Yes, in two different ways that are easy to mix up. Your own Allstate auto policy can extend liability, and if you carry them, collision and comprehensive coverage, to a rental car you drive. Separately, optional rental reimbursement coverage pays for a rental car while your own vehicle is being repaired after a covered claim. They answer different questions.
Which one matters to you depends on why you’re asking. If you’re about to rent a car for a trip, the first section below applies. If your own car is already in the shop after a claim, see the rental reimbursement section and the fuller guide linked there.
Key Takeaways
- If you carry liability coverage on your own vehicle, Allstate says that coverage may extend to a rental car you drive for personal use; collision and comprehensive can extend too, if you carry those coverages, subject to your policy’s deductible.
- Rental reimbursement is a separate, optional coverage that pays for a rental car while your own vehicle is being repaired after a covered claim, not for a rental you book on a trip.
- Consider the rental counter’s own coverage if you don’t carry your own auto insurance, don’t have collision or comprehensive, are only insured under a commercial auto policy, or don’t want to risk paying your own deductible.
- A collision damage waiver from the counter can duplicate coverage you already have through your own comprehensive and collision. Check what you already carry before paying for it twice.
Coverage for a Rental You Drive Yourself
Allstate’s own guidance on rental car insurance says that if you drive a rental car for personal use, you may have coverage under your personal car insurance policy for liability. If you carry collision and comprehensive on your own vehicle, those coverages can also help pay to repair the rental itself after a covered loss, subject to your policy’s deductible. If you dropped collision and comprehensive from your own policy, that protection doesn’t apply to the rental either.
Rental Reimbursement Is a Different Coverage
Rental reimbursement is optional coverage added to your policy for an added premium. It pays for a rental car, or another transportation expense, while your own vehicle is being repaired after a covered claim, not for a rental you book yourself on a trip. See how Allstate’s rental reimbursement coverage works after a claim for the daily and duration limits, deductible rules and how billing works with the rental company.
When the Rental Counter’s Own Coverage Still Makes Sense
- You don’t currently carry your own auto insurance, so you’d need to buy at least liability coverage from the rental company to drive legally.
- Your policy doesn’t include collision or comprehensive, so damage to the rental wouldn’t be covered by your own insurance either.
- You’re only insured under a commercial auto policy, which may not extend to a personal rental the way a personal auto policy can.
- You’d rather not risk paying your own deductible if the rental is damaged, even though your own coverage would otherwise apply.
A collision damage waiver from the counter may simply duplicate coverage you already have through your own comprehensive and collision. Supplemental liability protection may be unnecessary too, if your own policy’s liability limits are already high enough. Weigh the extra daily cost against what you’d actually be duplicating.
Confirm Before You Drive Off
Bring your policy’s declarations page or the Allstate app when you pick up the rental, and ask the counter which specific coverages you’re being offered and why. If anything about your own coverage is unclear, check which Allstate contact channels are available before you decide, since rental counter staff can’t tell you what your own policy includes. If you’re also weighing a rental discount for the trip itself, that’s a separate question: see Allstate’s rental car discount programs.