Can I Buy 1-day Liability Insurance for a Rental Car (I Don't Own a Car and Don't Have my Own Auto I

[Barbos]

Hello,

I don't own a car and don't have auto insurance.
I have only 1 rental company near my house but they don't provide liability/full coverage insurance.
I know that my Chase Freedom credit card will cover damage to the rental vehicle, but it will not cover 3rd party damage or injuries.

So the question is - can I buy auto liability insurance online just for 1 day?

Kind regards,
Barbos

 

[djs]

I don't know of any company that will do this. Car rental agencies usually provide this (as an option) or it goes on your regular auto policy.

If you rent cars regularly, you can get a non-owned insurance policy which would extend liability coverage to your rentals for the day or weekend type of use. Non-owned policies are usually inexpensive but they are not designed or practical for short periods of time.

Dan

 

[BlockO]

I don't know of any company that will do this.

believe it or not, there are several companies online that do this.

google "1 day auto insurance" and several sites come up.

 

[djs]

believe it or not, there are several companies online that do this.

google "1 day auto insurance" and several sites come up.

Could be regional.... when I google 1 day auto insurance, I get a lot of companies offering to quote, but when you actually look, they are quoting a regular policy, not a short term policy.

They are using the term as a marketing gimmick to get people to fill out lead requests.

I'm sure companies offer it, but I don't know of any. I can't see how a company would make money doing it. Rental car companies do because of volume, but on an individual basis, how many 1 day insureds would you have to do to pay for one claim?

A non-owned policy is cheap enough that it solves this problem and is probably less then insuring a car through the rental car company for 10 days.... with the benefit it covers in case you borrow a car from a friend as well.

Dan

 

[BlockO]

when I google 1 day auto insurance, I get a lot of companies offering to quote, but when you actually look, they are quoting a regular policy, not a short term policy.

They are using the term as a marketing gimmick to get people to fill out lead requests.

I didn't catch that. good eye DJS. that's very misleading.


the shortest term I can sell with any of my carriers are 1 month policies. they come in handy sometimes too:

-military personnel home on leave.
-someone on the verge of having a violation fall off of their record.
-good for weeding out bad clients who nail you with chargebacks.

 

[INSUREGEEK]

Barbos,

Do you have a close family member that has car insurance? Chances are that company will sell you a "named non-owner" policy that covers you in any vehicle you drive, whenever you drive it. It might have to be an add-on to that relative's policy, which may or may not work for you so that's why I ask.

The other alternative is to research the Financial Responsibility (FR) requirements in your state and find a way to meet that requirement. In my state, folks can post a "FR" Bond to take care of this. That's likely the most expensive option though.

 

[BlockO]

The other alternative is to research the Financial Responsibility (FR) requirements in your state and find a way to meet that requirement. In my state, folks can post a "FR" Bond to take care of this. That's likely the most expensive option though.

actually FR bonds are usually LESS expensive than named non-owner policies. the only rare occasions that I see named op policies come out cheaper is when the driver has outstanding credit. Credit isn't a rating factor with bonds. plus the bond market is more competitive than the named op market, driving down the price.

but I believe Ohio is the only state that has a FR bond. I know of no other state that has them.

in all other states, the choice will be either a named non-owners policy or a broad form named driver policy.

 

[mohitshetty]

Do you mean Temporary Insurance? I Google and found one company that provides Temporary Insurance for 1 day to 28 days.
Benefits:
No long-term contracts
Cover from 1 to 28 days
Insurance as and when you need it
Comprehensive cover
Basic cover for driving in Europe
Arrange cover instantly
Source: Confused(.)com

 

[djs]

actually FR bonds are usually LESS expensive than named non-owner policies. the only rare occasions that I see named op policies come out cheaper is when the driver has outstanding credit. Credit isn't a rating factor with bonds. plus the bond market is more competitive than the named op market, driving down the price.

but I believe Ohio is the only state that has a FR bond. I know of no other state that has them.

in all other states, the choice will be either a named non-owners policy or a broad form named driver policy.

California has the FR bond as well. I always assumed most states do, but never really looked into it.

Here is the catch though.... with the bond, you still own the loss. There is no transfer of risk to the insurance company. All the bond does is prove you are good for the loss if you incur one.

Yes, the bond company will pay, but they will come back to you if they have to pay.

This fact always makes the FR bond the most expensive (at least riskiest) way to have coverage.

On top of that, I doubt a car rental place would have any idea what to do with an FR bond. That clerk has probably never seen one before and has no idea what you are talking about.

Dan

 

[BlockO]

DJS, I believe we're comparing apples to oranges.

based on how you described the CA FR bond, it works totally different from an OH FR bond.

Ohio has something similar to what you described, but it is called something different. ("certificate of self insurance" - or something like that)

A CA FR bond sounds like it is a surety bond.

An OH FR bond is very similar to a broad form named driver policy minus the UM and Med pay coverage. it is only intended as a secondary policy, but many drivers only use it as a primary policy (which is scary).

.... and rental companies here are familiar with OH FR bonds because they are so common. but of course, almost none of them will accept it as coverage.