable under law. A tort state is the opposite of a “No-fault” state. In a tort state one party must be designated to be at fault before one can receive compensation for damages, although fault can be shared. If you are travelling outside of California, make sure to check out the laws of the state you are travelling to as the laws differ from state to state.

Contact your local AIS office to discuss the California insurance laws and to find the best rate on your auto insurance policy.

This content is offered for educational purposes only and does not represent contractual agreements. The definitions, terms and coverages in a given policy may be different than those suggested here and such policy will be governed by the language contained therein. No warranty or appropriateness for a specific purpose is expressed or implied.