Compensation for Rental Car Accidents
Have you had an accident with a rental car ? What can you do? Claim with guarantees if you are not at fault for the accident and you have suffered damages.
Well yes, it has become fashionable.
Renting a car to get around or travel is more popular today than ever.
And not only in the usual cases, such as when you have to rent a car for work reasons, or when you are on holiday and want to have a car to move around freely or take a long trip.
Now, many individuals have come to the conclusion that it is not worth it to have their own vehicle and pay for parking, insurance, repairs and so on.
Nowadays, everything is easier.
Large cities offer a multitude of alternatives for getting around, from public transport to platforms such as Cabify or Uber, or taxi services, which make owning a vehicle less and less necessary. Not to mention the amount of money one can save.
But of course…
The reality is that, on the contrary, accidents involving rental cars have increased . And not only in urban areas. Many people choose to rent a car to travel with friends or family, and to travel anywhere in their home country or even abroad.
So what happens if you have an accident in a rental car ? What happens if you are the driver? And what happens if you are a passenger? Is it covered by fault? How is the case handled?
This type of accident has a series of particularities that you should be aware of so that the claim goes well.
And the initial problems you will encounter are the same as if the accident is with your own vehicle:
➡️You have no information:
What do I do after an accident? Do I have to notify the rental company? What documents do I need if I have to file a claim? Who do I contact?
➡️You have no knowledge:
How do I prove the accident? What if the other party tells me it was my fault and the rental company claims damages from me? What should I do if we have contradictory versions? And what do I do to understand the Traffic Scales and find out what compensation I can receive?
You will not receive any help from insurance companies , and even less from the company that insures a rental vehicle, which… let’s not kid ourselves, is not yours (their client is the rental company, not you).
What should you do?
First, seek legal help but external, and unrelated to the companies.
You need a lawyer who specializes in traffic accidents from the very beginning to avoid making any mistakes that could jeopardize your claim (and believe me, there are many problems you can encounter in the process).
Rental car accident: the importance of insurance coverage
One of the things we have noticed at LAWYERS INJURIES is that, when most drivers go to rent a vehicle, they do NOT take care and worry about looking carefully at the coverages included in the insurance of the car in question.
And this is a mistake.
The starting point: the contract that you sign with the car rental company , where all the conditions of the rental will be established.
And what are you interested in? Obviously, driving as safely as possible.
In the rental contract you will always find mandatory third party insurance included , to cover this type of damage to third parties in the event of an accident.
This is the basic coverage, because almost all rental companies offer the possibility of expanding these basic coverages , and you can have greater protection during the rental with additional insurance .
The two options that will be offered to you are comprehensive insurance or comprehensive insurance with a deductible , which will always give you greater security in the event of an accident.
Many drivers do not extend their coverage thinking that “nothing ever happens”, and naturally, doing so will mean an increase in the rental price .
Another mistake. Cheap is expensive.
If you have an accident with your rental car and it is your fault, and you only have basic third-party insurance coverage, the rental company can demand that you pay the full cost of repairing the car you have rented.
None of this affects the passengers of the rented vehicle: if you are an occupant, it does not matter who was at fault in the accident, because you will always be able to claim damages , regardless of who was responsible.
Moral: If you rent a vehicle, it is better to pay a little more to travel with peace of mind and not have problems in the event of any mishap that may arise.
Fault in a rental car accident
We all know that fault in an accident is a determining factor when assessing the possibility of claiming compensation for the damages suffered.
We also know that it is not always easy to prove… contradictory versions or assumptions of shared guilt are some of the cases that are always controversial and can make it very difficult for you to defend your interests.
Because let’s not fool ourselves.
Insurance companies don’t give anything away.
And if there is even the slightest doubt about liability, you can be sure that they will refuse to pay you.
Always and without exception.
When you are at fault for the accident
Imagine the classic “snag” that can happen to you when you drive a rental car (just as if you were driving your own):
-You park in a designated parking space and you get hit.
-You pull out of a parking space and scrape your car, leaving it scratched.
-You hit someone from behind and the front of your vehicle is dented.
-And in the worst case, you have a more or less serious accident that was entirely your fault.
In these cases, the key is in the insurance you have contracted for your rental car :
-If you have basic third-party insurance coverage, you cannot claim any compensation if you are responsible; you will have to pay for all damages caused, and the rental company could also claim an amount from you for the damages suffered.
– If you have extended coverage and have comprehensive insurance with a deductible, you will have to pay an amount up to the price established in the deductible .
-And if you took out comprehensive insurance, you will not have to pay for any damage, but you will not be able to claim compensation for your own damages because it was your fault.
When the guilty party is the other party
If any damage to your rental car has been caused by a third party , regardless of the type (scratches, dents, etc.), their insurance company will be responsible for paying for it, and you will not be liable in any way.
Of course, you have to make sure you can prove it , and to do so it is essential that you sign a friendly report with the other party (no more giving each other details), make sure to take photographs if possible, or call the Police or Civil Guard to come to the scene to draw up a report. Eyewitnesses can also help you.
You can claim compensation for damages suffered in an accident involving a rental car as long as you were not solely responsible for the incident.
And here comes the nuance.
Because we all know that many accidents can raise doubts about how they occur.
Contradictory versions ( you say one thing and the other party says the opposite), or possible concurrences of fault (both of you have a percentage of responsibility) make claims very complicated.
In addition to all this, you must also drive a car that is not yours, so in addition to the usual complications of a “normal” accident (with your own vehicle), there are also the problems that may arise with the rental company, especially when there are doubts about who is responsible and, therefore, who will be responsible for paying for the damages.
