Before renting

1. Insurance Company

Find out how much coverage you currently have on your own car. Mostly, your insurance policy for your own car would apply when you rent a car.

2. Credit Card Company

Sometimes insurance benefits offered by credit card companies differ. Credit cards usually cover only damage to or loss of the rented vehicle, not for other cars, personal belongings or the property of others. There may be no personal liability coverage for bodily injury or death claims. So you may not have as much coverage as you thought.

At the Rental Car Counter

You can generally choose from the following coverages:

1. Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)

LDWs relieve or "waive" renters of financial responsibility if their rental car is damaged or stolen. Mostly, waivers also provide coverage for "loss of use" for the charges from Rental Company for the time a damaged car cannot be used because of fixing. It may also cover towing and administrative fees.

However, waivers may become void if the accident was caused by speeding, driving on unpaved roads or driving while intoxicated. If you already have comprehensive and collision coverage on your own car, check with your personal auto insurer to make sure there is no duplicated coverage.

2. Liability Insurance

A stated required amount of liability insurance must be provided by rental companies by law. However, these amounts are low and do not provide much protection. It will cost between $7 and $14 a day. If you have adequate amounts of liability protection on your own car, you may consider give up additional liability protection.

Those who don't have their own car and rent frequently can also consider purchasing a non-owner liability policy. This not only provides liability protection when you rent a car, but also when you borrow someone else's car.

It offers coverage to you and your passengers for medical and ambulance bills for injuries caused in a car accident. It usually costs about $1 to $5 a day. If you have adequate health insurance or personal injury protection on your own car insurance, you may not need this additional insurance.

4 Personal Effects Coverage

It provides insurance protection for the theft of items in your car. It generally costs between $1 and $4 a day. If you have a homeowners or renters insurance policy that includes off-premises theft coverage or a personal articles floater under those policies, you may not need it additionally either.