[throwaway_80bf3]

This is not true. _Most_ cards do _not_ cover at fault general liability, most cover the damage to the car and that's usually secondary coverage, which is to say if you have insurance already, you will have to utilize that first in case a claim is required.

If you fall asleep and drive a car into a house or hit a pedestrian, you better have to have some third party liability coverage. If you have car insurance already you probably have this coverage, but if you don't... you don't.

This is a pretty complicated topic and I've done some deep dives into it and found it's not as clear cut as most people seem to believe. What kind of card you have matters, whether you have insurance already matters and even with both of those you need to understand what exactly is covered by who and when. If you don't have insurance you should always get liability. If you don't have insurance and rent a lot you should call up Progressive or National and request a quote for non-owner liability coverage.

What one shouldn't do is go around telling people to waive all coverage and that rental car insurance is a scam.

[ams6110]

Rental companies will also hit you for "loss of use" while their damaged car is being repaired. This will likely be claimed at $hundreds/day. Most personal auto insurance and even many credit card liability plans will not cover this. I have a State Farm Visa for the sole reason that if I rent a car using that card I am fully covered including for loss of use.

[thaumasiotes]

> Rental companies will also hit you for "loss of use" while their damaged car is being repaired. This will likely be claimed at $hundreds/day.

This is much more than the cost to the consumer of renting the car. How can they possibly defend it?

[jdpedrie]

Thank you for the correction. Unfortunately I can't edit my original comment to highlight that anymore. I've certainly always rented whilst having primary coverage from my normal auto insurance and so the distinction wasn't especially important for me. That said (and again, I was incorrect in my first post), some/many credit cards /do/ offer primary insurance coverage for rentals, and anyone renting a car should definitely take the time to check before getting to the rental counter!