Do I need additional Insurance when renting a car in the USA?

Question

I have full car insurance in the UK. Does this cover me when I rent a car in the USA or do I legally have to take out further insurance?

Answer 1

you should update your insurance to include international cover and in order to make allowences for local rules & laws any insurance policy aggreement has its terms and conditions. i suspect that your current policy will, not be compatable with that, or meet with the usa criteria & its terms and conditions! there will be a clause that youll need to amend or it could mean your insurance is obsolete and you wont be eligable to make any claim if they say your not covered

Answer 2

Your UK insurance probably does not cover you in the US. I know my Canadian insurance does not cover me in the UK. You should check with your insurance company.

Also check with your credit cards too though because my American Express card covers rental cars in any country as long as I pay the bill with the Amex card. You too may have a card that covers insurance. It's worth looking into. I think some Visa's and Mastercards cover it too.

Answer 3

Your UK car insurance does not cover you.

In the USA you are not legally obliged to take out insurance to cover you for damage to the vehicle or for any accident to third parties whether riding in the car or not who may sue you for damages - although you would be foolish if you didn't.

If you are considering having a hire car in the USA as part of a UK holiday package deal then they always add on insurance charges to indemnify you for everything;  you have to pay for this either up front or at the time of the rental.

You are not legally obliged to take out this extra insurance but you may find that the rental is subject to taking it out.

A fully inclusive car hire from a broker often works out cheaper than the extra insurances a package holiday company want to add on.  So if you were on a fly drive holiday for instance you just walk away from the drive bit and pick up your pre booked car from elsewhere.