Do I Need Insurance To Rent a U-Haul?

You aren’t required to have insurance to rent from U-Haul. In fact, standard car insurance policies typically don’t extend coverage to U-Hauls and other rental moving trucks. However, you can buy coverage from U-Haul to make sure you aren’t fully on the hook if the trucks and equipment you rent are damaged in your care.

Keep reading to find out when car insurance covers U-Haul rentals and what types of coverage you can obtain to best protect yourself before your big move.

Key Takeaways Standard car insurance policies usually exclude coverage for U-Haul moving trucks, although it may be possible to secure coverage for a smaller U-Haul vehicle or trailer. You aren’t required to buy insurance to rent a U-Haul but going without coverage means you will have to personally reimburse U-Haul for any damage to the vehicles and equipment you rent. U-Haul offers various coverage types to cover your rentals including Safemove, Safemove Plus, Safetow, Safetrip, Safestor and Safehaul. Rates for U-Haul coverage types include $15 for Safemove, $28 for Safemove Plus, $7.95 to $35.95 for Safestor and $5 for Safetrip.

Will My Car Insurance Policy Cover U-Haul Rentals?

For the most part, car insurance provides little to no coverage for U-Haul rentals. That said, the exact level of coverage available to you may depend on the insurance company that covers you and whether you are renting a truck or trailer.

U-Haul Rental Trucks

Car insurance companies generally don’t cover U-Haul moving trucks. Even if your personal car insurance policy doesn’t explicitly exclude coverage for U-Hauls, it will likely exclude coverage for vehicles above a certain weight limit.^[1] For example, if your insurer only covers vehicles with a gross weight of 12,000 pounds or less, then it would never cover a U-Haul truck that is longer than 10 feet, since these vehicles have a gross weight of 14,500 pounds and up.^[2]

That said, some personal auto insurance policies may extend your comprehensive and collision coverage to non-owned vehicles you have permission to drive including rental cars.^[3] As a result, it may be worth asking your insurance carrier if your policy would cover physical damage to a lighter U-Haul vehicle such as a pickup truck or cargo van.

U-Haul Rental Trailers

Some auto insurance providers may extend bodily injury and property damage liability insurance to a U-Haul rental trailer as long as it is being towed by a vehicle that you own and that is covered by your policy, while you may need to specifically list the trailer on your policy for your comprehensive and collision coverage to apply to the trailer.^[4] Conversely, other insurers may exclude coverage for any trailer you don’t personally own.^[5]

Can I Rent a U-Haul if I Don’t Have Car Insurance?

You are allowed to rent a U-Haul without having insurance. However, if you don’t have coverage, then you will be personally responsible for reimbursing U-Haul for any damage the company’s property incurs on your watch and any revenue the company loses while its property is being repaired. This applies even if the source of damage was not your fault such as vandalism.^[1]

Even if your car insurance does cover U-Haul rentals, you will still have to pay U-Haul out of pocket for damaged rentals as soon as you return them.

Afterward, you will have to file a car insurance claim to get your auto insurance company to reimburse you for what you paid to U-Haul.^[1]

Does U-Haul Provide Coverage?

Although your existing car insurance policy likely won’t provide much coverage for moving truck rentals, there are various coverage types you can purchase directly from U-Haul to protect yourself from financial losses related to vehicles and equipment you rent. See below for an overview of the various U-Haul insurance options that are available.

