Contrary to popular belief, not all car rental agencies check your driving record and most won’t as a way to save money. However, almost all car rental companies will reserve the right to run a background check, which will include your driving record as well as your credit score, should they so choose. Despite this fact, if you have a valid license you are generally approved to rent a car.

If they do decide to check your driving record and they get a lot of negative results, on top of your credit card information you may be required to fork over a fairly large amount of cash in order to cover any damages that may be accrued by you as a driver. This deposit will automatically be refunded to you, in the same form that you used to make it, as soon as you return the car and there are no problems with it. This can be an inconvenience for many people as leaving a couple hundred to a thousand dollars with a company is not really a viable option when you are going on vacation, especially if you are on a budget. In lieu of a cash deposit, many car rental agencies will allow you to leave the information of a secondary credit card that will be charged should something happen to the vehicle while you are responsible for it.

One of the ways rental companies can bypass the financial deposit is by offering you greatly increased insurance on the car. This insurance is commonly referred to as full coverage and it really is just that. The full coverage insurance offered by rental companies will cover the car for any damages or issues that may be your fault or not.