Rental car liability insurance across international borders

Upvote:1

Disclaimer: This answer is based on exactly one USA to Canada experience.

Just two weeks ago we rented a car from Hertz in the USA and drove it to Canada where we also left it. We were asked to either pay for coverage or give our own policy which they recorded. Normally, we use insurance coverage provided by a credit card for car rentals but in this instance, it was specifically asked for us to provide info for civil liability coverage, which the credit card does not cover.

The answer to your question is that they can provide the required insurance but, if declined, they ask for the renter to provide it. Since this is based on a single experience, I cannot say if this is a policy of Hertz or mandated by laws in either country.

Upvote:2

To answer for the EU/EEA:

In all EU/EEA countries, third party liability insurance is mandatory, bound to the vehicle and must cover all other EU/EEA countries. Most insurance policies also cover the rest of Europe (non-EU/EEA countries) and often also countries in the Ex-USSR, Middle East or North Africa. Visiting countries, in which your liability insurance is not valid, you are mostly required to take out a short-term insurance policy for the time of your stay. In most (if not all?) EU/EEA countries, the vehicle owner is responsible for the liability insurance, so it is not possible to rent a car without the required coverage, since the rental company would otherwise violate their legal obligation.

You can read more about mutual international recognition and validity of vehicle insurances on the Wikipeda page about the International Motor Insurance Card System.

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