Yes, even if you do not own a car, but use other cars to travel, you need auto insurance. Accidents may occur anytime in any vehicle no matter if you own the car or not. Many people think that it is a waste of money to buy car insurance if they do not own a car.
Car Insurance without Car
But whether or not you own a car, buying car insurance is certainly a smart decision as you can be sure of protection against the unknown, usually a road accident. Car accidents generally leave you with a huge financial liability.
If you drive a borrowed vehicle and meet with an accident, the insurance of the owner of the car comes into effect first. But if the cost of damages exceed the policy limit of the owner, your non-owner policy will cover the remaining damages up to your policy limit.
You can purchase a non-owner car insurance policy to protect against losses if there is an accident when you travel in a car that you do not own. The non-owner policy usually provides you with liability, medical expenses and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage up to your policy limits. However non-owners policy does not cover collision, comprehensive, towing and rental reimbursement coverage.
When there is a hit and run case when you are traveling in a rental car, or sometimes the other driver is uninsured and underinsured, you will be required to pay for the damages suffered by the rental car. If you do not have car insurance, you should meet this expenditure out of your pocket. Usually these are huge sums that may land you in a financial crisis. If you have car insurance, the insurer will pay for this minus your deductible. Car rental companies offer auto insurance policy for the period of your trip when you hire a car. This insurance is for a certain term of coverage with a daily price.
Your credit card company also provides car insurance if you use the card to rent a car. The coverage and prices vary with each credit card company. You can ask for a written statement on the terms of the car insurance provided by your credit car company when you buy car insurance from them. You can even combine the coverage provided by the rental car company and the credit card company to maximize your coverage.