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Car rental liability insurance for damage to other people and other cars

Posted by on

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/car-rental-cdw says “Baseline rates for European rentals nearly always include liability coverage — for accident-related damage to anyone or anything outside the car.”

However, when I insert my reservation details for a potential booking (in Spain) at Alamo, Enterprise, National, Avis, Budget, and others, I see NOTHING about this coverage for damage to other people and other cars. The only thing I see are protection plans for our rental car.

So am I just missing this info? Or do these agencies in Spain just not offer it?

Posted by
1261 posts

Hi Matt. Info can be hard to find. For an example, this is info from Avis site when booking a car for Madrid, and click on 'Location Policies':
"What do I have to pay if I injure someone whilst driving?
Third Party Liability (TPL) cover is provided with the vehicle as standard. This means that if you have an accident in our vehicle and you injure someone, including any of your passengers, or you damage anything which belongs to them, you will not have to pay any of their costs. Third Party Liability cover does not cover any death or injury suffered by the driver of our vehicle or any damage to personal items in our vehicle."

Have a great trip!

Posted by
2488 posts

Third party liability is compulsory in Europe. (It is also common for people to have a general liability insurance...). So that is why it is probably not explicitly mentioned. Just like it is also not explicitly mentioned that your car will have wheels, or lights, or an engine :-)

One thing to be aware of: In most European countries the car driver is always, automatically, liable in an accident or incident involving a pedestrian or cyclist, no matter the circumstances.

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