California Insurance Code 1758.86 – A car rental agent shall not sell insurance pursuant to this article …
A car rental agent shall not sell insurance pursuant to this article unless all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) The rental period of the rental agreement does not exceed 30 consecutive days, except for any renewals or extension of the original rental period.
Terms Used In California Insurance Code 1758.86
- Car rental agent: means a person or organization licensed pursuant to this article to offer insurance in connection with and incidental to rental car agreements on behalf of an insurer authorized to write those types of insurance in this state. See California Insurance Code 1758.89
- Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. See California Insurance Code 20
- Endorsee: means an unlicensed employee of a car rental agent who meets the requirements of this article. See California Insurance Code 1758.89
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- license: includes a certificate of convenience and a permanent license, and the term "persons who are licensed" includes the holders of any such certificate or the license, but these definitions and the use of those terms in this chapter shall not confer upon a certificate of convenience or any holder thereof any property right in or to the certificate, the certificate being and remaining only a temporary permit, issued as a matter of convenience, allowing the transaction of insurance without a permanent license, but within the limits, and subject to the conditions of the certificate of convenience issued and the laws applicable thereto. See California Insurance Code 1627
- licensee: means an insurer, agent, broker, or any other person who is required to be licensed by the department. See California Insurance Code 38.6
- organization: means any legal entity other than a natural person. See California Insurance Code 1628
- Rental agreement: means any written agreement setting forth the terms and conditions governing the use of a vehicle provided by the rental car company. See California Insurance Code 1758.89
- Renter: means any person who obtains the use of a vehicle from a rental car company under the terms of a rental agreement. See California Insurance Code 1758.89
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Insurance Code 28
- vehicle: means a motor vehicle operated by a driver who is not required to possess a commercial driver's license to operate the motor vehicle and the motor vehicle is either of the following:
California Insurance Code 1758.89
(b) The car rental agent provides brochures or other written materials to the prospective renter that do all of the following:
(1) Summarize the material terms and conditions of coverage offered to renters, including the identity of the insurer.
(2) Describe the process for filing a claim, including a toll-free telephone number to report a claim.
(3) Disclose any additional information on the price, benefits, exclusions, conditions, or other limitations of those policies that the commissioner may by rule prescribe.
(4) Provide the licensee‘s name, address, telephone number, and license number, as well as the availability of the department’s toll-free consumer hotline.
(c) The car rental agent or its endorsee makes all of the following disclosures to the renter, which shall be acknowledged in writing by the renter, or displayed by clear and conspicuous signs that are posted at every location where rental agreements are executed, such as the counter where the renter signs the rental agreement:
(1) That the purchase by the renter of the kinds of insurance prescribed in this article is not required in order to rent a vehicle.
(2) That the insurance policies offered by the car rental agent may provide a duplication of coverage already provided by a renter’s personal automobile insurance policy or by another source of coverage.
(3) That the endorsee on the car rental agent’s license is not qualified or authorized to evaluate the adequacy of the purchaser’s existing insurance coverages.
(d) Evidence of coverage is stated on the face of the rental agreement or evidence of coverages provided to every renter who elects to purchase that coverage is indicated to the renter.
(e) The insurance is provided under an individual policy issued to the purchaser, or under a group, or master policy issued to an organization licensed as a car rental agent by an insurer authorized to transact the applicable kinds or types of insurance in this state.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 184, Sec. 37. (SB 1255) Effective January 1, 2021.)