If you are confused by all of the terms and exceptions around things, you are not alone.  Mr. Thrifty finds all of this stuff confusing as well.  So, what do you do?  Are the rental car insurance policies a good deal or not?  There are two ways to answer this question.  First you can spend a bunch of time calling your insurance and credit card companies trying to verify coverage.  While this may be a fun use of time for Mrs. Anal-Retentive, the rest of us don’t want to go though all of this. 

If you are lazy like Mr. Thrifty, then here is a general rule of thumb.  Ask yourself this general question: Do I have pretty comprehensive car and homeowners (or renters) insurance?  If the answer to this is yes, pay for the rental with a credit card and you should be fine.  Do not buy the car renter insurance.  However, if you feel like you don’t carry enough insurance or want peace of mind then rental car insurance is the way to go. 

Happy driving and remember the sun screen on the white sands of Destin…