23 Jul Understanding Liability in Rental Car Accidents: Who’s Responsible?
If you’re looking for the answer to “Does Progressive cover rental cars?” it is probably because your personal vehicle is in the shop getting repaired following a car accident.
While it might be unlikely, there is always a chance that you will be involved in another crash while you are using a rental vehicle. The resulting process of sorting out liability can be a massive headache.
In California, whoever is responsible for causing a car accident is the one who is liable to injured parties for damages. In the vast majority of cases, the responsible party’s insurance company will pay your claim and those of other injured parties.
There may be several liable parties when a car is a rental; therefore, multiple insurance companies are potentially responsible for paying compensation.
A Primer on California Auto Accident Insurance Claims
When you are involved in a California car crash, the primary question that needs to be answered is, “Who is at fault?” Each person whose choices contributed to the crash will have a percentage of fault assigned to them. This percentage of fault impacts the compensation you can recover from any party.
Drivers are the primary, but not the only, people whose carelessness can play a role in a car accident. For example, if a driver was at fault while driving a company vehicle on company time, then that driver’s employer might be partly to blame for the accident.
Similarly, a car mechanic, an auto manufacturer, or even a local city government may also contribute to a crash if they have acted negligently.
When someone is determined to be at fault and liable for damages, that party’s insurance company usually pays compensation claims up to the particular policy’s limit. The responsible party could then be held liable for any difference between the compensation ordered and what their insurer paid.
How Fault and Responsibility Are Determined
When it comes to determining who is at fault and how much responsibility they bear, insurance companies and lawyers will examine the whole set of circumstances surrounding the crash. The goal is to gain a clear picture of what happened immediately before the collision took place.
There are two general types of causes of car crashes, including those involving rental cars: necessary causes and contributing causes. Through a thorough investigation, those looking at the crash attempt to discover what necessary causes directly led to the crash and whether any contributing causes made the crash more likely.
Necessary Causes
A necessary cause is an action or inaction that must have occurred in order for the accident to happen. Without it, the accident would not have taken place.
For example, suppose that a driver ignores a red light and collides with another vehicle. That driver’s act of running the red light will likely be a necessary cause of the accident.
If a particular driver’s behavior is found to be a necessary cause of a car crash, then that driver will likely be found primarily responsible for the crash. Their insurance company will need to pay the claims of others hurt in the accident.
Examples of necessary causes can include speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and driving while distracted.
Contributing Causes
A contributing cause, by contrast, helps explain why the crash happened or caused damage or injury the way it did. However, the crash might still have happened regardless of whether the contributing cause was present.
Again, suppose that a driver speeds through a red light at an intersection, but the driver of the vehicle that is struck momentarily looks at their cell phone just before the accident.
The driver’s act of looking at their cell phone may have contributed to the crash, but the accident likely would have occurred whether the driver was giving their full attention to the road or not.
When you commit a contributing cause, this may reduce the total amount of compensation you receive.
Accident Claims and Rental Cars
You need a temporary vehicle after your personal car is in an accident, so does Progressive cover rental cars? If you are involved in a car wreck that totals your car, and either you or the at-fault driver has Progressive as their liability carrier, this question may be at the forefront of your mind.
Whether the costs of a car rental are covered depends on a few factors. Generally, a successful insurance claim will compensate you for repairing or replacing your vehicle. However, this process may take a few weeks.
If your policy provides for the benefit, your insurer may give you a rental car after accidents. Otherwise, if you must rent a car until yours gets repaired or replaced, you might be able to cover the cost of that rental through a successful claim against the other party.
For a rental car reimbursement, not-at-fault accidents allow you to pursue compensation from the other party’s insurer. In contrast, if your careless behavior is what led to the accident and your insurance does not provide a rental car benefit, you may have to pay for the cost of a rental car out of pocket.
Where to Look for Compensation Following a Rental Car Accident Involving Other Vehicles
Following an accident, law enforcement and your rental car accident lawyer will conduct an investigation that should reveal whether any car involved in the crash was a rental vehicle. If so, additional questions must be asked to know which insurance company or companies may be liable to pay your claim.
The At-Fault Driver’s Personal Auto Liability Policy
Not only does Progressive cover rental cars for many insured drivers, as do other major insurers, but it also covers insured drivers who wreck while in those rental cars.
