How do I insure a Kyte long term rental car?

Whatever you do, don't buy a non owner auto policy - it usually won't cover you in a long term rental. Get a referral from Kyte to an insurance agent who can sell you a policy that will protect you, or just call or text us here at Surround at 617-206-1314.

How do I insure a Kyte long term rental car?

Whatever you do, don't buy a non owner auto policy - it usually won't cover you in a long term rental. Get a referral from Kyte to an insurance agent who can sell you a policy that will protect you, or just call or text us here at Surround at 617-206-1314.

Wait, what's Kyte's long term rental car product?

Kyte has offered white glove short term car rental (with delivery!) for a while now, and now they've rolled out a subscription based long term rental car program in a number of cities in the US. We're excited for them!

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Does the Kyte car subscription product come with insurance?

Kyte's long term rentals do not include liability insurance. You can buy liability insurance directly from Kyte, or from one of Kyte's partners, like us, Surround Insurance. Coverage for the vehicle (comprehensive and collision) is generally included by Kyte, but double check to make sure you aren't personally on the hook for damage to a $50,000 Tesla.

Is insurance for a long term car rental different from what I've used for to rent a car for a few days?

Yes, it is. For a short term rental, you'd bring your own insurance if you're a car owner (or have a non owed auto policy that you can combine with a credit card rental car damage benefit). If you don't have your own insurance you'd usually just buy it from the rental car company. However, these options don't really work for a long term rental.

Your own car insurance only covers you for vehicles listed on the policy and also for vehicles you drive occasionally but don't have regular access to. A long term car rental doesn't fit that definition. If you get in an accident without arranging for appropriate insurance, there's a good chance your claim won't be paid, even if you have insurance.

Buying directly from the rental car company for a long period of time may not be available or could be quite expensive. You should definitely price it out, but you may be better off getting your own car insurance for your subscription car.

What kind of insurance can I get to cover a long term car rental?

Subscription car services are new, but insurance is old, so there's some really bad advice out there. You want to buy regular "owned" auto insurance with the leasing company listed on the policy as an additional interest (which shouldn't cost extra). This is the same kind of policy you'd be sold if you leased from the auto dealership, so nothing new here.

Make sure you have enough liability insurance to cover you if you are at fault for an accident and you get sued. Consider that you can be sued for future earnings and it's usually pretty cheap to increase your liability limits.

Also check to see if comprehensive and collision, the coverages that repair damage to the car itself, are covered by the subscription car company. If they are, just make sure the damage fee you'll owe them if the car is damaged is affordable for you. If comp and collision are not included, you should add the coverages to your auto insurance policy. Otherwise, if you get in a crash, you could find yourself owing the subscription company a whole lot more than your monthly subscription.

You should NOT buy non owned auto insurance to cover a long term rental.  

All auto insurance policies cover you only when you drive the cars listed on the policy or other autos that you drive occasionally AND don't have regular access to. Since you have regular access to a long term rental, and, by definition, cars aren't listed on a non owner auto policy, you will not have coverage under your non owner policy if you get in a crash in your subscription car.

We have seen and heard about a lot of bad advice on this topic - even licensed agents sometimes get confused. (And, to be fair, non owned auto is a misleading name. "Driving insurance for personal use of cars you don't usually drive or have access to" would be a lot more clear if a little long...).

The only exception is if a non owner auto policy has a specific endorsement added to it to add regular use of a specific car to the policy. The cost of the policy will be about the same as a regular auto policy. Very few companies will do this, so make sure that the agent you're talking to confirms that this endorsement is on the policy, and check your policy paperwork when it arrives.

And last but not least:

Is Kyte legit?

Yes! Kyte was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in San Francisco. They've raised over $100M in venture capital to get their car rental and car subscription service off the ground.

This is general information based on questions our customers ask us. It may not be right for your specific situation. You should get some advice from a licensed insurance agent (like us!) before you make a decision on your own insurance.