Kentucky Car Crash Lawyer: How do I get a Rental Car After a Crash?

Not having a drivable vehicle is a huge pain.  If you are involved in a Kentucky car crash, there are two potential ways to get a rental vehicle: your insurance and the other driver’s insurance company.  

The fastest and easiest way to get yourself into a rental is to call your insurance company if you have the right coverage.  Rental coverage is usually a few bucks a month, and you are only eligible for the coverage if you buy it.  This coverage is available despite fault.  If you have the coverage, you call your insurance company and have them set you up with a rental.  Discussing facts of the case and your health status will only give the insurance carrier an avenue to deny other claims down the line.  My clients do not discuss those issues with the insurance company when they are requesting a rental vehicle.  Your insurance company will only provide you with a rental long enough to 1) fix your vehicle and/or 2) pay you the market value of your vehicle if totaled.  If your vehicle is totaled, start shopping right away for a car because once the insurance company sends you a check they will expect the rental to be returned.

The second way to get a rental vehicle is through the other driver’s insurance company.  They are only going to help with a rental if they accept fault on behalf of their driver.  If they only accept a percentage of the fault, they will only pay that percent of a rental.  If they do this or refuse to accept fault, it puts the person wanting a rental in a tough spot.  I often hear “the police report has them at fault so I automatically get a rental."  This information is false.  Imagine if you know you did nothing wrong but the police report has you at fault.  This also doesn’t mean that the insurance company’s initial liability position is correct.  The way to get them to change their position is to sue them.  The problem is you are unlikely to find an injury lawyer willing to sue on a property damage issue alone.  You may be able to hire another lawyer by the hour to pursue the claim, but the lawyer may cost you more in the long run. This is the reason you should purchase rental coverage from the get go.  You should also make sure the other person’s insurance company puts their position in writing.

To figure out who the other person’s insurance company is, you will need to get that information at the scene of the accident or wait for the police report.  If the other person is insured, the company will be listed toward the bottom part of the police report.  If there is no person listed, they likely don’t have insurance and thus no way to get you in a rental.  However, there is a way to run their tags with the county clerk and see if coverage exists.

Some personal injury lawyers don’t help their clients through this process.  Those lawyers are doing their client a disservice.  Contact me with any questions and good luck.