Travel guide

Does a Car Rental Corporate Rate Include Insurance?

By HotelCorporateCodes · Published

Some corporate rental agreements include damage protection or liability coverage; others do not. An accepted code cannot tell you which applies. Check the agreement for your trip, then match its named protections to the rental contract before pickup.

For a concrete example, Hertz lists vehicle damage waiver and liability protection among the business-rental benefits for Legislative Affairs Agency travelers. That is a named agreement, not evidence of what another employer's code includes.

Damage waiver concerns the rental vehicle; liability concerns others; personal protections have their own terms.
Damage waiver, liability and personal protection address different risks. Check each part of your agreement. Original explanatory diagram. Open the image to enlarge it.

Identify the protection

The products address different risks. This comparison uses the terms in Hertz's protection guide; names and conditions may differ in your rental documents.

Swipe the table to see all columns.

ProductWhat it addressesWhat to find in your agreement
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)Loss of or damage to the rental vehicle. It is a waiver, not insurance.Whether it is included, any excess or deductible, and conditions that invalidate it
Liability protection or Liability Insurance Supplement (LIS)Claims for injury to other people or damage to their propertyThe named coverage, limits, exclusions and applicable country
Personal protectionMedical expenses or loss of belongings, depending on the productWho and what is covered, limits, exclusions and any separate charge

A line saying that LDW is included does not answer the liability or personal-protection questions. Match each product separately rather than relying on a general label such as "insurance included."

Video: damage waiver and excess

Enterprise UK explains its damage waiver and excess. Check your own country and company agreement for the applicable terms.

Enterprise UK · Watch on YouTube

Check the trip attached to the code

Use your employer's agreement for the rental country, vehicle class, drivers and trip purpose. The Hertz example above has separate business and leisure booking routes; its business benefits do not establish coverage for a personal trip.

If the documents leave a gap, send the travel team or rental provider this specific question:

For my rental in [country], on [dates], using [account number], with [vehicle class] and [drivers], does our agreement include LDW and liability protection for this [business or leisure] trip? Please identify the applicable limits, excess and exclusions.

Keep the agreement and any clarification with the reservation. At pickup, compare the rental contract with those terms before accepting charges or declining optional products. If they differ, ask the provider to resolve the difference; the code being accepted is not a coverage decision.