Yes, most personal auto insurance policies extend to rental cars when collision and comprehensive coverage are included. This prevents duplicate payments for protection already in place. Policies vary, so checking coverage terms prevents unexpected expenses.  Rental car insurance covers liability, collision and theft insurance. When personal auto insurance is included in the original policy, it usually covers rentals as well. According to the Insurance Information Institute (2025), 75 percent of drivers have collisions and 79 percent have comprehensive coverage. A Claims Trends Report by CarInsuRent analyzed 1,347 rental damage claims and determined that more than 60 percent were due to prior damage or documentation errors, and not renter mistakes. Rental companies provide six primary additional coverages, which tend to replicate personal policies. Being aware of these differences helps avoid unnecessary costs in renting.

Does Standard Auto Insurance Cover Rental Cars?

Here are three major coverages and their application to rental cars:
  1. Liability Coverage: Usually covers rental cars. It covers the cost of injuries or property damage that you cause to others while driving a rental. This coverage covers legal and financial liability in cases of accidents involving the rental car.
  2. Collision & Comprehensive Coverage: Depends on your policy. When your personal insurance covers a vehicle in collision and comprehensive, it usually extends to rentals. These include repair or replacement of accidents, theft, vandalism, or damage during weather when rented.
  3. Personal Injury Protection (PIP): Coverage is state and insurer-specific. PIP of medical expenses following an accident is a part of some personal policies, although most do not. Reviewing your policy is important to make sure that you cover medical expenses when using a rental car.

What Types of Coverage Might Apply to Rental Cars?

Here are five typical coverages and their protection when you rent:
  1. Liability Insurance: Protects your own injuries or property losses that occur when you are driving a rental car. Common limits begin at $50,000 per individual and $100,000 per incident, which helps save renters from paying high legal fees or settlements.
  2. Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) / Loss Damage Waiver (LDW): Rental firms provide such waivers to address damage to rental cars. They cost around 10 to 30 dollars a day and in most instances, are duplicative of coverage already available in personal insurance or credit cards, leading to unnecessary extra expenditures.
  3. Comprehensive Coverage: Covers non-collision events such as theft, vandalism, fire, or natural disasters. Approximately 79 percent of motorists in the United States have comprehensive coverage, which typically extends to rental vehicles to minimize the out-of-pocket costs incurred to cover such damages.
  4. Personal Accident Insurance: Covers your and passengers' medical costs following an accident in a rental. This coverage is an additional coverage that offers protection; however, it usually overlaps with the current health insurance since most health plans do not cover rental injuries.
  5. Personal Effects Coverage: Protects theft or damage of items within the rental car. It normally covers up to 1000 dollars to replace lost/damaged property, fills gaps in coverage that homeowners' or renters' insurance does not cover when traveling.

How Does Credit Card Rental Car Insurance Work?

Here are four important facts about credit card rental car coverage:
  1. Credit Card Coverage Basics: The majority of credit cards provide secondary insurance, which means they pay after your personal auto insurance. This implies that your personal insurance is paid out first and the card pays any outstanding amount as deductibles or gaps.
  2. Booking Requirement: The coverage only comes into effect when you charge the full rental using the credit card containing insurance. When you pay part of the price with cash or another card, the credit card protection does not normally apply.
  3. Insurance Waiver Rule: To take advantage of credit card coverage, you have to reject insurance from the rental company. Accepting their waiver waives the benefits of your credit card, leaving you to only use the rental company's policies and to pay additional charges.
  4. Common Limitations: Liability coverage is not usually provided to credit card insurance in countries such as Ireland or Israel, for luxury cars, motorcycles, and rentals. Being aware of these limits prevents any unexpected out-of-pocket costs when renting internationally or for specialty items.

How to Check if You’re Covered?

Here are the three steps to confirm your rental car coverage:
  1. Review Policy Documents: Read your auto insurance policy carefully to find rental car coverage details. Search on such terms as rentals reimbursement, rentals collision coverage. This is to assist in detecting included protections and any limits.
  2. Contact Your Insurer: Call your insurance company or agent. Ask direct questions regarding the rental car coverage, limits, and exclusions. Talking to them makes you know how your policy affects the rental cars.
  3. Ask Your Credit Card Issuer: Contact your credit card company to verify the terms of rental car protection. Check whether coverage is primary or secondary, any payment conditions, time limits and any vehicles or places excluded to prevent coverage gaps.