Your collision insurance (if you carry it) and your CC may cover the cost of repairing the rental car, but MAY NOT cover what the rental agency calls “loss of use” which means if:
* it takes your ins co / CC 4 days to get down to see the car, * another 4 days to settle the claim (longer, if the rental co contests it, which they probably will) and
* another 4 days for the rental co to repair the damage,
you might be in the hook for the cost of the daily rental while the car is out of commission.
All this can be avoided for the extra $10-$15. Is it worth the gamble? At $29.99 per day for the average car, 12 days could set you back close to $350. Something to consider, if they charge for loss of use (check the fine print on the contract)