car rental without insurance?

It's against the law to not have car insurance. What if you get in an accident and you hurt someone? What if they are disabled for life? Who is going to pay for it? Their insurance? And then their rates go up because you didn't do the responsible legal thing? If you can't afford the insurance, don't get a car. Take a bus! We all have to have car insurance. It's the law.

Don't you see those commercials on TV? In Louisiana, if you don't have insurance and you have an accident, YOU GO TO JAIL!

Are you talking about not taking out the rental company's insurance here or about having insurance of your own? There has to be some insurance. They won't let you drive the car uninsured. I'm a bit confused.

Check your credit card companies. American Express does pretty well, and some of the others. Anyway, like it or not, you will have liability coverage when you rent the car. I believe your own policies cover this, but check with your own insurance company.

Excactly as roger said: I always use American Express
when renting a car as they provide coverage. You could
call them and get the required information.

There are still a few parts of the US where auto insurance is not required. I believe Texas is still that way. But the vast majority of states require automobile insurance. It's simply the most equitable and least expensive way to assure that injured parties are compensated in auto accidents.

For states that require insurance, a reputable dealer will not sell or lease you a car, and a reputable rental company will not rent you one, unless you can provide proof of insurance. Even if you purchase through a private party (e. g. you buy your neighbor's used car and don't go through a dealership), the transfer of title still happens through the state and, you guessed it, you need to show proof of insurance. Driving a car without proof of insurance is a violation for which you are ticketed and get points on your license. Enough points and you lose your driver's license. Some states don't call it a points system but it's all the same -- you're still on the road to losing your license if you drive without insurance in a state where it is required.

For states that don't require proof of insurance, they won't do this (check with your local government, they usually have a website for the state insurance commissioner, and be absolutely and positively certain you don't need insurance). However, drivers who get into accidents and don't have insurance are really screwed. How? You have no money. Can't you get off scot-free? Well, not exactly.

Indigent defendants (those without insurance and without anything else to pay off a lawsuit with) can still be hit up for a percentage of their present and future paychecks. This is called garnishing your wages. So an accident at age 21 could be something you are paying off until age 41 or 61. You don't pay, you get sued again and perhaps go to jail. Your credit rating is shot if you don't pay, and that means no credit cards without huge charges, no possible mortgage to buy a house and no future car loans.

Indigent drivers who don't work can even get welfare garnished in some cases. Oh, and kiss your possessions good-bye, too, as the state and the plaintiff will do anything to wring a dime out of you. This means stocks, bonds, any home or real estate you may own, a car, etc. Other possessions can also be repo'd in order to pay debts (since you would not be able to pay for them, either). The law usually allows for you to have a place to sleep but it tends to not allow for it to be anything beyond a minimum.

BTW, how are plaintiffs paid when there are indigent drivers out there? Well, like I said, wages are garnished and possessions are seized. But if it's not enough to pay their hospital bills or funeral costs or lost earnings, the money generally comes out of uninsured/underinsured motorist funds. These are, of course, funded by your tax dollars.

$1,000 - $4,000/year in auto insurance costs doesn't look so bad now, does it?

it seems simple to me. if you don't have money to pay for an accident, then you cannot afford NOT to have insurance.

well, one time a mexican woman backed her car without looking, she damaged the side of my car.

and i couldn't do anything about it. i went to dmv requested for her address, then it seemed that she moved away afterwards. i am not sure if she did that because of me or something else.

as for me, i am a student, i have over 30,000 student loans, so where do i get the money to pay back? i have nothing to pay back. no job, no savings, nothing.

He's talking about rental insurance, not insurance on a personal vehicle.

If you currently have an insured auto in your name, your insurance will cover accidents/damage to the rental car or other people. However, you're limited to what your policy covers. For example, if you're driving a 1998 Ford Taurus worth $4,000, and you rent a new Mustang worth $20K and total it, your insurance will only cover the $4K(I'm pretty sure this is how it works).

Without collision insurance purchased from the rental company, you're responsible for the deductible.

If you don't have any insurance on your own, you're pretty much retarded for not buying the insurance from the rental company, since you're 100% for anything that happens.

And in case you're not aware, you can buy collision insurance from the rental company. It relieves you of responsibility for damage to the car, unless you're doing something like drunk driving or racing. Again, if you don't have your own insurance you really need this.

Credit card insurance: this is reimbursment insurance. So if you rely on your credit card, you're still getting stuck with the bill, then you have to make a claim to the credit card company.

youngman,

If you talk to the car people I am sure that they will work with you. Maybe you could even work for them cleaning out cars or something until it's paid off. The important thing is you would be doing the right thing. And, it's always possible there is insurance on the car that will take care of it through the car company. Ducking the responsibility only will make it worse. They may even tell you not to worry about it. You just never know. :wink:

Oh...so you're driving your own car without insurance?

Pretty stupid, but I think you already knew that. What the f*ck do you think happens? You have to pay back damages, and will probably lose your license.

the credit card company does provide collision insurance . so do i still need extra ?

yes.

Did you read what you just quoted? You're ultimately responsible for the damages, not the credit card company. You pay the damages off, then the credit card company pays you back. They're a third party.

Yeah Jespah, I don't understand your response. No rental car company has ever asked me for proof of insurance or insurability. They just want a credit card - preferably one with a high limit. No major car rental agency will rent to someone without a credit card - this forced my "cash talks/credit walks" uncle to get a VISA years ago.

Two things - if you have a credit card, when you rent a car using that card, you likely have some coverage from the credit company. I know mine does (just a regular VISA). Plus, if you have insurance on your own car, that will follow you as well.

When you rent a car they try to sell you two kinds of insurance, CDL and LDL. Unless you have a Banq of Iraq VISA card, you can waive those. If you have a collision or the vehicle is stolen, the rental company will bill your VISA card for the loss. VISA/MC doesn't like that very much, and they are much larger companies than say Hertz. So they will take care of their customers and you will not be liable for the loss unless you left it unlocked with the keys in it ( actually, my Dad did this once in L.A., got carjacked, and American Express still covered the loss).

CJ, I was always told the customer is billed, not the credit card company. Maybe I'm wrong.

If a rental car co. has no proof of insurance, they will sell it to you themselves. The car has to have insurance in order to go on the road. The rental company, sure as shooting, does not want to pay for your accidents. Proof? Maybe that's too strong a word. After all, a lot of rental companies just want the car to go out the door and get the bucks -- but they are not supposed to be working that way and will be burned if the driver has no insurance. Enough incidents like that, and the owner of the rental shop can lose his franchise.

They push for credit cards because, like you said, it means bucks. And it also, these days, means a certain minimal amount of coverage. The rental company does not care where the coverage comes from, so long as it comes from somewhere.

I've rented recently in CA, FL, MI, and TX. Nobody every asked for proof of insurance. I've never been asked in my life. The rental agreement is supposed to be proof.

Trust me, MI and CA are big on insurance - the insurance companies have their claws deep into the politicos in both states.

If you're a student, you must be responsible to protect not only your future, but others that you may harm. Make sure you have auto insurance before you start driving any vehicle. If it's a rental, use the American Express credit card that covers liability insurance. Otherwise, buy your own for the period you'll be driving.

If you drive without that liability insurance, you may ruin your whole future. Most colleges will not allow felons to attend.