The hit 1990s TV show “Seinfeld” taught us a lot of things over the course of its nine seasons: When you’re ordering from the Soup Nazi, don’t try to make small talk. If you see a fat man getting mugged, don’t just stand there and videotape it. If you spot Sue Ellen Mischke walking down the street in nothing but a bra and a blazer, keep your eyes on the road. The list of lessons with virtually no practical application goes on and on.
But if you watch closely, you’ll see that there were a couple times when the show about nothing did inadvertently teach us some relatively practical lessons about a subject that all of us have to deal with at one point or another: auto insurance. Here’s the first lesson in a five-part series.
Lesson 1: Read your rental contract, or at least get familiar with some of the particulars
In Episode 28, “The Alternate Side,” Jerry’s car gets stolen after the neighborhood car parker, Sid, forgets the keys inside. Jerry doesn’t get the car back, and he has to pick up a rental to get around town.
A few days later, George fills in for Sid, moving parked cars from one side of the street to the other so that they don’t rack up parking tickets, and Jerry’s rental is one of the cars he’s moving. Discombobulated by the commotion caused by a movie shoot down the street and the general burden of having any sort of adult responsibility, George gets overwhelmed and ends up crashing Jerry’s rental.
Although he purchased car insurance for the rental, Jerry gets a surprise when he goes back to the rental agency.
Agent: Sir, the estimate on the damage to your car is $2,868.
Jerry: Hmm, well, I got the insurance and everything, so …
Agent: Yes, now, uh, in your report you said that you were not the driver of the car at the time of the accident.
Jerry: That is right, somebody else was driving.
Agent: All right, well, sir, you’re only covered for when you’re driving the car.
Jerry: Uh huh—What’s that?
Agent: You’re not covered for other drivers.
Jerry argues that the agent’s business is “based on other drivers. It’s a rented car. That’s who’s driving it: other drivers.” But his argument falls short. It’s not covered by the insurance, and there’s nothing he can do about it.
The agent tells him he should have read the agreement, which is true. But Jerry points out that those rental agreements can often be heavy tomes of burdensome legalese, which is also true. “It’s like the Declaration of Independence. Who’s gonna read that?”
While both have good points, it probably would’ve been prudent for Jerry to at least ask about some of the particulars of the extra insurance that he bought if he knew someone else would be driving it. And since the rental contract would be the determining factor in whether or not you’re covered, you should ask about information like this when renting a car.
In some states, insurance policies are required to automatically include coverage for rental vehicles. For example, all Minnesota liability policies include at least $35,000 worth of coverage for drivers insured under the policy when they’re behind the wheel of a rental, according to a consumer guide issued by the state. This isn’t the situation in every state, though, so you should ask your insurance agent before making any assumptions (including assuming that other people will be covered for the rental).
Bottom Line: At least find out who is covered under your rental policy.
