Will Insurance Pay for a Rental Car During Repairs?

When Does Rental Coverage Apply?

Typically, rental reimbursement coverage applies when your vehicle is undrivable due to a claim that is covered under your policy's collision or comprehensive coverage provisions. This means it would pay for a rental if your car needs repairs after:

• An accident where you were not at fault (covered under collision)
• An accident where you were at fault (also collision coverage)
• Incidents like theft, vandalism, or damage from falling objects, fire, etc. (comprehensive)

The key things to understand are that:

1. The loss needs to be a covered claim
2. The repairs must be extensive enough to make your car undrivable. Minor fender benders that don't render the vehicle inoperable typically won't qualify.

It's also important to note that if the accident was your fault, rental coverage would likely only apply if you have both collision and rental coverage on your policy. Many drivers only purchase the minimum liability coverage required by their state. See: 10 Factors That Affect Car Insurance Rates

Policy Limitations on Rental Coverage

Even if your situation does qualify, your insurer will impose certain limits on the rental car coverage. There are a few common types of limitations:

• Maximum reimbursement amount per day (ex: $30/day)
• Maximum total limit for the full rental period (ex: $900 for 30 days)
• Only covers "standard" or "comparable" rental vehicles within a certain class/price
• Won't cover additional costs like GPS, roadside assistance, insurance etc.
• Minimum dollar amount that repairs must exceed to qualify (ex: $500 repair bill)
• Limited time period where rental is covered (ex: first 30 days of repairs)

These limitations mean it's important to rent an affordable, basic vehicle and to get your car repairs done as quickly as possible. Many policies won't cover rentals beyond 30 days even if repairs take longer.