Does standard auto insurance cover you in a rental?
Broadly speaking, your everyday car insurance policy usually extends to a rental car. This applies to your liability protection, medical payments coverage or personal injury protection, collision coverage, and even comprehensive coverage. The coverage amounts you have in place for your personal vehicle usually also extend to your rental. If you have collision coverage with a $500 deductible, then your rental car will also have collision insurance coverage and the same deductible of $500 would apply in the event of a crash.
There may be exclusions, so it's always a good idea to read the fine print on your policy before you book a rental car. For example, some insurance carriers only extend auto coverage to a rental car when it is being used for leisure purposes. This means if you're renting a car for business-related purposes, your same coverage may not apply.
Likewise, keep in mind that your personal auto insurance coverage limits may not always be suitable for a rental car. Let's say you drive a 10-year-old car that you only have $5,000 of uninsured motorist property damage coverage on. You decide to treat yourself and rent a luxury convertible for your upcoming trip, but you end up in a fender-bender with an uninsured driver that costs $10,000 to repair. Unfortunately, your uninsured motorist property damage coverage limit of $5,000 won't be enough to cover that repair—and you could be on the hook for the remainder.