What if I Do Not Have Rental Reimbursement
If you skip rental reimbursement, you'll need another way to get around and you'll pay for it yourself after a covered claim.
Why this coverage exists and why it's easy to skip
Rental reimbursement is a separate add-on, not something bundled automatically into a policy. It pays for a replacement vehicle while your car is in the shop after a covered claim, usually with a daily amount and a cap on total days. Without it, the insurance company isn't on the hook for a loaner car at all, no matter whose fault the accident was.
For your household, this matters most with the car your child left behind or the one that now sits mostly idle. If that vehicle gets into an accident and needs a week or two of bodywork, nobody has a backup car lined up unless you've planned for it. With two drivers and two cars still in regular use, losing one for repairs is a bigger disruption than it used to be when you had three or four people sharing the load.
What changes by state or insurer is how rental reimbursement gets priced, whether it has a waiting period, and whether it only kicks in for comprehensive and collision claims or also applies after a not-at-fault accident while you wait on the other driver's insurer. Some policies pay a flat daily amount regardless of what a rental actually costs, others reimburse actual costs up to a limit. Check your declarations page or ask your agent directly, because the fine print differs enough that assumptions aren't safe here.
The real question isn't whether you can survive without it. Most people can, for a few days, by borrowing a car or using other means. It's whether that gap is worth the hassle for the amount the coverage would have cost you, especially now that your driving needs have simplified.
Should I add rental reimbursement now that it's just the two of us driving?
It depends on how much backup transportation you actually have. If you're down to two cars and two drivers with no third vehicle sitting around, losing one car to a repair shop for a week or two is a real problem, not a minor inconvenience. That's exactly the situation rental reimbursement is built for.
If you still have an extra car in the driveway, even one your child left behind, you have a built-in backup and the coverage matters less. Weigh the cost of adding it against how disruptive a week without a car would actually be for your routine, your commute, and any errands you can't easily reschedule. For many people in your position, it's worth revisiting now rather than leaving the decision unchanged from when the house was fuller.
Carrying rental reimbursement or going without it
If you do
After a covered claim, you call the insurer, get authorization, and pick up a rental car, usually within a day. You pay little or nothing out of pocket for the rental itself, up to your plan's daily limit and day cap. Your routine barely changes while the repair happens.
If you don't
After a covered claim, you arrange your own transportation, whether that's a borrowed car, a rideshare, or a rental you pay for yourself. You can sometimes recover those costs later if another driver was at fault, but only after their insurer processes the claim. In the meantime, the cost and the hassle are yours.
Once you know whether you need rental reimbursement, compare quotes with that coverage decision already made.
What to decide about rental reimbursement before you renew
- Count your working cars If you're down to two cars for two drivers, losing one to repairs is a real gap. If an extra car still sits in the driveway, you already have a backup.
- Check the daily cap and limit Plans vary in how much they pay per day and for how many days. Ask your agent or check your declarations page before assuming it covers a full repair.
- Ask about not-at-fault claims Some plans only pay after your own comprehensive or collision claim. Others also help while you wait on another driver's insurer to pay out.
- Weigh cost against hassle The coverage has an ongoing cost whether you use it or not. Compare that against what a week of rideshares or a rental car would actually cost you.
- Revisit it at every renewal Your driving needs have changed since the house was fuller. Don't leave this coverage set the way it was when you had more drivers and more cars.
The real risk isn't the accident, it's being stuck without a car for a week with no backup plan.
