How Much Does Rental Car Insurance Cost?

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Updated: August 3, 2026

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Key Takeaways
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Counter CDW at a rental company costs $15 to $30 per day. A full counter bundle including CDW, SLI, PAI and PEC commonly runs $40 to $60 per day or $280 to $420 for a one-week rental.

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Cost varies by source: the rental counter charges the most, a credit card CDW benefit costs nothing for eligible cardholders, and adding rental reimbursement to an existing auto policy costs $3 to $10 per month.

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Drivers with full coverage and a qualifying credit card can eliminate counter CDW costs entirely. Activating the card's CDW benefit before pickup and declining the counter product costs nothing beyond the annual card fee already paid.

How Much Does Rental Car Insurance Cost?

Counter CDW costs $15 to $30 per day. It's the rental insurance cost drivers pay most often. Adding SLI, PAI and PEC to a CDW policy brings the counter total to $40 to $60 per day. The price depends mostly on where you buy coverage, at the counter, through a credit card benefit, or as a policy add-on, rather than on the rental company or car type.

Before you pay counter rates for rental car insurance, check whether an existing auto policy or credit card already covers the rental vehicle. Some drivers pay twice for protection they already have. Others carry only liability insurance and get hit with unexpected costs when they skip rental coverage.

Rental Car Insurance Cost by Source

Rental car insurance costs vary more by purchase channel than by product type. The same CDW protection costs nothing from a credit card benefit, $3 to $10 per month as a policy add-on, or $15 to $30 per day at the rental counter. The three channels are counter purchase, policy add-on, and credit card cardholder benefit. Each delivers similar protection at very different price points.

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    Rental counter CDW/LDW: $15 to $30 per day

    The collision damage waiver purchased at the rental counter eliminates your financial liability for damage to the vehicle, with no deductible and no claim on your personal auto policy. This is the most expensive per-day option and is redundant for drivers who already have full coverage on their personal auto policy.

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    Full counter bundle (CDW + SLI + PAI + PEC): $40 to $60 per day

    Buying all four counter products together on a one-week rental commonly adds $280 to $420 to the rental bill. Individual product costs vary by rental company, vehicle class, and location.

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    Rental reimbursement add-on to existing policy: $3 to $10 per month

    Adding rental reimbursement to an existing auto policy costs $3 to $10 per month. This covers a replacement vehicle while your car is in the shop, not damage to a rental you're currently driving. See the FAQ below for how these two products differ.

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    Credit card CDW benefit: $0 for eligible cardholders

    Many travel credit cards include primary or secondary CDW as a cardholder benefit at no additional cost. Eligible cards include Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Amex Gold and Platinum. Activation requires declining the counter CDW and paying the full rental with the qualifying card.

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    Standalone third-party rental insurance: $7 to $17 per day

    Independent insurers such as Allianz and Bonzah offer standalone rental car insurance policies purchased in advance online. These typically cost less than counter CDW and provide similar or broader coverage, including international rentals where personal auto policies often do not extend.

What Getting the Cost Wrong Actually Means

A driver with full coverage and a $500 deductible who buys counter CDW on a 7-day rental at $20 per day spends $140 on a product that duplicates coverage they already have. Over 10 rentals across five years, that equals $1,400 in unnecessary spending. Before purchasing any rental car insurance product, confirm whether to get rental car insurance based on what an existing policy already covers.

A driver with only liability coverage who declines counter CDW and damages a rental car is personally responsible for the full repair bill. A totaled economy rental can cost $15,000 to $25,000. At $20 per day, 10 days of CDW coverage costs $200, a fraction of even a minor repair bill. Drivers with liability-only policies should buy CDW or activate a credit card's rental benefit before declining coverage at the counter.

Rental Car Insurance Cost: FAQ

All cost figures on this page are industry ranges sourced from rental company published rate schedules, insurer product pages, and credit card cardholder benefit guides. The $40 to $60 per day full counter bundle range and the $22 to $45 CDW plus SLI combined range reflect published rate schedules as verified at time of publication; individual rates vary by rental company, vehicle class, and location. The New York CDW daily cap of $5 is per New York General Business Law Section 396-z. No data from the Quadrant Information Services rate database was used. Figures reflect published rates as of the page publication date and may vary by location, rental company, and vehicle class.

About Mark Fitzpatrick

Mark Fitzpatrick, Licensed P&C Insurance Expert, MoneyGeek

Mark Fitzpatrick, a licensed Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Producer in Connecticut, is MoneyGeek's resident expert in insurance and economics. He has spent nearly a decade covering the market, first at LendingTree and now at MoneyGeek, where he analyzes hundreds of carriers and millions of rates across auto, home, renters, health and life insurance.

His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times and NPR. He draws on independent cost and consumer experience data, and no insurance company partnerships affect his recommendations.

Mark studied at Boston College before earning a master's in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University. Before MoneyGeek, he worked in financial risk management at State Street. He's also a five-time “Jeopardy!” champion.

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