Safemove

Safemove includes a damage waiver that provides physical damage coverage for U-Haul moving trucks. Most forms of accidental damage are covered, although you will have to pay a $250 deductible for any claims involving overhead damage.^[6]

Meanwhile, Safemove also includes cargo protection that insures your belongings against damage from collisions, rollovers, fires and windstorms. Finally, this coverage type comes with medical and life protection that covers the driver and passengers in the cab of the rental truck.^[6]

Safemove Plus

Safemove Plus offers all of the coverages included in Safemove along with $1 million worth of supplemental liability coverage. If your auto insurance does cover U-Hauls, Safemove Plus will still act as the primary coverage, meaning you won’t have to file a claim on your personal insurance unless the claim exceeds $1 million.^[6]

In addition, you won’t have to pay a deductible on any accidental damage claims if you upgrade to Safemove Plus. However, you should note that the following exclusions apply to both Safemove and Safemove Plus:^[6]

• Theft of your personal property
• Theft of U-Haul property if your negligence contributed to the theft
• Damage caused by improper packing or the normal shifting of cargo while in transit
• Abuse of equipment
• Off-roading
• Mechanical damage caused by rocking the truck in an attempt to get it out of mud, ice or snow
• Trips outside of the United States or Canada

Safetow

Safetow provides a damage waiver that covers a trailer, tow dolly or auto transport you rent from U-Haul along with towed property protection that covers any items you store in the trailer. Towed property protection also insures the vehicle you use to tow the trailer against physical damage in every state except for Virginia.^[6]

You will also receive life and medical coverage through Safetow that applies to the person driving the towing vehicle and anyone seated in the passenger area of the vehicle. Note that this coverage doesn’t apply to passengers if they ride in the trailer itself or otherwise sit outside of the towing vehicle’s passenger area.^[6]

Safetrip

While all U-Haul rentals automatically come with roadside assistance, you can secure more comprehensive roadside support by paying for Safetrip. Some of the perks of Safetrip include jumpstarts, support if you are locked out of or have lost the keys to your U-Haul rental, delivery of up to three gallons of fuel and assistance if you are having trouble hooking up a trailer to a vehicle or your U-Haul rental is stuck in mud, ice or snow.^[6]

However, Safetrip does not provide coverage in the following excluded scenarios:^[6]

• Intentional damage
• Reckless or criminal actions
• Abuse of equipment
• Collisions with bridges or overhead objects
• Off-roading
• Improper fuel use
• Overloading cargo such that the weight of the truck exceeds its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)
• Use of equipment by someone other than the customer or authorized driver

Safestor

If you need to temporarily store any of your belongings in a U-Haul self-storage unit, you can purchase Safestor to insure them against the following named perils:^[6]

• Fire
• Hurricanes
• Tornadoes
• Wind
• Vandalism
• Vermin
• Lightning
• Smoke
• Earthquakes
• Hail
• Burglary
• Building collapse
• Leaking water

You should note that, in order to be reimbursed for property that is damaged or stolen during a burglary, you will need to call 911 so the responding officers can file a police report and present evidence of forced entry to support your claim.^[6]

Safehaul

To receive the same coverage for your belongings while they are being shipped in a U-Haul portable storage unit, known as a U-Box, you will need to buy Safehaul. Keep in mind that Safehaul and Safestor don’t provide any insurance coverage for motor vehicles and also don’t cover valuables like the following:^[6]

• Money and securities
• Stamps
• Watches and other types of jewelry
• Antiques
• Furs
• Art
• Property deeds
• Credit cards

Pickup Trucks and Cargo Vans

Since Safemove and Safemove Plus only apply to large moving trucks, you will need to buy a collision damage waiver (CDW) to insure smaller U-Haul vehicles like pickup trucks and cargo vans. A CDW can provide collision coverage for your rented vehicles with a $150 deductible for most kinds of accidental damage claims.^[6] However, CDWs don’t provide cargo, medical or supplemental liability insurance.^[1]

How Much Does U-Haul Coverage Cost?

While U-Haul doesn’t publicly list the cost of coverage for all of its insurance types, the company has shared that you can secure protection for your trip by paying $5 for Safetrip and either $15 for Safemove or $28 for Safemove Plus.^[7][8] Meanwhile, you can check out the below table to see how much Safestor costs depending on the amount of coverage you select.^[9]

Coverage Limit	Price
$1,000	$7.95
$5,000	$10.95
$10,000	$20.95
$15,000	$35.95