Don’t hesitate and before things get out of hand, always consult your case with a lawyer specialising in traffic accidents . The longer you wait to do so, the more likely things will get complicated and you will make a mistake that will make your claim unviable.
Steps to take when you have an accident with a rental car.
If you have an accident with a rental car, the initial moments are key to proving liability and being able to channel your claim. The circumstances of each type of accident are different, but they all have a common denominator.
What do you have to do?
-Stay calm, call the emergency services (unless the accident is very minor) and the police if the other party does not want to sign a friendly report or disputes the dynamics of the events.
Remember that, if you have the slightest doubt, the companies (and the rental company itself) can cause you problems.
-If possible, take photos of the scene of the accident and the vehicles involved , and gather information from eyewitnesses who may be able to confirm your version of events if the other party changes their version or denies the accident, even if they flee the scene without being able to be identified.
-If the personal injuries have not been serious and the presence of emergency services has not been necessary, go to the nearest hospital immediately, and always before 72 hours have passed since the accident.
After this time, without first receiving medical assistance, insurers do not recognize the causal relationship between the accident and the injuries.
-Since you had the accident while driving a rental car, you must call the rental company to report what happened, providing all the information you have, and to find out what coverage you have, including, if applicable, travel assistance.
– Contact a private, independent, traffic accident specialist lawyer as soon as possible . Remember that you need professional advice from the beginning and that if you wait to get information you may make a mistake that will doom your claim to failure, even if you are entitled to it.
The damages claimed
The compensation you can claim as a victim of a rental car accident depends on the extent of the damage you have suffered.
The materials are not your responsibility because the vehicle does not belong to you, but you must provide the rental company with all the necessary information about the accident so that they can file a report with their company, and they will need to be clear about who was at fault so as not to require you to pay any amount for the repair.
What you can claim as material damages are those that you may have suffered to your belongings that have been damaged by the accident: luggage, computers, glasses, mobile phones, all of this as long as you prove it with photographs and estimates or repair invoices.
Remember that insurance companies do not help, so try to include these damages in the friendly report that you sign or in the statement that you make to the Police, so that the companies do not dispute them when you make a claim.
As regards injuries , whether you are a non-fault driver or an occupant (fault does not matter because you can always claim), the Traffic Scale is the standard to apply to determine what you have the right to claim.
And here comes the next problem.
It is not easy to interpret the Scale.
And what is worse…if you do not seek legal help, it is almost certain that you will miss out on a multitude of concepts to which you may be entitled, and that you do not claim because you do not know that you can do so.
Traffic Scale = complexity + doubts + 500 pages of articles and tables impossible to interpret by the victim
And you start to think…
Do I get paid the same whether I’m on sick leave or not?
How do you rate a sequel?
How do I know if the points the company wants to give me for after-effects are correct?
And if I have had to pay miscellaneous expenses, will they be reimbursed?
How do I assess compensation for loss of earnings?
And if I am seriously injured , how do I claim future expenses?
WOW… things are getting complicated, aren’t they?
And this is just the beginning.
Calculating compensation for a traffic accident is not easy.
And when the personal injuries are of a certain severity or the accident has been very serious (serious injuries and deaths), things become much more complicated.
Injuries cover a multitude of concepts that must be claimed:
– Healing time (divided into basic personal injury and particular personal injury , which in turn includes three degrees (very serious/serious/moderate) depending on whether those days have been spent in the ICU or similar, hospitalization time, period of sick leave or inability to perform your usual daily tasks, or healing with rehabilitation treatment
Depending on the type of day, the amount/day of compensation varies, and all of this must be demonstrated with medical documentation.
– Functional or aesthetic sequelae that you have left when you are discharged due to stabilization of your injuries, and that are assessed in the Scale based on the provisions of the Tables included therein and taking into account the number of sequelae, points assigned to each one and the age of the victim at the time of the accident.
-Other concepts included in the Scale such as moral damages due to loss of quality of life, patrimonial damages due to the consequences, surgical operations resulting from the injuries, damages to family members (who are the beneficiaries in the event of claiming compensation for death ) and many others that your lawyer must indicate to you in order to be able to claim them.
– Property damage : divided in the Scale into loss of earnings and consequential damage , you can claim it when you have suffered a credible financial loss due to the accident with the rental car, or you have had to pay expenses derived from it, such as rehabilitation, pharmacy, or some medical test.
What if the accident occurs when I am driving a rental car abroad?
Can this happen to you?
Of course. Many people rent cars to travel abroad.
The problem is that we are often unaware of the traffic regulations in the place where we are and some customs that can lead to an accident, whether due to our fault or that of a third party.
To do?
-First of all, when you rent the car, take out the most comprehensive coverage available to ensure you are as insured as possible against possible mishaps outside your country.
-Secondly, be sure to inform yourself well at the rental company about the steps to take in the event of an accident outside of Spain.
-Third, contact a traffic accident lawyer as soon as possible .
Do I need a lawyer to claim my compensation for a rental car accident?
Any traffic accident requires specialized legal help.
In these cases, it is essential. We have already seen the problems you may encounter:
With the fault, when it is controversial or not recognized
With the rental company of your vehicle, which may want to claim for damages
With the other company, if it denies you compensation or undervalues it
With the quantification of your damages, because you do not know how to interpret the Traffic Scale
Shall we continue?
It is not necessary to remind you that insurance companies (none of them) are not going to help you . Their interest is that of the company. What happens to you or how you feel is not their problem.
