Car Rental Reimbursement - Do I need it?

Car rental reimbursement is an optional coverage available on your auto insurance policy. I'm often asked if it's important to purchase. First, let's clarify what it does. If you are hit by another driver they are liable for your damages. Their insurance (assume they have insurance) will pay for the repair to your car, medical bills, and pay for your rental car cost. If you, on the other hand, are the "at-fault" driver your insurance does the same for the other driver but does not pay for your rental car expense unless you have purchased this additional coverage called - rental car reimbursement. Should you purchase this coverage? Let me mention its cheap - about $20 for six months per vehicle. Still, money is money, don't spend it if you don't have too. Consider your situation. Ask yourself, if my car were in the shop for five or six days getting repaired how would I get to work? If you have access to another car during that time you won't need the coverage. Example, I have three cars in my household. I live one mile from my office, my wife doesn't commute to work, and my son just drives to high school about 4 miles. We could get by with two cars for a week while our car is at the body shop getting repaired. So, I don't purchase this extra coverage. It saves me $20 per vehicle - that's $120 per year savings. Not bad.
One final note, several years ago a client was out of town and rented a car from Hertz or Enterprise. They had an accident. Their insurance coverage extended protect the rental car damage. The rental car company charged for the "down time" they suffered because of lost income while their vehicle was in the body shop. This client did not have rental car reimbursement and therefore had to pay the lost income themselves. Their insurance did not cover it. Had they selected car rental reimbursement on their policy it would have extended to the lost income the rental car company suffered.
If you wish to purchase this coverage keep in mind you need to select coverage limits of $30, $40, $50 per day - usually up to 30 days maximum.