Idea. Ask if your insurance company will sell you a "rider" to cover your foreign vehicle rental.[emphasis added]After some more follow up, I've quoted you once again. Indeed, my auto insurance policy provides no coverage in Europe, so I only have coverage of the car itself via my credit card; it does not provide coverage for any people or objects inside or outside the vehicle. I'm reaching out to my agent about getting an umbrella policy, either permanently, or perhaps just for the duration of the trip. Insurance through the car rental agency is 2x the cost of the rental itself and not even sure how comprehensive the coverage is. Worst case scenario, a month of umbrella coverage may be cheaper, and the annual premium might not be *that* much more expensive than 15 days of coverage through the car rental.
IF you plan to "cover this" with some higher limit umbrella policy, check carefully if that would cover what you need.
My understanding of umbrella insurance is that it ups the coverage that one already has.
I'm not sure if it adds new coverages, which would then need to start with the first dollar claim. Umbrella coverage is often relatively inexpensive because it only kicks in if the underlying policy has been maxed out.
But you may be able to get a special policy for this. You won't be the first person wanting this type of coverage.
RM
I suggest this because I was required to drive a government vehicle for work. POV (privately owned vehicle) insurance doesn't cover GOV (government owned vehicle). What to do? Called insurer (USAA) and asked. They sold me a GOV rider; recall it was $10/yr.
When I asked why rider was so cheap, they said (paraphrased), "Folks who own the rider are usually very careful drivers and are just 'planning for the worst'. But since they are careful drivers, they seldom caused accidents, so seldom needed the rider's protection, which is why it's so cheap."
Statistics: Posted by dratkinson — Mon May 13, 2024 6:48 pm