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Insurance Coverage for a Rented Truck

Mar 11, 2005
Contributor: Pat Henry

Sutherland rented a Load N Go truck at the Quincy Home Depot last fall where store officials told him his personal car insurance would cover him if he got in an accident.

But when he hit a pole outside the store and filed a claim for the damages, his insurance company denied it, leaving him personally on the hook for the entire $1,964 in repair costs.

His insurer, Hanover Insurance of Worcester, said it rejected the claim because a registration form it received from Home Depot indicated the truck weighed 10,000 pounds.

In Massachusetts and most other states, coverage provided by a personal car insurance policy doesn't transfer to a commercial-size vehicle weighing 10,000 pounds or more.

''I rented that vehicle because Home Depot said it would be covered by my car insurance," Sutherland said. ''If it wasn't covered, I wouldn't have rented it. Imagine if I had been in a really bad accident."

After Sutherland contacted the Globe and the newspaper began investigating, the companies took another look at the accident. It wasn't a pretty sight. There were miscommunications, sloppy paperwork, and confusion about whether Sutherland was driving a Ford or GMC truck.

Hanover ultimately decided to pay Sutherland's claim, minus his $500 deductible, after receiving new documents from Home Depot indicating the truck he rented weighed 9,200 pounds instead of 10,000 pounds.

''It came down to that," said Hanover spokesman Michael Buckley. ''The claim hinged on the weight of the vehicle."

In a statement, Home Depot said its trucks weigh 9,200 pounds apiece and were selected specifically because they would not qualify as a commercial vehicle weighing 10,000 pounds or more.

''We have rented these trucks for several years," the Home Depot statement said. ''Apart from Mr. Sutherland's insurance company, we are unaware of any other consumer who has been denied coverage by his or her insurance carrier on this basis."

Consumers renting a vehicle are often faced with a difficult decision about whether to buy a rental company's insurance, but home improvement chains like Home Depot and Lowe's don't even sell insurance.

The two hardware store giants tell customers all they need to rent a truck is a driver's license, a car registration, and a credit card. The rental cost is just under $20 for the first 75 minutes and $5 for every 15 minutes thereafter.

''There are no insurance charges," says Home Depot's website.

The two retailers do purchase liability coverage for their trucks, which is required in Massachusetts and covers any damage the rented truck causes to another vehicle.

But Home Depot and Lowe's require any person renting their trucks to cover any damage to the truck itself. Both chains require customers to sign rental agreements stating that the renter has automobile liability insurance that covers the operation of the rented vehicle

For more information relating to "Insurance Coverage for a Rented Truck", please visit our car insurance Insurance Coverage for a Rented Truck page.

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