What Does Truck Rental Insurance Cover?

When you rent a truck, you are assuming custody over a very expensive piece of equipment. Whether your truck rental is a moving van, farm truck, or typical pick-up, it will cost a lot of money to repair or replace. This is why many consumers choose to purchase truck rental insurance.

Of course, all truck rental insurance packages are not created equal. The coverage types and limits are different depending on which package you choose. Keep in mind that most car rental agencies offer several different packages.

Truck Rental Liability Insurance

This is the most basic type of truck rental insurance. It covers any damage you cause to another vehicle, person, or piece of property while driving your rented truck. It doesn't cover damages sustained to the rental car or to yourself and your passengers. According to NetQuote, it costs around $10 per day, and may be redundant if you already have a liability insurance policy on your personal vehicle.

If you do have liability coverage on your personal policy, you can still purchase a liability insurance supplement when you rent a truck. This covers damage in excess of the limits on your personal property, which further protects you against potential expenses.

Truck Rental Damage Waivers

Car rental agencies offer various types of damage waivers, which are like mini insurance policies. They are essentially a contract between you and the company; in exchange for a daily fee, the rental agency agrees not to hold you financially responsible for damage you cause while operating a rented truck.

A collision damage waiver, for example, would protect you if you were to get in an accident in the rented truck and dent its fender. Since you paid for the waiver, the rental company can't come after you to fix that fender.

Truck Rental Personal Accident Insurance

Rental agencies often offer Personal Accident Coverage (PAC), which is an agreement to pay a certain amount of money for serious injury or loss of life while driving the car. This is typically considered redundant coverage if you have a health or car insurance policy of your own, and the fine print of this type of policy is often extremely complex.

Truck Rental Personal Property Insurance

People purchase personal property coverage with truck rental insurance to cover their personal items while driving. For example, if you purchase this coverage and your laptop is stolen from the trunk of your rental truck, you'll be reimbursed for the value of that laptop.

Of course, if you don't plan to leave valuables in your rental truck or otherwise put your personal property at risk, this type of coverage isn't necessary. It's a personal decision, and you should evaluate the risk against the additional cost.