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Does Geico Have Rental Car Insurance?
Geico offers rental car insurance among the many optional add-ons of its insurance menu. Often referred to as “rental reimbursem*nt insurance,” this coverage helps pay the cost of renting a car if your vehicle is in the shop for repairs after a covered accident. The insurance costs only a few dollars per month and could save you much more money if you ever need it. If you haven’t rented a car recently, you might be surprised at the cost.
How Much Does Renting a Car Cost?
According to the Consumer Price Index by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. rental car costs rose nearly 50% following the pandemic in 2020. While prices have come down since then, they’re still higher than they were pre-pandemic.
The amount you’ll pay for a rental car depends on a number of things, including:
- Type of car: A full-size or luxury car costs more than a compact or economy car.
- Location of pickup: You might pay more when renting a car at an airport or in a popular tourist destination.
- How far in advance you book: You could pay more for last-minute reservations than if you book the vehicle a few weeks or months in advance.
- Driver age: Because insurance companies consider younger, less-experienced drivers a higher risk, they’ll often pay higher rental rates.
The popular travel site Kayak lists rental car prices in the range of $17 to $100 per day. However, depending on the type of car and location, a rental could cost significantly more than that. For example, a top-of-the-line, high-end vehicle like a Lincoln could cost you as much as $250 per day.
What’s Covered by Geico Rental Car Insurance Coverage?
Geico’s rental car insurance covers the cost of renting a car. If you were involved in a covered accident (meaning Geico or the other driver’s insurance is paying your insurance claim) and you need to rent a car while your car gets repaired, Geico’s rental car insurance would help. If you’re not at fault for the accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance will likely pay for your rental car.
It covers the cost of renting a car up to the limits you choose when you buy your policy. Limits vary, but when gathering quotes for rental car insurance, you can expect to see limits like:
- $35 per day ($1,050 max per accident)
- $50 per day ($1,500 max per accident)
- $75 per day ($2,250 max per accident)
If you select $50/$1,500, Geico will pay $50 a day or up to $1,500 total for a given accident — whichever cap you hit first. If you rent a car at $50 per day for five days, the cost would be $250. But if you rent a car at $50 per day for more than 30 days, your coverage would max out at the $1,500 mark. You would have to pay out of pocket for any additional days you need the rental car.
Geico rental car insurance reimburses everything unless you rent a car from Enterprise. In that case, Geico will pay for your rental directly, which means no out-of-pocket cost for you.
When choosing your limits for rental reimbursem*nt insurance, keep in mind the type of vehicle you need day to day. If you’re used to having a luxury car or if you need a larger vehicle, like a van or truck, consider setting higher limits to cover the higher cost of replacing your vehicle.
What Doesn’t Rental Car Reimbursem*nt Cover?
Rental car reimbursem*nt coverage covers only the cost of renting a car when you’re in need of transportation after an accident. It doesn’t cover ancillary expenses, such as:
- Gas for the rental car
- Any additional coverage for the rental car*
- Any security deposit requested by the rental car company
*Geico doesn’t provide additional coverage for the rental car, but if you have collision and comprehensive insurance already on your policy, this will likely transfer to your rental car temporarily.
It’s worth noting that you can only use rental reimbursem*nt coverage if your car is in the shop as the result of a covered accident — meaning your insurance company approved and is paying for your claim.
If your car breaks down or is with the mechanic for routine maintenance, rental reimbursem*nt coverage doesn’t apply. In the case of a standard mechanical breakdown, Geico offers mechanical breakdown insurance.
Is Rental Car Reimbursem*nt Different From Rental Car Insurance?
To answer this question, it’s important that we clarify something, because this is where it gets confusing. As mentioned, Geico’s rental car insurance provides limited reimbursem*nt for the costs of actually renting the car.
However, if you have collision and comprehensive insurance on your Geico policy, these insurance types — not Geico’s rental car insurance — will temporarily insure the rental car while your actual car is in the shop. However, you’ll only get comprehensive and collision coverage.
