Does Progressive insurance cover rental cars?

I wish I could give you a definitive answer, but it would be irresponsible to do so in light of the sheer number of different types of auto insurance policies and providers that exist. In other words, I wouldn’t want to make a sweeping statement that leaves you vulnerable due to the specific language and nature of your policy. … read full answer

In most cases, however, the types of coverage, liability limits and deductibles associated with your policy will extend to rental cars. That means if, for example, you only have liability coverage as part of your current auto insurance plan, you won’t have any collision coverage for physical damage that may occur to a rental car. Likewise, if you have relatively low collision coverage and you end up totaling a rental car, you’ll likely have to cover the difference between your coverage limit and the cash value of the rental.

The best thing to do is call your insurance provider and ask what you’re covered for and what kind of additional rental coverage you’ll need. It’s really worth doing so because they supplemental coverage rental car companies try to sell you can get quite expensive.

With that said, your auto insurance isn’t the only source of potential rental car coverage you likely already have. Most credit card networks (i.e. Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover) and credit card issuers (e.g. BofA, Capital One, etc.) automatically provide some form of rental car insurance.

For example, all Visa cards provide a rental car Collision Damage Waiver as long as you pay for the entire rental transaction with your Visa card and decline any coverage options offered by the rental company itself. This protects you for physical damage and/or theft of your rental up to the actual cash value of the vehicle, reasonable towing charges, and loss-of-use charges assessed by the rental company.

MasterCard, American Express and Discover all seem to have similar policies and at the very least provide some sort of rental car coverage. Again, the best thing to do is call your card’s issuer and ask what kind of coverage your particular card gets you, what types of cars it covers (Amex’s standard coverage only applies to standard rentals), and what, if anything, you need to do to benefit.

Finally, for some people it might make sense to simply purchase an add-on to their auto insurance policy that covers them for all non-owned cars. This is called Unlimited Non-Owned Car Coverage (UNOC) and depending on the company, you may be able to get it, cancel it whenever you so choose, and only have to pay a prorated charge.

There are three main ways to buy liability insurance for a rental car.

First, check with your own auto insurance company. If you have a personal auto insurance policy, many insurers will extend liability coverage to your rental vehicle at no extra cost.

The second way to buy liability insurance for a rental car is to purchase a non-owner car insurance policy. This type of policy is designed for individuals who do not own a personal vehicle but rent cars frequently. Depending on how often you rent cars, this option might be cheaper than buying insurance directly from the rental car company each time you're at the rental counter.… read full answer

Finally, you can also buy liability insurance directly from the rental car company at the time of your car rental. This option tends to be the more expensive option.

Progressive has two accident forgiveness programs: 1) Progressive customers won’t see their rates go up for certain not-at-fault claims of $500 or less and 2) If you’ve been a Progressive customer for at least five years and accident-free for at least three years, your rate won’t go up for having an accident of any scale. The first type of Progressive accident forgiveness applies to all Progressive customers and starts as soon as your coverage does. Eligible incidents include things that are out of your control, such as hail damage or a cracked windshield. The second accident forgiveness benefit works more like a loyalty program.… read full answer

Progressive accident forgiveness applies regardless of whether you are at fault, and enrollment is automatic in the states where it’s available. Unfortunately, Progressive doesn’t offer any additional information about which states have accident forgiveness, so you’ll have to call with your policy number to see if you qualify.

Accident forgiveness is a one-time benefit that applies to one accident per policy, not one accident per driver. It’s also important to remember that the accident still shows on your driving record. That means it will be visible to other insurance companies for three to five years, and it could still cause higher premiums with another insurer.