Yes, you can rent a car without owning car insurance. You will just have to buy temporary insurance in order to rent the vehicle.
There are 3 ways to obtain rental car insurance:
- If you rent vehicles frequently you can buy a non-owners policy; (rates can be compared on sites like Insurify.com)
- From the rental car company
- From your credit card company (if available)
Since you do not own car insurance, it is recommended that you buy as much of the coverage available to protect yourself in the event of an accident.
If you rent cars frequently, one option would be to purchase a temporary, non-owners policy from an auto insurance company. A non-owners policy provides drivers with liability coverage, but NOT collision or comprehensive coverage.
Renting a vehicle for an extended period of time with adequate rental insurance is expensive. A non-owners insurance policy is a cheaper option because it only includes liability.
The following insurance companies offer temporary car insurance:
- State Farm
- GEICO
- Progressive
- Nationwide
- The General
- Dairyland
- Titan
- Good2Go
A rental car company will usually offer you four types of coverage to purchase:
- Liability covers any property damage you cause, and also includes any medical expenses of persons in the other car if injuries are sustained. This coverage is mandatory.
- A loss-damage waiver will take care of any damage done to the rental vehicle, whether caused by a collision or act of nature, like a tree falling onto it. This coverage is optional.
- Personal accident insurance will take care of any medical costs you and people in your car may incur. This coverage is optional but if you have some sort of auto, health, and/or homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, purchasing any of the above would be unnecessary.
- Personal effects insurance covers anything in your car that you may lose if the car is broken into or stolen. This coverage is also optional, but like personal accident insurance, it is unnecessary if you have auto, health, and/or homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.
Car insurance through your credit card company is a bit tricky. If you don’t have an auto insurance policy, then your credit card should provide primary coverage (like liability) and secondary coverage (like collision and comprehensive). To use this coverage, you would need to pay for the car in full with your credit card.
Author: Snejina Zacharia, CEO, and Founder at Insurify.com
Source: Quora