Rental vehicle coverage extension

Under current law, a rental vehicle is covered by the liability portion of your motor vehicle insurance policy for one month.

Sponsored by Rep. Kate Knuth (DFL-New Brighton), HF1022 would extend that to two months.

Approved 97-36 by the House, the bill now goes to the Senate, where Sen. Mary Olson (DFL-Bemidji) is the sponsor.

Knuth said the initiative came to her from a snowbird that annually rents a car for two or three months in Arizona, and one year found out his insurance coverage in Minnesota does not fully cover his rental.

The idea is to simply reduce the hassle factor, and to make sure people don’t get caught without insurance on rental vehicles, Knuth said, adding that costs would be “miniscule.”

Bob Johnson, president of the Insurance Federation of Minnesota, told a House division that this extension “isn’t the issue that’s going to drive systems and premiums in Minnesota.”

The bill would also require consumers to be notified of the two-month limit at the time of rental.