Lively or Not

I'm looking to hear from folks living in the United States here. This is an issue that varies significantly among nations....

I'm currently car light. I own a car but rarely drive it. I am considering selling my car this spring. I anticipate there will be a handful of times each year when doing a task will require a car because of where I live. I'm not opposed to renting a car for a day a few times a year. I would prefer, however, to avoid paying the high insurance rates from the rental company. I obviously will cancel my auto insurance when I sell my car, so tacking on rental coverage won't be an option. Has anyone here had success getting a one-day policy from a regular insurance agent (again, when you don't have a regular auto policy)? If so, did you save money over the rental company price? Or am I unicorn hunting here, and is my only option to purchase insurance from the rental company?

alias5000

Some (travel) credit cards have a collision damage waiver feature. Would this suffice in the US for your purposes?

Tamiya

Don't you have "car share" in your town? Downunder we've got several competing car share companies, subscribe ($50-100ish pa) and hire cars by the hour (from about $8/hr, fuel etc included).

Otherwise last sat time I "traditional" rented a car they charged $30/day to reduce access.

The rental firm would have benefit of economies of scale. Which insurance company would you think would bother taking on risk plus doing the paperwork for less than $30?

Cyclist0108

I think they typically only cover collision damage, as you say. What most states require is personal liability (and even if it isn't legally required, you would be nuts to drive anywhere without it).

dedhed

https://www.carinsurancefordriver.com/

https://www.thebalance.com/temporary...ptions-2645566

Lively or Not

That may be a possibility.

Lively or Not

In a lot of places care share options are possible, but I live in a small town two hours from the nearest city large enough to offer car share services. I take your point about the cost needed to make the risk worth it for the insurance company.

Lively or Not

This was useful. Thanks!

1989Pre 

Damage waiver from Enterprise is only $11.99-$16.99 per day.

I-Like-To-Bike

Damage waiver only covers damage to the rental car and does not cover liability for any damage to other vehicles, property or medical bills. Only good for people driving in locations that do not require liability insurance and who are willing to take a lot of financial risk.

Smitty2k1

Here in DC our pay by the minute car services (Penske Dash, Car2Go, Free2Move, ZipCar) all come with liability insurance as part of the rental.

When I rent a car from the airport, etc. I have to pay the $20ish/day liability insurance to be legal.

I've heard some insurance companies offer "non owner liability" policies that are significantly cheaper than full blow car insurance, but I haven't looked into it too much.

Leisesturm

I never rent from airport counters. Using mass transit to get to a suburban location away from the airport kiosk saves HUGE. $70/dy vs. $225/dy is worth the inconvenience IMO.

I-Like-To-Bike

Where did you find your car rental comparison of $225/day vs. $70/day?

Duck Duck Go typical return for the query "How much does it cost to rent a car":
Cost of renting a car for a day at the airport terminal
Extract:

wipekitty

Liability insurance was a huge hassle when I did not own a car.

You might be able to get a non-owner policy. I had no such luck - they wanted it to still be tied to a vehicle of some kind, such as a company fleet vehicle - but YMMV. Sometimes these policies qualify one for discounts on homeowners/renters insurance, and may work out cheaper than buying the rental company's insurance.

I had an interesting circumstance at one point. I am a registered driver on my company's policy, and hence, work-related rentals include collision and liability insurance. For a few years, one of the employee benefits was that employees could rent vehicles under the policy for personal use, which also included collision and liability insurance (but not the same tax-exempt status). This policy changed through budget cuts, but gave me a few years of very reasonable rentals for personal business.

Reddleman

I have an annual policy for car hire excess from these guys: https://www.worldwideinsure.com/

I believe they also offer day by day policies too. You’ll need their deluxe package to cover hiring in your home town but it also covers car club membership if that’s useful.

(No connection other than as a satisfied customer.)

I-Like-To-Bike

This insurance appears to cover only damage to the rental car and does NOT provide any coverage for liability for damage or injury to other people, property or vehicles.

Lively or Not

I looked into non-owner policies, and the folks I've talked with so far indicate that you need to sign up for a six month or one year term, which I could do, but my preference is to buy it when I need it (and try to need it only rarely).

Job-related rental coverage is an interesting idea. I work for a community college, and I may look into that.

Lively or Not

By way of a general update for those who are curious, here's what I learned talking with the local Enterprise rental agent (only car rental option within 30 miles). The collision damage waiver covers only damage to their vehicle. I can pay for two additional layers of protection: liability for damage to third parties ($1M cap), and medical/property loss for me ($2,500 cap). If I bought all three, the cost per day comes to $46. Daily car rental of an economy car is $40 per day pre-tax.

I've not yet found any local agent offering per diem auto insurance, and non-owner liability coverage so far is limited to only 6 month terms, not per diem. I think I'm going to contact a couple of the big bicycle advocacy orgs in the U.S. and see if they have heard about other options.

I-Like-To-Bike

Did you get any rate quotes for a 6 month non-owner policy that would provide liability coverage?

Lively or Not

Not yet. I want to identify all the options before investing time in getting quotes. When I do, though, I'll post it here.

I-Like-To-Bike

Thanks. I suspect that you will find that for your intended use, "a handful of times each year when doing a task will require a car" the car rental agency's daily rate of $46/day for car insurance will be the better bargain for you.

Lively or Not

I'm coming around to that conclusion also. Honestly, the thing that irks me is the principle of paying more for insurance than for the rental itself. I understand all the business and economic reasons why it works that way - especially in a small town without all the ride share options found in urban/suburban areas. But it still gets under my skin - just on principle. Ah well; no choice is without consequence.

PDXCarless

Two things:

1) Getaround and Turo show up in plenty of small towns, include their own auto-insurance in their prices and don't require you to have your own personal insurance, outside of their service. The prices on both are better than traditional car rentals.

2) If you have to use a traditional car rental, you can save some money by having a credit card that covers you. I have a Chase Southwest Airlines CC that has secondary car insurance. However, if you don't have primary insurance, it moves to the front and covers you as if it was primary. This means, when you rent a car, you can avoid the collision/damage waivers. However, you still need to get the liability coverage.