Insurance question: truck rental

[mbsv]

Maybe the LEO forum's not the best place to post this, but I figure it's a good start.

A few months ago, a friend moved houses using a rental truck. Along the way he bumped someone's fender in a gas station, who in turn decided to get insurance involved.

Well it turns out that even though car insurance covers you on any car and most trucks, and credit-card car rental insurance covers you on almost any rental... it doesn't cover you on all trucks.

So now he's looking at the repercussions of driving without insurance even though he thought he was insured through multiple policies. (Paying the cost of the damage out of pocket is a pain but he's certainly willing to do it.)

Does anyone know how this typically ends up, or anyone he can talk to, be it a helpful government employee or knowledgeable lawyer? He's tried to find a few of each and apparently most of them have little knowledge in this area.

[Psychochik]

If he didnt purchase the insurance for the truck his personal policy/s will not cover a rental unless its a rental to replace his vehicle after an accident.

So basically hes gonna be liable for the damages done to the other persons vehicle and their rental vehicle while its in the shop.

[JPM]

I'm not sure what you are asking about? About the possibility of being insured through one of the sources listed or dealing with the DMV for repercussions of being uninsured?

[Steve Stansb]

He needs to recheck his vehicle insurance. I have Farmers and I am covered in pretty much any rental I drive. But, it goes to basic PL PD coverage! Not all insurances will cover a person in a rental. I have bought rental insurance a lot due to the simple reason that there are NO hassles if there is a fender bender! Let the rental place know about the accident and contact the ins co, and your day is good! Be sure that your ins co will cover you if and when you rent another vehicle, don't just assume!!!!

[mbsv]

Sorry I wasn't clear, he's worried about "dealing with the DMV for repercussions of being uninsured". His insurance company apparently is of no help at all--he thought, like Steve Stansb, his policy covered any vehicle he rented. But apparently it's *almost* any vehicle and some rental trucks are the exception.

[Psychochik]

AFAIK Dmv wont do anything. Its not his vehicle and in all likliehood, the rental company has fleet insurance to cover the vehicles, but the damage to the other car will likely fall in your buddys lap cuz he didnt buy the insurance.

Always contact your insurance company or read you policy declarations before renting a vehicle cuz a lot of companies will only cover rentals if you are in a wreck. Weekend rentals or moving rentals, most companies dont cover em.

[motorman4life]

I have done many, many collision investigations involving rental vehicles and I can't tell you how many people ASSUME they are covered and find out they are NOT when it comes down to it.

I discovered early on (back in 1992) that these "use our credit card for your rental and we provide free insurance" includes a caveat (small print) of, "..if you notify us in advance, you might be covered."

If you don't have it in writing that you ARE covered in a rental, you should assume you are not. You should ALWAYS call your insurance agent and/or credit card and ask for them to fax you some writen evidence of insurance for the term and vehicle you will be expecting them to cover. It is important that you have something in writing when you are stopped or involved in a collision. A rental agreement with "declined" checked for your liability coverage is evidence of NO insurance.

As for the consequences.. it appears he was uninsured at the time. Whatever the consequences for that are.. that is what he will have to deal with. It is no one's fault but his own that he did not have valid evidence or covereage at the time.

[Happy Hornet]

I know that your auto policy wraps around your rental car as long as the policy holder or another driver are listed on the rental agreement. This should hold true for a Uhaul or home depot truck as well. I don't know if it binds to a specific size this you may want to check out. If you have full coverage the rental has full coverage, if you only have liability you may want to add the rental companies comp/coll rider
.
If the rental truck company failed to advise you that your liability insurance will not wrap around their vehicle (and trust me they know this if it's true) there should be specific language that you were required to initial your understanding in that rental contract.

The DOI (dept of ins) mandates these requirements you may want to check with them.
In the meantime...if damages to either vehicle exceed $750 you are required to complete the SR 1 accident report. Available online through the DMV.
Under insurance list your vehicle insurance-this is an accountability form, you do have insurance as far as the state is concerned.

The only time I have ever encountered coverage denials on ANY rental vehicle is if the driver is not listed on the rental contract ie: your buddy Joe helping you drive to LA never added as an additional driver with the rental company.

