The best outcome for a car accident is that you walk away without severe injuries and drive away without significant damage to your car. For 88,430 car owners, driving away without damage wasn’t an option in 2022. That is how many accidents involving property damage were reported by the Kentucky State Police in their Kentucky Traffic Collision Facts report that year. Anyone involved in a collision requiring repairs will ask, “Who pays for my rental car after an accident?”
Loss of Use
Before you can determine who pays for a rental car after an accident, it has to be established if your car either needs repairs or is a total loss. This is referred to as loss of use. Kentucky law spells it out in these terms: “Loss of use of a motor vehicle, regardless of the type of use, shall be recognized as an element of damage in any property damage liability claim. Such a claim for loss of use of a motor vehicle shall be limited to reasonable and necessary expenses for the time necessary to repair or replace the motor vehicle.”
The “element of damage” can include repairs to a car. If the vehicle is deemed to be totaled, the damage will be the value of the car at the time of the accident. To calculate that, consider the mileage and year the car was made. In either one of those scenarios, you might need to rent a car to get to work, drive the kids to school, and run errands. Those would be all the things you would do if your car wasn’t in an accident.
Rental Car Reimbursement
As a car owner residing in Kentucky, you are required to carry a minimum of liability coverage. Drive Kentucky breaks down those minimums as the following:
- $25,000 for all claims for bodily injury damages sustained by any one person
- $25,000 for all property damage as a result of any one accident
- Not less than $50,000 for all bodily injury damages sustained by all persons as a result of an accident
Drivers are not required to have rental car reimbursement as part of their insurance policy. However, many auto insurance policies provide that reimbursement as an ” add-on.”
Where To File a Claim
You have a few options when you file a claim for damages from a car accident. The insurance company you file a claim with will depend, in part, on whether you’ve opted into our state’s no-fault system and the extent of your injuries and associated losses.
If your policy includes rental car reimbursement, you might want to file your claim with your carrier to secure those. However, there are limitations to consider.
For instance, your policy might state that you will be reimbursed up to $30 a day for car rental. If you rent a car that is $50 a day, you would have to pay the difference. Of course, that difference could be part of the compensation you seek from the negligent driver who caused your accident.
If you file a claim with the negligent driver’s insurance company, the entire cost of the rental charges could be a part of your settlement. Of course, that will mean negotiating a settlement with that other driver’s insurance company. That process could be more drawn out, especially if the other motorist denies responsibility for the crash. That is a scenario where working with an experienced Lexington car crash attorney who can negotiate with the insurance company for a speedier outcome can be beneficial.
Type of Rental
If you own a Toyota Camry that goes into a shop for repairs after an accident, you won’t be able to rent a Ferrari while you wait for repairs. Your insurance company will want to keep the costs for a rental at a minimum. You should find a rental car within your insurer’s limits if you don’t want to be out of pocket.
You will only be entitled to have a rental car for the time it takes to repair your own vehicle. If the car is a total loss, you might only be entitled to reimbursement for a rental car until you receive the settlement check for its replacement value. Although it might not be practical, the assumption is that when you get that check, you can go out and buy a new car.
Additionally, you have to factor in the cost of a deposit for the rental. That is the rental car policy, which means you need a credit card on record before you can get access to the rental. That money will come back to you when the car is returned, but it is still an expense to consider.
Sorting Out the Claims
After your accident, you might have no choice but to rent a car right away. That might not give you time to decide the best approach to file your insurance claim. At this point, you could reach out to the Peterson Law Office to discuss your insurance claim options. We are a team of experienced attorneys specializing in presenting accurate information to clients to help them decide the best way forward for the claim process. Call for a free case consultation today.
