Our agents here at Langlois Insurance Agency have recently had several customers call to let us know that when they travel out of town, they rent cars through a peer-to-peer rental company, such as Turo, versus going through a traditional rental company, such as Hertz or Enterprise. And these customers wanted to know if their personal insurance policy covers them while driving the rented car that they secured through Turo.
What are Peer-to-Peer car rentals, such as Turo?
It’s similar to an Airbnb or VRBO, but for vehicles. Instead of people renting houses on a short-term basis from another homeowner, people rent other people’s vehicles for a short-term basis through Turo.
Normally when you rent a car through a traditional rental car company like Hertz or Enterprise, your personal auto policy will extend whatever coverage you have on your personal auto policy to the rental car for up to 30 days (depending on the policy). For some insurance companies, the coverage extension from your personal auto policy to a Turo rental car does not occur and you run the risk of having little to no coverage while driving the Turo car.
How does insurance work with Peer-to-Peer car rentals?
For car renters: Your personal auto may not extend to cars you rent via a Peer-to-Peer rental service, such as Turo. So, if you have liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, for example, those coverages may not be in effect when you’re behind the wheel of a car you’ve rented from a peer-sharing network.
If you need temporary coverage, Peer-to-Peer companies may let you opt into/offer auto insurance for the time that you’re renting, similar to rental car insurance. These rates generally vary depending on the level of coverage you want and the car you choose to rent. This would be something that you would need to discuss with the Peer-to-Peer rental company.
For car owners/hosts: You’ll keep your own car insurance policy, but it likely won’t cover insurance offerings for coverage while your car is being rented. Please let us know, as your insurance agent, if you are renting your car out through a Peer-to-Peer rental company. And please keep in mind that it is likely your insurance carrier will deny coverage if you rent out your car under a personal auto policy.
As always, please call any of us at Langlois Insurance Agency at #815-485-2106 and we will discuss the proper way to insure yourself if you decide to rent a car on a Peer-to-Peer rental company, such as Turo. And also please call us if you decide to be a host and rent your personal car on a Peer-to-Peer rental company, such as Turo. We always want to make certain that you are properly insured and covered.
All the best,
Agency Owner