Most people who rent a car for a vacation or other reasons do not actually read the entire contract between themselves and the auto rental establishment. This is a very bad thing to not take the time to do. These days this fact could mean that the renter of the car would have to pay for the entire replacement cost of a rental car that was totaled by an “act of nature”. Auto rental companies discontinued the coverage for damage to auto rental vehicles caused by acts of nature or God which include earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. This new provision in auto rental contracts occurred just in the last few years and is due to the enormous damage done by Hurricane Katrina. This catastrophe alone cost auto rental agencies millions of dollars and caused some of the smaller ones to actually have to go out of business.
Dan Kummer, Director of Auto Insurance for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), an insurance trade organization stated that “if you don’t check your rental agreement carefully before signing on the dotted line, you could get burned”. There is a good side to this if you have comprehensive coverage on your own Sterling auto insurance policy the damages will be covered. So, before you go to rent a car check with your insurance agent to make sure you have the correct coverage.
Of course, there is no simple way to read a rental car agreement because they are very long and not written in plain language. This is to make it almost impossible for a car rental customer to comprehend all the terms and conditions of the agreement. But, it is very important for you to read through the Windsor auto insurance contract even if it takes a long time. A few extra minutes reading is better than having to pay for a new vehicle that was totaled out.
After you read the auto rental contract and you still have questions, talk to your auto insurance agent to clarify what they will cover and then ask the auto rental representative exactly what they will cover in the instance of an act of nature or God. It is much better to be a pest and keep asking questions until you have it clear in your hear just who is going to be responsible for what. It’s so much better to know ahead of time exactly where everyone stands on the issue of act of nature or God damages done to an auto rental vehicle.