Take, for example, the following situation: You are in accident. You are perfectly fine, but your vehicle has been mangled and needs a major repair before you can take it back out on the road. You still need a car to get around, so you rent one. Does your car insurance cover this expense? If you have rental car reimbursement coverage, it does. You might also hear this type of insurance be called “transportation expense.”
This can be a very useful aspect of insurance, if you absolutely need a vehicle to get around and it is unlikely you will be able to find a car that you can borrow, then being able to rent a car and knowing that it will be covered by your insurance can be a great benefit. In order to be eligible for this kind of coverage, you will need to have comprehensive or collision coverage. If the company is going to cover the cost of the rental car, they also want to make sure that the driver himself is going to be covered if there is an accident.
You will likely need to purchase this option separately from the rest of your insurance. If you already have insurance, you should be able to add it as an option. If you are buying a new policy, simply ask for it to be added to your purchase.
Your rental will usually be reimbursed only if the accident meets the regulations of your collision or comprehensive insurance for coverage. For example, this option would not kick in if you rent a car while your vehicle is just getting routine maintenance. There may also be an option to have the costs of public transportation reimbursed, instead of just the cost of a rental car.
