Car Insurance in Montenegro

Compulsory car insurance in Montenegro. It covers all types of rental car damage, if it didn’t happen by the driver’s fault, including all third-party liabilities in case of an accident. When accident happens by the lease holder’s fault, the driver is responsible for the rental car damages only.

The most popular form of insurance for rental cars in Montenegro is the compulsory third-party liability insurance.

Full comprehensive car insurance

Covers not only all rental car damages, but also all third-party liabilities and damages irregardless of the driver’s fault.

If a deductible amount (deposit) is present, the lease holder is responsible for the rental car damages anyway. The liability cannot exceed the deposit amount. If the damages exceed the deposit amount, the lease holder loses only the deposited amount, and the insurance company pays the rest. If the damage is less than the deposited amount, it’s deducted from the deposit, and the remainder is returned to the lease holder.

The deposit is accepted in cash, or a corresponding amount is locked at the lease holder’s credit card account when the rental car is handed over. When the lease is over, if the car is not damaged, the deposit is returned to the lease holder in full.

Theft insurance is rare in Montenegro. Many insurance companies don’t even offer it. Crime rate in Montenegro is rather low. Often, at parkings or yards you can see cars with doors open for ventilation.

You can buy additional insurance for a rental car in Montenegro only if there’s such an option in your rental agreement. As a rule, there is none.

When insurance event happens, call your rental company manager first! All other actions and calls should be done only at his or her advice. The manager will help you to resolve this issue with minimal loss.

Limitations

Compulsory and comprehensive insurance don’t cover tire and front windshield damage. The insurance company doesn’t cover any expenses if the driver was intoxicated during the accident. The driver’s blood alcohol should be at acceptable levels during the police test.

Insurance won’t be paid without an infringement notice, issued by the police on site.

Deposit

As a rule, deposit is collected for cars with compulsory insurance. In this case, the deposit is the deductible amount. We’ve covered this case above.
With compulsory insurance, the deposit is used rarely. Sometimes, a small amount is collected to ensure the customer is in capacity to pay. When the car is returned, the fuel might be low, you can exceed the rent time, etc. In this case, the expenses are deducted from the deposit. Roughly speaking, the rental companies protect themselves from inconsiderate customers: ‘Oh, we have no money left’.

Choosing the Insurance

At first sight, comprehensive insurance is much better. Still, sometimes that’s not the case. About 80% of rental car incidents are small and insignificant. There are two reasons for that. First, traffic in Montenegro is very calm and relaxed. Rarely the speed exceeds 80 km/h. Second, most tourists, duly beware of Montenegrin serpentine roads, drive slowly and carefully. That’s why most often it’s simply scratches, chipped bumpers or lights. Such types of damage rarely cost more than €200-500.

If the car has compulsory insurance, the lease holder pays for the damages only when the accident is his or her fault. If the car has comprehensive insurance with a deposit (usually that’s the case with comprehensive insurance), the lease holder is accountable by the amount deposited. It doesn’t matter if the lease holder caused the accident. Therefore, the lease holder has more chances to lose a few hundred euros with comprehensive insurance.  Still, if the damages are significant and repairs are costly, comprehensive insurance will save you a lot of money.

Considering all this, most rental companies choose compulsory insurance for their cars. Besides, it allows for lower rates.