Do you need insurance on a leased car?

Question

Easy question...do you need insurance on a leased car? I heard that the company you are leasing from takes care of it.

Answer 1

yes you need to insure yourself   the company insures their car and there is no coverage for hospital if you are injured.. just go to an agent and buy that personal coverage ok.

Answer 2

Possible, but all-inclusive leases are rare, expensive, and usually only available on leases from rental companies.  The only ones I ever saw were on fleet leases.  Your lease agreement will spell out the insurance requirements, and you will have to give them proof you have the insurance in place.  In Canada, most leases require $1,000,000 minimum liability, and either $500 or $1,000 deductible maximum on collision and comprehensive coverages.

Note:  If you were to obtain a lease including insurance, you would be paying full freight on that insurance, no discounts for age, good driving, etc, as the insurance would not be in your name, but the company name.

Answer 3

Fred C's answer just about covers it.

The only thing I would add is that you need to make sure your coverage includes Gap Insurance.

The leasing company sets the lease payment based on the depreciation of the car over the term of the lease.  The trouble is that the biggest hit in that depreciation cycle happens when you drive off the lot.  That means they have paid off only a small amount of that loan if you total it early in the lease term, and what they owe is more than collision insurance will pay.

Gap Insurance pays the difference, or "Gap."

Answer 4

If you're talking a "lease instead of purchase" then yes you need to purchase full coverage. The company does NOT insure the car. If you read the entire contract you'll find that out. Also if you're in a state where coverage is mandatory, as it is here, you won't even be able to register the car without proof of insurance and have to have proof of insurance anytime a cop asks for it, in the event you're stopped. If you're just referring to Hertz or Budget or one of the other rentals then you don't have to purchase insurance but they will ding you for the deductible in case of an accident.