What Should You Do if You Are Injured by Someone Driving a Rental Car?
Surprisingly, rental cars remain a popular means of travel in the US in the face of the Uber and Lyft uprising. Rental cars are no exception to accidents, and the post-accident process is largely the same. However, in the moment after crashing, it can be difficult to keep your cool – so we’re here to guide you through the motions.
Collect Contact Information
In the same way that you would in any car accident, ensure that you collect all of the other driver’s contact details and get their insurance company information. Make sure that they include their full name, address, license number, rental car company, and insurance information. If they can’t provide their insurance information at the time, be sure that you have everything else.
Contact Authorities
The majority of states require motor accidents to be reported to local law enforcement but check with your state beforehand. Even if your state doesn’t require it, you should at least file the report so you can generate an incident number, which you can hand over to your injury lawyers.
Review Their Rental Agreement
Here’s where things become more complex than crashes with regular cars. You need to make sure you fully understand the agreement between the renter and the renters. Unfortunately, rental insurance isn’t required by law, but comprehensive coverage will usually extend to rental accidents. You need to know what is covered by their rental agreement, what’s covered by their insurance, and whether they have additional protection through the rental company.
Lawyer Up
Now is the time to find your knight in shining armor, who will assess your case and make sure everything goes by the book. Having an injury lawyer on hand can help you with the daunting job of going through rental and insurance agreements – most will offer a free case evaluation to do this. Further, an attorney that specializes in road accidents will tell you straight whether your case has any weight to it, and whether you should just settle.
Check Your Insurance Policy
If you were not at fault, you won’t be liable for any damages, but your insurance company may cover you for any bodily harm received. You should have some form of personal injury protection in your policy, as it’s required by most states.
Does the Rental Car Insurance Company Pay Out?
In some instances, the rental car’s insurance company will cover damages, but it depends on a few things. For example, if the driver purchased a collision damage waiver, the driver would be protected from having to payout for the rental car’s damage. If this is the case, your claim would be aimed directly at the rental car company.
The most important thing to do when you’re involved in a rental car accident is collect every bit of information you can. You need to file a police report to generate an incident number. Finally, consult an injury lawyer and let them guide you through your options.
