Will my car policy cover a rental car?

People often wonder, ‘Do I need to purchase insurance from a rental car agency to cover the rental car?’ In most cases, no you do not.  Coverage will extend from your car policy to the rental car just as if it were your own car. Your liability limits are the same. To be covered for any body damage you are responsible for, you’ll need to have comprehensive (other than collision) and collision coverage on your own car policy. There are several items that may not be covered, such as loss of use. This is the amount of money the rental car agency can rent the car out for but is unable to do so because it’s in the shop being repaired. Example: If the car rents out at $40 a day, you run into a large elk while driving in Colorado sight seeing and the car is in the body shop for 3 days getting repaired. You may owe the rental car agency $120 for what they are out because they don’t have that car available to rent. But your comprehensive deductible would apply and the rest of the repairs would be covered under your car policy. Other items that may not be covered would include administrative fees and towing charges.  To be certain of this coverage, always check with your agent or insurance company!