Maybe you’ve been here before. You’ve just come off the plane in Ga, picked up your baggage and gone to the rental car counter. You’re tired from the flight, about to begin an ambitious vacation or a challenging business project. And, this is the point at which you’re asked, “Do you want insurance with that?”

Most travelers, facing that question from the rental representative, have the vague notion that they don’t really need to buy rental car insurance in Ga – which somehow is covered already. With just enough doubt in their minds, and the need to make a quick decision, perhaps they buy it just to be safe.
So, which is it?
Do you need to buy rental car insurance in Ga or not?
Truth be told, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. However, you can likely reach a conclusion you’re comfortable with by considering these three questions.
1. What Types of Rental Car Insurance Are Available?
Typically, car rental agencies will offer you four types of insurance to purchase:

• Collision damage waiver – The rental car company won’t charge you for a damaged or stolen vehicle when you buy this.
• Supplemental liability protection – Electing this will ensure you’re covered for costs to others if you cause an accident in the rental.
• Personal accident insurance – This coverage will pay for injuries or death of the driver and passengers of your rental car.
• Personal effects coverage – Reimburses you for stolen personal items while renting the car.

2. What Rental Car Coverage Might I Already Have?
Start with your personal auto insurance in Ga. It’s likely that your policy will provide the same level of coverage for your rental as it does for your own car. That usually includes liability insurance, and, depending on the policy you purchased, may include collision, comprehensive and medical payments, too. There are exclusions, however. Some insurers won’t cover rentals in a foreign country, or rentals that are being used for business. Get in touch with your independent insurance agent in Ga to verify your coverages.
Next there’s your credit card. Most cards offer some degree of coverage, but it varies widely. Coverage is usually secondary, designed to step in and pick up where your auto insurance leaves off, and it tends to be mostly confined to collision, damage and theft. For coverage to apply, most cards require that you decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver and pay for the car in full with the card that provides the protection. Again, contact your card company to find out exactly what is covered.
Then, consider your health and life insurance, too. If you’re in an accident involving a rental car and you have these policies, you likely have coverage for your own costs. Plus, with your homeowners insurance, you may have personal property coverage to help repair or replace valuable belongings that are lost, damaged or stolen while you’re in a rental. Your deductible and policy limits will apply, and the same goes for renters insurance or condo insurance.
3. What Rental Coverage Might I Be Missing?
In the event something does happen to the rental car, you may be looking at loss of use and diminished value fees, and your regular policy may not cover them. Loss of use is the income that the rental agency loses due to the vehicle being in the shop for repairs, and diminished value is the calculated reduction in a vehicle’s resale value as the result of an accident. Credit cards sometimes cover these, but be aware that they may require documentation that rental agencies can be reluctant to provide.
So, before you make that next trip, give us a call and check with your credit card company. That way you’ll be ready to make an informed decision when you get to the rental car counter.
Reposted with permission from the original author, Safeco Insurance®.
Top image by Flickr user Timo Newton-Syms used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

Actual cash value or ACV is way of valuing your property after a claim. Your insurance company will calculate the value of your property when it was new and depreciate the value based on its age. 
Replacement cost is self explanatory. Simply put, the insurance company will give you the amount of money it takes to replace your property. 
While replacement cost is often more expensive than ACV, we strongly suggest that you select this coverage. 

Personal property coverage is for all the things you keep in your house. If you look on your homeowners insurance policy you will see it under Coverage C. 
Some things are covered differently in homeowners policy however. Guns, jewelry, electronics, and art work are some examples of things may have much lower coverage in your insurance policy. 
Make sure to discuss with your agent the amount of coverage you need for high value items. Your agent can advise you on whether your policy will give you adequate coverage or if you need an additional "rider" added to your policy. 

Water backup does not come standard on a policy and is an optional home insurance coverage you can add to your homeowners insurance policy.
Water backup covers your property if it is damage by water that backs up into your home through pipes, drains, sewer, sump pump and any other type of water transfer system in the house. 

Glass coverage is an add on to your comprehensive coverage that covers damage to the windshield and often has a lower deductible or no deductible. 

Comp, also known as Comprehensive, covers your car for things that may happen that are not related to a collision. There is often a set of named perils in your policy. 
Collision covers your car in an accident. This covers your car regardless of whether the accident was your fault or not. 

Coverage that protects you and the people in your car in the event another driver hits you with inadequate insurance coverage or no insurance at all.  Often drivers that carry low auto insurance limits do not have many assets to protect.  So in the event that you or someone in your car is badly injured by another driver and they have inadequate auto insurance liability limits there is nothing to gain by suing the driver.
In that case you can put a claim in under your own insurance policy.
Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist is an inexpensive coverage that is extremely important.

Medical payments coverage helps pay medical expenses for you or a passenger in your car regardless of whether the accident is your fault or not. Med pay can help you avoid a possible law suit from a passenger in your car if they are injured by being proactive about helping with medical expenses. While it is an optional coverage, we strongly encourage our customers to add this to their policy.