Geico’s “rental car insurance” is a bit of a misnomer because it’s technically rental car reimbursem*nt coverage. When you see this latter term specifically being used in the insurance industry, it’s referring to your insurer paying you back (partially) for renting the car, but not paying for its damages or your bodily injuries if you get into a car accident.
It’s very common that car insurance companies will automatically protect your rental car anyway under comprehensive and collision coverage. In the industry, the term “rental car insurance” usually means insuring a rental car — not paying for the car’s use over a few days. This is typically offered by rental car companies themselves or by your credit card company.
Where Can I Insure My Rental Car?
Since Geico will only provide whatever amount of comp and collision you already have on your policy for your rental, you may want more coverage. You can often get this through the rental car company itself or your credit card company. The latter only applies if you pay for the rental with a credit card, though.
Check with your credit card company to find out what it covers before deciding whether to buy more rental insurance. You may be sufficiently protected already.
What Is a Collision Damage Waiver?
If you don’t have collision coverage on your auto insurance policy, you sometimes can buy a collision damage waiver (CDW). While it’s not full insurance coverage, a collision damage waiver ensures that you’re not on the hook for any collision damage that may occur to the rental car.
This waiver only applies to collision damage. It doesn’t cover liability-related expenses, including bodily injury and property damage. Additionally, a collision damage waiver doesn’t cover theft. To protect against theft, you’d need to buy what’s known as a loss damage waiver (LDW).
Is Rental Car Coverage Worth It?
Like most insurance coverages, rental car coverage easily pays for itself if you ever need to use it. However, you should consider some things before adding it to your car insurance policy, including:
- Do you have another vehicle you could use if yours were in the shop for repairs for a few days or even a few weeks?
- Can you survive without your car — take public transit, rides from friends — for a few days or weeks?
- Do you drive a large car, like a van or truck, that you’d need to replace with something similar if you rented a vehicle?
- Can you afford to pay a few hundred or even a thousand dollars to rent a car for a week or two?
If you would have a hard time getting through a week or two without your car and you don’t have cash set aside for emergency expenses (like renting a car), then rental reimbursem*nt coverage could absolutely be worth it. Keep in mind that you may be paying for something that you may never need to use. It’s up to you how much risk you’re comfortable with.
Geico Rental Car Insurance: The Bottom Line
Rental car insurance from Geico is an optional coverage that’s easy to add to your auto policy and could be worth the money if you need to use it.
If your car’s ever in the shop for repairs following a covered accident, rental reimbursem*nt insurance would pay the cost of renting a new one in the interim and could save you a few hundred dollars or more. If you don’t have money set aside for emergencies like this, rental car reimbursem*nt could be a worthwhile investment.
However, rental car reimbursem*nt coverage isn’t just offered by Geico. You can find these coverages with State Farm, Progressive and others. Check out our reviews for State Farm or Progressive. You can also compare the providers with each other or with Geico:
- Progressive vs. State Farm
- State Farm vs. Geico
- Geico vs. Progressive
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Geico Rental Car Insurance: FAQs
Below are frequently asked questions about Geico rental car insurance.
Geico’s main phone number is 1-800-207-7847. If you experience long wait times on the phone, you can also use the virtual assistant or chat features on the company’s website. If you have a Geico policy already, you can log into your policy online to add rental reimbursem*nt insurance. If you’re not sure if you have this coverage, you can always check with your car insurance agent.
Car rental insurance from Geico helps cover the cost of renting a car if yours is in the shop for repairs after a covered accident. You can only use it if you’ve already filed a claim that was approved and is being processed. Geico car rental insurance has daily and per-accident caps, meaning it will only pay for your rental car up to the limits you choose.
Best known for providing affordable car insurance nationwide, Geico also offers all of the following protection products: motorcycle, ATV, umbrella, homeowners, renters, condo, co-op, RV, life, boat, personal watercraft, flood, mobile home, overseas, travel, commercial, business, identity protection, snowmobile, collector car, Mexico car, pet, jewelry, medical malpractice, earthquake and event insurance.
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Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.
Here are the factors our ratings take into account:
- Cost: Auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities were both taken into consideration.
- Coverage: Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
- Reputation and experience: Our research team considered market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
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