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Insurance will pay for a rental car for up to 30 days after an accident, in most cases, as long as a customer has rental reimbursement coverage. The 30 days of rental car payments that insurance companies typically cover are meant to give enough time for car repairs to be completed or for a customer to find a new car.
An exception to the general 30-day rule is if the accident was another driver’s fault. In this case, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will pay for the other driver’s rental vehicle for a reasonable length of time, which may be more than 30 days, while their car is being repaired or replaced. It can take longer than usual to get a rental car covered by another driver’s insurance provider, as the company will need extra time to verify the claim before authorizing any payments.
Rental Car Reimbursement Rules & Limits
Different insurance companies have their own rules regarding how long they will pay for a rental car after a customer has an accident. A single insurer may even have different rules based on policy type. So, if your insurance provider does cover a rental car, the coverage period might not be exactly 30 days.
Some insurers will put daily/per-claim limits on how much they will pay, too. For example, if a policy has rental reimbursement limits of $30 per day/$900 per claim, the insurance company will pay up to $30 per day or $900 per claim for a rental car after an accident. In that case, if a customer knows the repairs on a damaged car will take several weeks, they should consider renting a vehicle with a cheaper daily rate to keep the rental for a longer period of time.
Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that rental reimbursement will only pay for the cost of the rental car, and not the security deposit, gas, supplemental coverage options or other charges. Customers should also check with their insurer to see if they will have to be reimbursed by the insurance company or if the rental company can bill the insurer directly.
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