Car Rental Key West Insurance: Should You Purchase Additional Coverage?

When you’re renting a car from a Key West rental company, you have an option to purchase additional car rental insurance? Should you do this? That depends actually! The United States requires that rental vehicle companies carry minimum liability coverage on their vehicles. Minimum liability coverage is actually third-party coverage should the vehicle be involved in an accident.

When a car rental company can sell you on the idea of the additional car rental insurance, it’s a way to boost their bottom line. Of course, you need to be mindful about the additional insurance, as it could be a duplicate of the coverage that’s already attached to the vehicle you a renting.  When looking at car rental companies, you need to consider several things:

• The amount of coverage you really need
  
• What the cost will be
  
• Where you can get the additional car rental Key West insurance

Why Should You Purchase Additional Car Rental Key West Insurance

If you go with the liability insurance the car rental company provides, you should understand that the coverage is very basic. This coverage will only pay for the damage that was caused to the rental car and loss of use. It will not cover any of the medical expenses of the persons involved in the accident. The coverage also does not provide coverage for personal effects should your rental car be stolen. And, if your vehicle has a laptop or iPad, replacing these items can get expensive. Basically, minimum liability insurance will not be enough coverage for the majority of the situations you are going to be in. And, getting the additional car rental insurance coverage will keep you from having to pay thousands of dollars later on, should you be in an accident. 

Should You Purchase Additional Car Rental Insurance From A Third-Party Company

Getting a third-party insurance may be good for some situations; but, it all depends on the circumstance.

1. Your Auto Insurance Policy. The best thing you can do is look at your own vehicle insurance company. In your coverage, you may already have the option for rental coverage. Make sure to speak with your insurance agent to learn more.
2. Your Credit Card Company. Believe it or not, many credit card companies offer additional car rental insurance as part of the agreement. All you need to do is ask your credit card company to see if they offer this kind of service.
3. Non-Owners Policy. Should you not have an insurance policy, you have the option for a non-owners policy, as they have additional rental car coverage. What you’ll need to do is talk with your agent.
4. Rental Agency Insurance. There are instances where it’s better to have coverage from a third-party company through the rental car company.

The best thing you can do for yourself (and your wallet) is to look at all the costs, compare the benefits they have and pick the one that’s suitable for your situation.

A Look At The Different Kinds Of Coverages and Insurance in Key West

There are three kinds of additional coverages that have additional costs. These are:

• Loss damage waiver
  
• Collision damage waiver
  
• Personal accident insurance

Both the loss damage and collision damage waiver will be offered by the car rental company. However, these waivers are not insurance. If you buy these additional coverages, the rental company cannot hold you legally liable should something happen to the vehicle. Now, the collision damage waiver will not cover vehicle theft. However, loss damage waiver does cover theft, vandalism and accidents. Personal accident insurance does cover accidental death and medical costs.

Common Insurance Policies European and American Car Rental Companies Offer

European car rental companies offer the following insurance policies:

• Collision insurance or collision damage waiver
  
• Liability insurance
  
• Personal accident insurance
  
• Personal effects coverage
  
• Theft coverage

American car rental companies offer the following insurance policies:

• Supplemental liability insurance
• Emergency sickness plan
• Personal accident and effects insurance

Car rentals near Key West Smathers Beach

If there’s one thing that families love to visit whenever they’re on holiday, it’s the Key West Smathers Beach.  There’s always something for everyone and it’s such a pleasant break from the shopping malls and hectic tourist destinations.  Another advantage to visiting the Smathers Beach is having car rentals near Key West Smathers Beach.  If you want to rest first after a long plane drive, most car rentals provide a shuttle from the airport to take you straight to the car rentals near Key West Smathers Beach.  If your car rental is near the Key West Smathers Beach, you can rest for a while, have a bite to eat and let the kids stretch their legs before you proceed with your journey.

Another advantage to visiting car rentals near Key West Smathers Beach is that they can be less crowded compared to those car rental offices in the airport or near the hotels.  Since some customers would rather get their car rentals as soon as they get off the plane, you may have a long waiting time at the queue at the airport.  So, it is actually a better idea to just leave the airport early (and avoid the throngs of people at the queue) and go to a car rental near a Key West Smathers Beach where there’s probably less people and still have a nice, quiet and relaxing place to wait for your car rental.

It’s not even hard to find car rentals near Key West Smathers Beach.  You can simply go online and browse through car rental agencies’ locations or speak with a customer service representative to narrow down your search.