Rental Cars: When is a "Substitute Vehicle" Covered by YOUR Illinois Insurance policy?
Rental car insurance is confusing. It is important to know when your insurance provides coverage for the rented vehicle, and under what circumstances that coverage may be limited. The answers to these questions may depend on the language of your own automobile insurance policy. One important fact is whether your car is "disabled" and "withdrawn from use" rather than when you simply are concerned that it may be on the brink of becoming disabled or possibly in need of repair. If your rented car is involved in a car accident, questions may arise as to whether your own insurance policy will still cover you for bodily injury liability (if you cause injury to someone), uninsured motorist coverage (if you become injured due to the fault of an uninsured driver) or underinsured motorist coverage (if the at-fault driver carries an insufficient amount of liability coverage, and you are injured)in an accident.
Many automobile insurance policies have a Substitute Vehicle Clause, which provides coverage for a "temporary substitute vehicle" when the insured vehicle is not in "normal use" or has been "withdrawn from normal use." When your vehicle meets the requirements of a Substitute Vehicle Clause, the rental is covered to the same extent as your own vehicle. In Economy Fire and Casualty Company v. Dean-Colomb, the court found that a vehicle is withdrawn from normal use because of breakdown, repair, servicing, loss, or destruction. Economy Fire and Casualty Company v. Dean-Colomb, 269 Ill.App.3d 603 (4th Dist. 1995). Simply fearing that a car is unsafe for use without it being inoperable or taken to a shop for service is insufficient to qualify for a coverage through the Substitute Vehicle Clause. Economy Fire and Casualty Company at 608.