Therefore, when drivers are involved in an accident in rental cars, the at-fault driver’s insurance will be a potential source of compensation. This is true whether the at-fault driver was driving their own or a rental vehicle.
A Rental Car’s Supplemental Insurance Policy
When you rent a car from most major car rental companies, you often have the option to purchase a supplemental insurance policy. This policy will be the primary insurance policy if you cause a crash while driving a rental car. Depending on the policy’s limits and the crash’s severity, it might cover the full costs of your injuries and damage to your property.
If you are the driver of the rental car and are involved in a not-at-fault accident, rental car insurance can provide you compensation in the event the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured. By filing a claim against the supplemental policy you purchased, you would not have to pay any deductible that your primary policy might require.
Additionally, filing a claim against the supplemental policy might prevent your primary insurance provider from increasing your premium.
The Rental Car Company and Its Insurer
A company that rents a car is generally not liable to others who are hurt in crashes involving its cars. The rental car company has no control over what the driver does when they are behind the wheel.
For instance, a rental car company may tell drivers who rent cars to obey traffic laws before handing them the keys. But that company cannot ensure that the driver actually obeys the law.
There are some exceptions to this general rule, however. Like any other person or entity, if the rental car company committed some negligent act that contributed to a crash, they can be held accountable for the resulting damages. This might include a rental car company that:
- Failed to ensure a car was in good working order before allowing it to be rented
- Rented a car to a driver who was obviously intoxicated or impaired
- Allowed an underage driver to rent a car in violation of the company’s policy
- Did not respond to comments by other renters suggesting there was a mechanical problem with the vehicle
If the rental car company’s business is insured by a liability policy, then that policy can provide compensation for damages when the rental car company is at fault. Otherwise, a rental car company found to be liable for damages will need to use its own assets and resources to satisfy any judgment.
Responsibility for Damage to a Rental Car
What happens if you crash a rental car without insurance? California requires all motorists to carry a legally sufficient auto liability policy whenever they choose to drive. But despite penalties for noncompliance, there are still people who choose to drive their personal vehicles and those belonging to others without adequate insurance.
If you took out a supplemental policy with the rental car company, that policy should step in and cover damages to the rental car.
Many rental car companies accept these policies’ limits as sufficient payment to them for a total loss resulting from an accident you caused. This keeps you from having to pay the rental car company much out of pocket to compensate them.
If you have no personal auto liability insurance policy and you did not purchase any supplemental coverage, you will be responsible for paying the damage to the vehicle.
For example, suppose that you run a red light and crash your rental car. You neither have a personal liability policy nor purchased the supplemental policy when you picked up the rental. In this case, the rental car company will most likely seek a judgment against you personally for the value of the car.
If you were not the one who was at fault for the accident, then any damage caused by the accident would be the responsibility of the at-fault driver. If you contributed to the crash in any way, you could be responsible for paying a portion of that cost.
Suppose that you are found to be 10% at fault in an accident in which you were driving a rental car. The rental is totaled, and the value of the vehicle is $15,000.The at-fault driver would pay $13,500 to the rental car company, but you could be left to pay the remaining $1,500.
What to Know the Next Time You Rent a Car
Just because you are driving a rental car does not mean that you cannot be involved in a serious accident, whether due to your own lapse or that of another driver. The next time you need to rent a car, take a moment to appreciate how complicated and costly a crash involving a rental vehicle could be.
If you do find yourself involved in a crash while driving a rental car, or if you are hit by another driver who is driving a rental, know that the same rules that apply to other car accidents also apply in this situation.
However, unlike car accidents between two private motorists in their own personal vehicles, a crash involving a rental car can potentially involve more parties who can either provide compensation or require compensation.
Contact Your Yuba City Firm, the Law Offices of Steve Gimblin
If you or a loved one have been hurt in any car accident, including rental cars and Turo car shares, the Law Offices of Steve Gimblin can help you. Let us examine the facts of your accident and determine the compensation you might be entitled to receive. We can implement a strategy to help you recover this compensation in a timely manner.
Contact the Law Offices of Steve Gimblin as soon as possible after a rental car accident.
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