When renting a car through Enterprise Rent-A-Car, you’ll find several insurance options to choose from. As things like accidents and theft are often unpredictable, these options can help you avoid unexpected costs and stress when borrowing your vehicle. Each of these has its own pricing and benefits, so reviewing what Enterprise has to offer can help you find an insurance plan that works best with your needs and budget. Let’s look at some of the essential details about enterprise car rental insurance, like costs and benefits.
Why Get Enterprise Car Rental Insurance?
Many states require their drivers to get liability insurance or a combination of that and collision, depending on the type of car. Similarly, rental car companies must insure their cars, even with basic insurance. You can also contribute to that by buying additional coverage for injuries and damages. Though you might only have your Enterprise rental car for several days, getting insurance can help ease your mind while borrowing a vehicle. Here are some of the key reasons you might get Enterprise rental insurance:
Stolen Goods
Many times rental car insurance can help you avoid liability if your vehicle or parts of it, like keys, are stolen. Without this additional coverage, you may need to pay out of pocket or investigate your personal vehicle’s insurance options. This can also help cover any of your own personal goods that might be stolen when driving a rental vehicle.
Vehicle Damage
Like regular liability or collision insurance, Enterprise car rental insurance can cover the costs of a damaged vehicle or property. This can be especially important in big accidents, where a vehicle may have a total loss, as expenses can be high. Similar to stolen goods, your own insurance may cover some of this, but it can help to go through Enterprise’s additional options.
Injuries
Some injuries are covered by your personal injury coverage through car or medical insurance, but additional options with Enterprise can help cover more. These can include medical bills and death reimbursement while driving your car.
Lack of Insurance
If you don’t own a car, but you’re renting one, getting the Enterprise rental insurance can be a smart idea. While others might use coverage from their own plans, you could end up spending a lot out of pocket if anything were to happen when borrowing a car.
Types of Enterprise Car Rental Insurance and Costs
More than basic insurance, Enterprise offers several types of coverage you can explore to ensure you avoid any unnecessary costs or stress. They also insure their own cars, usually with basic liability coverage, before lending them to drivers. Your own insurance might have certain coverage levels that help with the costs for rental vehicles, too, so be sure to check these before getting additional rental insurance. Let’s look at some of the options you can choose from when renting a car:
Damage Waiver
A damage waiver is an optional piece of coverage that allows you to cover any damages incurred when renting your car. This can include physical damage to the vehicle along with coverage for situations like theft. It can help you avoid additional out-of-pocket costs for any unforeseen events. The price of this coverage can vary depending on the type of car and location. This cost ranges between $11.99 and $16.99 each day.
Personal Accident Insurance and Personal Effects Coverage
PAI and PEC coverage can protect the car renter and their passengers for any accidental death or injuries caused while renting the vehicle. The coverage helps with medical bills and other potential fees, like ambulance costs. This is a daily fee, so the price can vary depending on how many days you rent the car, averaging between $5-$13.
Supplemental Liability Protection
Supplemental liability protection allows for you to have coverage for up to $300,000 in liability costs, sometimes even more. This is also optional insurance but can cover both bodily injuries and property damages. The price for this also varies based on location, but averages between $8 to $17 a day.
Roadside Assistance Protection (RAP)
Roadside assistance protection helps drivers avoid costs from issues like locking themselves out of a vehicle or running out of fuel. For an additional fee, you can receive service wherever you’re driving with your rental car, where a professional comes out to help with your needs.
Compare costs
Costs between rental car companies can vary, depending on the vehicle and location. Even still, Enterprise often offers more affordable options than its competitors. Here are some of the cost comparisons with the different rental agencies and the insurance coverages they offer:
- Budget: Budget offers damage waivers for $17, PAI for $6, and Liability for $14.
- Enterprise: Enterprise offers damage waivers for $15, PAI for $5, and Liability for $13.
- Hertz: Hertz offers damage waivers for $16, PAI for $6, and Liability for $14.
Do You Need Rental Reimbursement?
Rental Reimbursement is a type of insurance offered by insurance companies or car dealerships that you might pursue. The amount you put in can help you pay for the costs of a rental car when you need it the most. As some car repairs can take several weeks, the out-of-pocket costs for renting can get high. With rental reimbursement, you can save money and stress later.
Now that you have the information for Enterprise car rental insurance costs, you can make an informed decision about which might be best for you. You can ask your customer service representative to see which combination of coverage might be best for your vehicle. When you contact them, be sure to ask about pricing, as this varies from city to city. Starting with rental reimbursement can help save you money when borrowing a car. Though you might pay a small fee up-front, these rental car insurance options can save you time and money down the road.
At FIXD, our mission is to make car ownership as simple, easy, and affordable as possible. Our research team utilizes the latest automotive data and insights to create tools and resources that help drivers get peace of mind and save money over the life of their car.
