“How often do you rent a car?” It’s a simple question, but one many agents don’t think to ask when cold calling aged auto insurance leads. If serving the needs of your clientele is important to your sales strategy, it’s a query you should get in the habit of making.
The Insurance from the Rental Car Company
Auto insurance leads and policyholders could save money on frequent or even unexpected car rentals — if they have the right auto policy. That’s my takeaway from a recent USA Today post on the complexity of deciding whether to take the rental company up on their in-house insurance offers.
By the time a car rental customer is at the counter signing the paperwork for their rental, they’re probably stuck with the coverage offered by the company. Relative to an annual policy offering similar coverage benefits, it’s not cheap, starting at around $20 per day — in addition to the average $45 fee to rent the car itself.
First, consider what that $20 of coverage offers. It typically includes a loss damage waiver — damages, repair costs, and lost rental revenue while that car is at the shop should you have a wreck, and additional liability coverage — damages to another person’s vehicle or property and their medical expenses should you cause any. Rental policies could also extend medical or life insurance benefits for yourself or personal effects coverage for stuff you keep in the rental.
The Policy Coverage That Covers Your Clients
Your prospects may not need to worry about any of that pricey daily coverage, though. If they have the right insurance plans in place, they can have the same protection, without that added rental expense.
Many annual auto insurance policies extend coverage for accidents and repairs to a rental car the policyholder drives. The factors customers need to think of are whether the rental car is of similar or lesser value than their car, what their policy coverage limits are, and whether their own auto policy is a slimmed down offering or a full coverage plan.
A primary auto policy won’t cover the firm’s lost revenue, but USA Today points out that many credit cards offer such rental car protection as a cardholder perk. It works like this: when a policyholder rents a car with a participating credit card and has an accident, the credit card company picks up the tab on the deductible and extra fees charged by the rental car company.
For medical needs, a person’s own health insurance should suffice in most cases. Car renters can insure their personal effects through a homeowners or renters policy. And if their own auto policy doesn’t provide liability, a frequent car renter could buy a non-owner auto insurance policy.
The Needs of Your Aged Auto Insurance Leads
Wherever they get it, car renters need to be protected against damages and claims while driving a rental car. The question is, can you help more of your own customers put that protection in place and save money in the long run.
For frequent rental car users, a robust annual auto policy could be a must. The full value of that additional coverage spread out over a year could be far cheaper than the rental company’s daily rate. Make sure to ask prospects whether they rent cars, how often, and what types of vehicles they rent. Frequent renters might be surprised at their savings potential and comforted by the added protection available to them.
Of course, you can also take this opportunity to educate those frequent renters about the benefits of their other policy coverage. Some might be unaware of the extent of their renter, homeowner, and medical policies. Many probably are in the dark about car rental credit card perks. While these discussion points may not win you a new auto policy directly, your attention to the needs of your clients won’t go unnoticed. When sales are often made on service, asking about rental car use is an easy opportunity to grow your relationships and potentially your sales.
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