In doing your holiday travels, did you have to rent a car? If so, you probably had to make a decision about rental car insurance. If you’re like the average person, you probably just went with whatever package the rental service agency said you needed to have. And if you did, you probably wasted a whole lot of money. That’s because most people don’t actually need extra insurance when they rent a car. And those who do probably don’t need the maximum coverage.

Before you rent another car, call up your personal car insurance provider. There’s a good chance that the coverage provided to you actually covers damage done when you rent a car for personal use. Why would you pay the rental car company for additional coverage when you’re already covered? Make sure that you fully understand what is and isn’t covered on your own car and how it applies to a rental car.

If you discover that your personal insurance doesn’t cover a rental, you’re not out of luck. The next place to look is at your credit cards. Many credit cards automatically come with some type of rental car insurance. This varies greatly from card to card. Since you already have the cards, call the customer service representatives and find out if you’ve also got coverage.

You don’t want to get yourself in a bind by assuming that you don’t need rental car insurance when you do. However, it doesn’t make financial sense to pay for it if you don’t need it. Be smart in your spending so you’ll have more money to use for fun on your vacations!

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