Cheap car insurance is a staple of the modern car rental industry.
The industry is worth about $10 billion annually, according to a report released last month by Consumer Reports, and more than 40 percent of the rental car industry is owned and operated by small business owners.
But while the rental industry is booming, there is a serious shortage of affordable cars for renters.
According to the study, only 6.6 percent of used car rental companies nationwide offer at least one brand of car insurance coverage, while another 8.6 of them do not offer at all.
The other 11.6 are in the “low-cost” category, meaning that the average monthly premium for a car rental is $150.
That means about a third of the cars in the rental market are at a premium and are not available to renters, the report found.
Rental car insurance companies also have a long history of not offering their own car insurance.
For example, the industry has had the same car insurance policies since 1996, but the coverage companies that have remained have changed over time.
“There’s been a lot of consolidation, and a lot more competition in terms of who’s offering car insurance,” said Robert Turo, vice president of research and analysis at Consumer Reports.
“But if you look at what other car insurance providers are offering, it’s a lot different than what you’re getting with the [main rental] companies.”
According to Turo and the report’s authors, the high cost of rental car insurance has led many of the companies to cut back their coverage to meet the new regulations put in place by the federal government.
For instance, the government requires that car insurance be purchased through an issuer or broker, which in some cases has made it difficult for many rental companies to get into the business.
The government also mandates that car rental providers must have a fleet of at least 10,000 vehicles, a minimum of $100,000 in annual sales, and an annual gross vehicle weight rating of at or above 4,500 pounds.
These requirements are intended to prevent rental car companies from turning away customers because they do not have a vehicle fleet, according the report.
The government also prohibits car insurance from being used to pay for repairs, including maintenance.
And while the government has not required rental car insurers to offer their own vehicle insurance, the Federal Trade Commission has.
According to the report, it has “found that some rental car company owners have offered their own policies to renters in the past.”
Rentals in particular have a problem with auto insurance.
According the report and other studies, more than half of all car insurance premiums paid by renters are paid for by the company themselves.
According the report: “Many renters are choosing to rent rather than pay for auto insurance or car repairs.
Many renters are not aware that rental car and car insurance can be purchased at the same time, or that renters can get discounted rates on their own auto insurance.”
The rental industry, meanwhile, has become more aggressive in offering car rental coverage.
The report found that the rental company with the highest percentage of renters reporting that they had car insurance was the leasing company, which provides the highest average monthly premiums of any rental car service.
The next most popular rental car rental company was the auto leasing company.
And despite the high premiums and the fact that they are paid through an insurance company, many renters don’t understand how to navigate their own rental car policies.
The survey found that “most renters do not know the difference between a rental car policy and an auto policy, or how to use the car insurance process.”
Turo and his colleagues believe that the problem is not only the lack of a national consumer information campaign, but also a lack of clarity in the insurance industry.
And they hope that the federal regulation will help change that.
“When you look around, there’s no national awareness about the fact there’s this huge difference between rental car coverage and auto insurance,” Turo said.
“There’s a great need for awareness, and we’re hoping the federal regulations will change that.”
Read moreConsumer Reports: What to know about car insurance:What you need to know if you’re about to pay rent:What to know when you’re renting:Read the full report: