If a rental car that is in your possession gets stolen, it becomes so stressful because you could most likely be hit with a huge debt that you hadn’t planned for which will, in turn, disorient your entire budget completely. Buying the rental car insurance over the counter may shield you from some of the monetary responsibility, but you still may be on the hook for some of the liability.
It is very important to act as soon as possible when a rental car is stolen. Below are some of the steps you can take when a rental car in your possession is stolen.
- Call the police
The first instinct that would most likely come to you would be to look for help. Call the local authorities and inform them that the vehicle has been stolen. It is important to remain calm as you explain to the police what happened so that you do not miss out any important detail that would assist with their investigations.
- Contact the rental company
Contact the rental company and inform them of the theft and request for details of the car which you would need
to fill out the police report.
- Ask for an incident report form.
Regardless of whether you purchased protection from the rental car company, you’ll need to fill one out. The sooner you can provide this, along with the police report number, to the rental company, the greater the chance the rental company will be able to recover the vehicle.
- Get a replacement car
If a rental is stolen and properly reported, the rental car company will close the contract on that vehicle. That leaves you potentially stranded without a car. The rental car company may or may not allow you to immediately rent another car. If not, don’t take it personally but do seek out a car from a different rental car company.
- Request a new rental.
Some companies assist customers by delivering a car to your location; others require you to visit the rental lot before replacing the vehicle. If you did not opt for rental insurance, the rental company may refuse to rent you another car.