Rental Vehicles

University Business:  Arizona Department of Administration Risk Management Division (“ADOA RMD”) insures losses arising from official University use of commercial rental vehicles.  The University advises employees (renters) to purchase the liability insurance coverage or collision damage waiver insurance offered by auto rental agencies.

ADOA RMD advises all state agencies, including universities, not to allow non-State of Arizona employees to drive any state owned, rented, or leased vehicles on University business (i.e. independent contractors, individuals from another university (apart from ASU or UofA), spouses, employees of another agency, conference attendees).

Rental Vehicle Vendors:  To rent a vehicle from an outside rental company, contact Fleet Services at (928) 523-2469 or visit their website to ensure compliance with the rental processes, check for billing errors, and help with check-out/check-in of the vehicles. Fleet Services can recommend nationwide rental requests as well.

The State of Arizona has contracts in place for official business use by the University that offers lower prices and additional coverages including the damage waiver with no deductible. For more information on this and  other travel related resources, please visit the Comptroller Travel Links site .

Rentals outside of Fleet Services is discouraged. If necessary these rentals should be paid for using a University purchasing card (“P-Card”) and include the damage waiver.

Volunteer Drivers: Volunteers are those persons doing University work under the direction and control of University officials and not compensated for these activities.  “Registered” volunteers, acting at the direction of University officials and within the course and scope of their University-authorized activities, have liability coverage through ADOA RMD (Arizona Administrative Code R2-10-107.B) and Who Is Covered).  Registered volunteers are provided the same liability protection afforded to University employees with the exception of Workers’ Compensation coverage.  Thus, registered volunteers acting within the course and scope of their University-authorized activities have coverage for their liability exposure.

To become a registered volunteer, the volunteer and his/her University supervisor must complete and submit a Volunteer Registration Form to Risk Management (P. O. Box 4067) prior to any volunteer activity.  Refer to Volunteer Coverage section for more information on registered volunteers.

Personal Use: ADOA RMD does not cover losses associated with personal use of a rental vehicle.  This type of loss is the responsibility of the employee (renter) to pay.

Combined University Business and Personal Use:  University employees who combine University business and personal use of a rental vehicle should personally rent the vehicle and purchase the rental vehicle insurance at their own expense to avoid financial difficulties in the event of a loss.  The employee’s department may reimburse the employee for that portion of the rental used for University business.

Transporting Family and Friends: If the University employee transports non-University passengers (e.g. family, friends, individuals not affiliated with the University), the employee should personally rent the vehicle and purchase the rental vehicle insurance at their own expense to avoid financial difficulties in the event of a loss.

Van Training: If you are the authorized University driver of a 9 or 12-passenger rental van, you must be van certified. For more information on van training and certification please visit the University Transit Services Van Training site

Rental Card:  ADOA RMD provides insurance for physical damage to vehicles rented for the purpose of University business.  Contact Risk Management for a rental card, to provide to the rental agency as notification of coverage by the State of Arizona.

Inspect Rental Vehicle Prior to Leaving and When Returning Vehicle to Rental Agency:   Inspect the rental vehicle thoroughly for damages before you leave the rental lot.  Walk around the vehicle and do a complete inspection of the body, tires, windows, etc.  If damages are discovered (no matter how minor) report damages to the rental company and have the rental company record the identified damages on their paperwork.  Get a copy of the paperwork for your files.  The same is true when returning the vehicle to the rental agency.  Do a thorough check of the vehicle for damages.  If possible, have the rental agency personnel inspect the vehicle in your presence, and request they note “no damages” on their paperwork.

Purchasing Card Coverage of Damages:  When University purchasing cardholders charge their rental vehicle on their purchasing card (“P-Card”), they receive additional coverage that reimburses cardholders for the repair or replacement of a damaged or stolen rental car, up to the full value of the car.  For more information, refer to the Purchasing Card Training Manual.

Damages to Rental Vehicle:  In the event the rental vehicle receives damages while in your care and custody, do one of the following:

  • Accident involving another vehicle or criminal damage:   Contact the local law enforcement agency and file a police report.  Contact Risk Management to report the damage and information on the accident (law enforcement agency name, police report number, name of University driver, driver’s phone number, department, name of the rental agency, make/model of rental vehicle, specifics on accident, etc.).
  • All other accidents:  Fill out the online Damage Report and contact Risk Management.  Indicate the name of the rental company, type of vehicle, license number, year, etc. on the Damage Report.  These situations do not include criminal type damage or collisions with another vehicle.  Examples would include but are not limited to backing into a pole, windshield damage due to road rocks, body damage due to scraping tree branch.

For more information on Rental Vehicles, contact Risk Management at (928) 523-2009.