Let us know more:
who are you insured through, who rented the truck, who is the rental dealer, who was driving, facts baby facts

[Anster]

If the rental truck company failed to advise you that your liability insurance will not wrap around their vehicle (and trust me they know this if it's true) there should be specific language that you were required to initial your understanding in that rental contract.


I work for rental company. We do not tell the customer if their policy transfer over to the rental or not because it is the customer responsiblity to check it. Also, it is also impossible to know what type of coverages different customers have.
We dont want to be held liable if the customer dont have insurance and we said that their policy transfers over, or if they are covered and we said they dont and they take our insurance.

[Psychochik]

I know that your auto policy wraps around your rental car as long as the policy holder or another driver are listed on the rental agreement. This should hold true for a Uhaul or home depot truck as well. I don't know if it binds to a specific size this you may want to check out. If you have full coverage the rental has full coverage, if you only have liability you may want to add the rental companies comp/coll rider
.
If the rental truck company failed to advise you that your liability insurance will not wrap around their vehicle (and trust me they know this if it's true) there should be specific language that you were required to initial your understanding in that rental contract.

The DOI (dept of ins) mandates these requirements you may want to check with them.
In the meantime...if damages to either vehicle exceed $750 you are required to complete the SR 1 accident report. Available online through the DMV.
Under insurance list your vehicle insurance-this is an accountability form, you do have insurance as far as the state is concerned.

The only time I have ever encountered coverage denials on ANY rental vehicle is if the driver is not listed on the rental contract ie: your buddy Joe helping you drive to LA never added as an additional driver with the rental company.

Let us know more:
who are you insured through, who rented the truck, who is the rental dealer, who was driving, facts baby facts

Not all insurance companies have insurance that covers a rental unless its a rental due to an accident. Rental agencies arent responsible for letting people know, the person renting the vehicle needs to know what their policy declarations state.

I know for a fact that Mercury does not carry over to a rental, Triple A doesnt either last time I was insured with them and worked for them. If these bigger companies dont, then most smaller companies arent either. I know the company I work for doesnt.

It is true that the coverage carries over if you have full coverage if the rental was due to an accident, but not for a casual rental. I cant emphasize it enough that people read their policies and know what is covered and what is not.

[beaker]

Not all insurance companies have insurance that covers a rental unless its a rental due to an accident.

There are also a lot more rental companies that will not cover the rental of anything beyond a passenger car/pickup.

I've seen companies that make it very clear (large letterd signs in the lobby) when you rent the vehicle that moving trucks are not covered by insurance and require you to show the policy that it is covered, for both sides' sake.

[motorman4life]

These last 3 posts coroborate what I said. Unless you have it in writing from your insurer, you cannot assume you are covered. Each company and each policy have different terms and restrictions. Yes, most will cover you for a REPLACEMENT rental after an accident while your car is in the shop.. but not all! That is a far cry from a vacation rental or a specialty vehicle or heavy equipment. You should ASSUME you are not covered unless you have written proof from your insurer. If you ARE covered, you should have NO PROBLEM getting a letter from your agent stating same.

I have prosecuted many uninusred motorists in a variety of rentals that all said the same thing... "I thought I was covered!" They found out otherwise and many paid dearly for the mistake. Cover your ass and don't assume.

[Happy Hornet]

Not all insurance companies have insurance that covers a rental unless its a rental due to an accident. Rental agencies arent responsible for letting people know, the person renting the vehicle needs to know what their policy declarations state.

I know for a fact that Mercury does not carry over to a rental, Triple A doesnt either last time I was insured with them and worked for them. If these bigger companies dont, then most smaller companies arent either. I know the company I work for doesnt.

It is true that the coverage carries over if you have full coverage if the rental was due to an accident, but not for a casual rental. I cant emphasize it enough that people read their policies and know what is covered and what is not.

Good to know-all the companies I've worked for in the past have wrapped liability around the rental car regardless of the reason for the rental (don't know about trucks) same as wrapping around a borrowed car that didn't have insurance.
Just checked my AIG liability only policy (who I believe have taken over Mercury) and rentals are not excluded. Guess it is policy by policy.
Thought this was state mandated ooops my bad.