If you are going to be renting a car, especially abroad, it is important to know what rights you have afforded to you. Once people get past the "newness" of driving in a foreign country, they can readily settle down and enjoy driving. Whether it is driving on the other side of the road in England or Japan or dealing with the crazy drivers in India or Venezuela, driving in another country can have a steep learning curve. One of the most important things you can do to protect yourself against the unforeseeable, is to get insurance.

Most rental car companies offer full rental car insurance, often times broken down into liability, collision, third party, personal injury and even windshield and tire coverage. These are usually separated as such so that you can pick and choose which set of coverage's you want. It is common industry practice for the agencies to require at least some sort of insurance and in many cases they will not let you rent a car without purchasing all of them. This is a benefit to you, especially if they offer them as a discounted package for those sleepy mornings when you need to drive from London to Bath and start out on the wrong side of the road.

There are certain options available to the savvy renter. The best option is to waive the Collision Damage Wavier if you are paying with a credit card that offers their own rental car insurance. This can end up saving you a lot of money in the long run. If you have any of the major credit cards in your wallet, along with any annual fees or initiation fees comes rental car collision insurance. Check your credit card's website for additional information. There is no need to pay for this twice when you initial next to the CDW for the rental car agency. If something does happen to the car, the credit card company will use an insurance adjustor and work with the rental car agency to cover any and everything that was damaged.

Another smart bet, yet often overlooked, is to go ahead and pay for the windshield and tire insurance. This is usually only an additional $1-3 dollars a day and without it, the agencies will eat you alive. There is no greater joy seen on the face of a rental car agent than a renter driving in to drop the car off at the end of the rental period with a small nick on the windshield. You will owe them a new windshield, most likely due to an unavoidable instance such as a small rock kicked up on the highway, and they will make you pay. It is almost all profit the agency. Most of the other ways that your car could be damaged are avoidable, but something so common as a chip in the windshield will cost you an arm and a leg and it is better to be safe than sorry.

Remember, if you are driving in another country to brush up on their driving laws. Follow all directions and drive defensively. If you are involved in an accident, don't move the vehicles and wait for the police. Happy Trails!