Will my insurance cover a rental car during repairs?

Two ways a rental usually gets paid for

1. Your own policy: If you have rental reimbursement (sometimes called transportation expense), your carrier pays up to your policy's daily and total limit while your car is in the shop for a covered loss.
2. The other driver's policy: If you weren't at fault and the other driver's liability carrier accepts the claim, they typically owe you a "loss of use" — a rental of a comparable class of vehicle for the time it takes to repair.

What to ask your adjuster before you rent

• What is the daily dollar cap?
• What is the total dollar cap or maximum number of days?
• What vehicle class is approved (economy, midsize, SUV, luxury)?
• Do you want me to use a specific rental partner, or any agency?

How we keep your rental days down

Rental coverage is finite. Every extra day spent waiting on a part approval is a day off your cap. We pre-order parts as soon as your supplement is approved, batch insurance back-and-forth into single touchpoints, and tell you the realistic pickup date instead of an optimistic one. If a delay is on us, we'll say so.

If you don't have rental coverage

You'll either pay out of pocket or go without while your car is being repaired. It's worth checking your declarations page before an accident happens — adding rental reimbursement is usually a few dollars a month. Call (973) 406-6363 if you want help reading what's on your policy.