Is rental car insurance necessary?

Usually not. Especially when you pay with a credit card that already includes additional insurance.

Thats true and on top of that they are charging a $200 hold fee until car is returned…

Very situational – depends on:

your driving record

where you are driving (I would buy insurance if driving in NYC; probably not in Iowa)

your credit card benefits —most credit card rental insurance is secondary, not primary, meaning that they go to your personal insurance first.

your age (under 25 are more likely to get into accidents)

When i travel for work, my employer wants us to get rental insurance, because it’s cheaper for our company to do that then add to the corporate insurance policy.

Bottom line: every person is different.

I am 25 years old, I live in NYC and drive here lol so i think i can handle most other places, Ive lived in Miami (where im traveling too) and have driven plenty there. I also happen to work for the Dept. of Transportation and watch the highways of the five boroughs so I see accidents daily.

The hesitation comes from if its really cost effective for me, I will be mainly driving car from Airport to Hotel, to the Beach to visit family and back. I have lots of friends in the area and will most likely catch rides with them to save on gas cost.

My mom didn’t take the rental insurance when she rented a car for a few weeks. It wasn’t cost effective really since her car insurance would cover it anyway if there was an accident.

Call your personal car insurance company for advice. They should be able to make recommendations based upon your current coverage. Some factors to consider: Are you driving it to and from Miami or just in the local area? Will other people be driving the rental or just you? If there is an accident, will your personal insurance rate be impacted, and would it be a different answer if you used the rental car insurance?

You may be an excellent driver, but not everyone else is.

I will be picking up car at Airport, Driving local around Miami, I will be the only driver.

I do need to call my insurance and ask these questions though.

Check with your car insurance agent to make sure the policy covers you driving rental cars. Most do. You do not need the rental car company’s policy if your auto insurance covers you.

Funny, my car insurance just called me. “You are covered in anything you drive, dont get the insurance.”

There you go. In addition, if you use a gold or platinum credit card, your deductibles may well be covered.

Since you are covered by your insurance, the only difference might be that your own insurance has a deductible and the car rental might cover any little bump or scratch. I never get the insurance, because I am covered under my insurer. The only exception I would make is if I were renting a car outside of the US, then I would pay so things are less complicated God forbid smething did happen.