Auto insurance law requires that all motor vehicles are insured with Personal Liability and Property Damage insurance. National provides PLPD insurance on all daily rental vehicles, and this insurance benefit is included in your daily rental rate. 

National’s PLPD insurance is valid in all Canadian provinces and the United States.

Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)

North American car rental contracts state that the renter is financially responsible for any loss or damage to the rental vehicle, up to the value of the vehicle. 

If you purchase Loss Damage Waiver, National agrees to waive this term and reduce your financial responsibility to a lesser amount. This amount may vary by city, vehicle type, and coverage option. 

LDW is not insurance, but it does reduce your financial responsibility in similar manner. LDW also provides some big benefits no insurance policy can provide:

• You get to "walk away" from loss or damage (provided, of course, the terms of the rental agreement are not broken). 
• You save the time and trouble because insurance companies (and their lengthy reports and voice-mail traps) are not involved. 
• Most importantly, you keep your own insurance record unblemished and intact.

PAI is a Life and Accident Insurance benefit offered to customers for a nominal daily charge. PAI includes coverage for medical, dental and life insurance for the renter and passengers. PAI covers the renter for the entire time period he/she has a rental vehicle, not just while it is being driven.

Peace of Mind (POM)

POM is a combination of LDW and PAI plus the added benefit of Personal Effects Coverage (PEC). PEC insures personal items in the event of a break-in to the rental vehicle (to a maximum of $2000.00 per rental). 
 

POM is the ultimate coverage available to our customers: 

• LDW with a $0 responsibility for damage
• Personal Accident Insurance for driver and passengers
• PEC coverage

DW is a unique and specialized coverage available only at Murdoch Group locations in Ontario. 

DW waives your own auto insurance deductible in the event that you have transferred your own auto all-perils coverage onto a rental vehicle. (This is very common in cases where you obtain a rental to replace your car due to mechanical breakdown or accident).

If you purchase DW and damage the rental car, Murdoch Group will absorb or pay for your insurance deductible (up to $1000 per rental) when the damage amount is claimed against your policy.

Some premium credit cards do provide limited coverage for damage or loss to rental vehicles. 

But, many exclusions and conditions may be lurking in the fine print. 

Most cards limit such things as:

• Who may drive (age, experience, relationship to renter)
• The types of vehicles covered (cars vs truck)
• The maximum length of the rental 

• Will the credit card company steer the claim through my own auto insurance policy first? (this is quite common) 
• Is there a deductible? 
• What is the claim process? 
• Do I have to pay for the damages first and then get reimbursed? 
• Is there a limit to what is covered? 
• Is tire damage covered? 
• Is windshield damage covered?
• Is towing after an accident covered?
• Are there any other ways the credit card company can deny the damage claim? 

Doesn’t my own auto insurance policy cover rental vehicles?

Some Ontario auto insurance policies contain special riders or conditions that extend coverage to loss or damage to rental vehicles.

If you are considering using such coverage on you next rental, remember these facts:

• In the event of loss or damage, a claim will be processed through your personal insurance policy possibly causing a significant increase in your premium for years to come 
• Some policies have a limit of coverage which falls far short of the replacement cost of the rental vehicle
• Windshields that are chipped or broken on rental vehicles must be replaced. You do not have the option to drive with a chipped or repaired windshield as you could on your own car.