If you are planning on renting a car during your travels this summer, you are certainly familiar with the multitude of extra costs that can be tacked on. You may be asking yourself the particular question: do I need insurance for this rental car? While a rental company may tell you that their insurance is necessary, this is not always the case.

First, let’s talk about what happens when you get in an accident in a rental car. Most rental companies are self-insured, but the process of dealing with their insurance can be an unnecessarily difficult task. Alternatively, if you’re in an accident and you do not have rental insurance, the burden of cost is transferred to your personal auto policy. The process and effects are the same, regardless of the insurance company you are dealing with, so why tack on any additional costs?

So what would we recommend you to do? If you have an auto insurance policy, with good liability coverage, you can rely on your own policy. If you do not have a personal auto insurance policy, some credit cards may actually provide liability coverage. Call your credit card company and see if this is a policy they provide. Save yourself the additional costs and only purchase rental insurance if it is absolutely necessary.