How Much Is Thrifty Rental Car Insurance?
Last Updated on April 22, 2022
Thrifty offers several rental car insurance products to meet your needs.
Depending on the rental vehicle and location, you could pay anywhere from $5 to $500 per day for Thrifty rental car insurance.
How much does Thrifty rental car insurance cost? What type of rental car insurance does Thrifty offer? Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about Thrifty rental car insurance.
Table of Contents:
- How Thrifty Car Insurance Works
- How Much Does Thrifty Rental Car Insurance Cost?
- Thrifty Rental Car Insurance Options
- Do I Need to Buy Thrifty’s Rental Car Insurance?
- Factors that Impact the Cost of Thrifty Rental Car Insurance
How Thrifty Car Insurance Works
Thrifty offers similar insurance products to other rental car companies.
You can buy a loss damage waiver (LDW) through Thrifty to avoid being responsible for most damage to the vehicle.
You can also buy additional coverages like personal accident insurance (PAI) and personal effects coverage (PEC).
If you already have auto insurance on your personal vehicle, then you may not need to buy any insurance through Thrifty. A standard car insurance policy extends to cover a rental car. You get the same coverage on your rental car as you have on your personal vehicle.
Some drivers buy insurance through Thrifty because they don’t have a personal auto insurance policy. Others buy insurance through Thrifty because they don’t want to risk making a claim through their own provider – or they just want extra peace of mind.
How Much Does Thrifty Rental Car Insurance Cost?
Depending on the type of vehicle you are renting, your location, and other factors, you could pay anywhere from $5 to $500 per day for Thrifty rental car insurance.
If you’re only buying basic coverage (like personal effects coverage, for example), then you may only pay a few dollars per day for Thrifty car rental insurance. In this situation, Thrifty’s insurance covers the loss of possessions from your vehicle, while your personal auto insurance policy protects the vehicle itself.
However, if you’re buying the loss damage waiver (LDW) through Thrifty, then you could pay more. The LDW removes your liability for most damage to the vehicle and loss of the vehicle. Thrifty processes all claims related to the vehicle through its own insurance company, and you do not need to involve your insurance company at all. The LDW could cost anywhere from $10 to $500 per day, depending on the value of the rental vehicle.
Thrifty Rental Car Insurance Options
Thrifty offers several insurance products, including:
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)
Thrifty’s loss damage waiver (LDW) works similar to the collision damage waiver (CDW) offered by other rental car companies. In exchange for an added daily fee, you can avoid liability for damage to the vehicle or loss of the vehicle, regardless of fault.
Let’s say crash your rental car into another vehicle. Without the loss damage waiver, you make a claim through your own insurance company, and your own insurance company processes it as an at-fault accident. You pay higher insurance premiums, and your insurer covers all damage to the vehicle after you pay your deductible.
If you had the loss damage waiver in this situation, then Thrifty would cover everything. You do not pay a deductible, nor do you deal with your own insurance company.
Thrifty’s loss damage waiver costs $10 to $500 per day and provides the following benefits:
- Covers all vehicle damage to the Thrifty rental car, regardless of fault (unless the damage occurred in violation of the rental agreement)
- No need to file a claim with your personal auto insurance policy
- You do not pay a deductible to Thrifty, your own insurance company, or anyone else
If you’re concerned about damaging your rental car, then the loss damage waiver may be worth it. It pays for itself immediately after a single accident or loss. However, if you already have a personal auto insurance policy, then Thrifty’s loss damage waiver may be unnecessary.
Personal Accident Insurance and Personal Effects Coverage (P & P)
Thrifty requires you to purchase personal accident insurance (PAI) and personal effects coverage (PEC) together. Although the coverages are optional, you must buy the coverages together as part of Thrifty’s P & P insurance package.
Personal accident insurance (PAI) covers the following during your car rental:
- Accidental medical expenses
- Ambulance expenses
- Accidental death benefits
- The driver and passengers in a Thrifty rental vehicle
In other words, PAI functions like medical insurance. If you already have health insurance, then Thrifty’s PAI coverage may be unnecessary.
Personal effects coverage (PEC) covers items within your vehicle during the rental:
- Theft of possessions from the rental vehicle
- Damage to possessions within the rental vehicle
- The possessions of the renter and the renter’s immediate family traveling with the rental
Thrifty provides a maximum of $1,800 in personal effects coverage during the rental period ($1,500 in coverage in New York).
Overall, PEC functions similar to homeowners insurance and renters insurance. If you already have homeowners or renters insurance, then PEC may be unnecessary. However, PEC could cover a claim even if homeowners or renters insurance denies the claim.
Liability Insurance Supplement (LIS)
Thrifty also offers a liability insurance supplement (LIS) auto insurance product.
When driving your Thrifty rental car, you are liable for any damage you cause to third parties. If you injure someone while driving the Thrifty rental car, for example, or if you damage another vehicle, then you are required to pay for this damage.
Your personal auto insurance policy comes with liability coverage. It covers your liability up to a certain limit.
However, if you buy Thrifty’s liability insurance supplement, then Thrifty raises your liability limits for extra protection:
- Thrifty’s liability insurance supplement covers your liability for third party claims for bodily injury, death, and property damage resulting from an automobile accident in the Thrifty rental vehicle during the rental period
- You get maximum protection of $1,000,000 combined single limit (CSL) liability coverage per rental period (or up to $2,000,000 in coverage in Florida and California)
If you already have high liability limits with your personal auto insurance policy, then you may not need to buy Thrifty’s liability insurance supplement. Your ordinary car insurance policy provides bodily injury and property damage liability coverage on your rental car up to the same limits. However, if you have low liability limits (like a minimum liability insurance policy), then you may want to buy Thrifty’s liability insurance supplement for added peace of mind.
Do I Need to Buy Thrifty’s Rental Car Insurance?
All Thrifty rental car insurance products are optional. You do not need to buy Thrifty’s rental car insurance.
Many drivers avoid buying Thrifty’s rental car insurance because they already have insurance through their personal policy or a credit card. Your personal auto insurance policy acts as primary coverage on a rental vehicle.
Your personal auto insurance policy has the same limits on your rental vehicle as you have on your personal vehicle. This could leave you under-insured when renting a Thrifty vehicle. If you ordinarily drive a $5,000 vehicle, for example, and rent a $30,000 SUV from Thrifty, then you may not have sufficient insurance on the rental vehicle. In this case, you may want to buy extra insurance through Thrifty.
Factors that Impact the Cost of Thrifty Rental Car Insurance
You could pay anywhere from $5 to $500 per day for Thrifty rental car insurance.
The price you pay for Thrifty rental car coverage depends on:
- Your rental location
- The value of your rental vehicle
- The types of insurance policies you select (like LDW, LIS, PEC, or PAI)
If you rent a high-end SUV through Thrifty, for example, and buy all insurance products for that vehicle, then you could pay hundreds of extra dollars per day.
However, if you rent a standard vehicle through Thrifty and only need Thrifty’s P & P coverage, then you might spend just $10 extra per day for added protection.
Check your Thrifty rental car agreement for specific auto insurance price information. Thrifty may disclose the cost of certain insurance products upfront.
Final Word on Thrifty Rental Car Insurance
Thrifty offers a similar selection of rental car insurance products as other companies.
In exchange for $5 to $500 extra per day, you could get a loss damage waiver (LDW), liability insurance supplement (LIS), personal effects coverage (PEC), or personal accident insurance (PAI), among other coverage options.
To learn more about Thrifty’s auto insurance policies and their cost, contact Thrifty or check your Thrifty rental agreement.
