1939.09. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a damage waiver shall provide or, if not expressly stated in writing, shall be deemed to provide that the renter has no liability for damage, loss, loss of use, or a cost or expense incident thereto.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (b), every limitation, exception, or exclusion to a damage waiver is void and unenforceable.
(b) A rental company may provide in the rental contract that a damage waiver does not apply under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Damage or loss results from an authorized driver’s (A) intentional, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct, (B) operation of the vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol in violation of Section 23152 of the Vehicle Code, (C) towing or pushing anything, or (D) operation of the vehicle on an unpaved road if the damage or loss is a direct result of the road or driving conditions.
(2) Damage or loss occurs while the vehicle is (A) used for commercial hire, (B) used in connection with conduct that could be properly charged as a felony, (C) involved in a speed test or contest or in driver training activity, (D) operated by a person other than an authorized driver, or (E) operated outside the United States.
(3) An authorized driver who has (A) provided fraudulent information to the rental company, or (B) provided false information and the rental company would not have rented the vehicle if it had instead received true information.
(c) (1) A rental company that offers or provides a damage waiver for any consideration in addition to the rental rate shall clearly and conspicuously disclose the following information in the rental contract or holder in which the contract is placed and, also, in signs posted at the location where the renter signs the rental contract, and, for renters who are enrolled in the rental company’s membership program, in a sign that shall be posted in a location clearly visible to those renters as they enter the location where their reserved rental vehicles are parked or near the exit of the bus or other conveyance that transports the enrollee to a reserved vehicle: (A) the nature of the renter’s liability, such as liability for all collision damage regardless of cause, (B) the extent of the renter’s liability, such as liability for damage or loss up to a specified amount, (C) the renter’s personal insurance policy or the credit card used to pay for the vehicle rental transaction may provide coverage for all or a portion of the renter’s potential liability, (D) the renter should consult with their insurer to determine the scope of insurance coverage, including the amount of the deductible, if any, for which the renter is obligated, (E) the renter may purchase an optional damage waiver to cover all liability, subject to whatever exceptions the rental company expressly lists that are permitted under subdivision (b), and (F) the range of charges for the damage waiver.
(2) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (1), a rental company that offers or provides a damage waiver shall orally disclose to all renters, except those who are participants in the rental company’s membership program, that the damage waiver may be duplicative of coverage that the customer maintains under their own policy of motor vehicle insurance. The renter shall acknowledge receipt of the oral disclosure near that part of the contract where the renter indicates, by the renter’s own initials, their acceptance or declination of the damage waiver. Adjacent to that same part, the contract also shall state that the damage waiver is optional. Further, the contract for these renters shall include a clear and conspicuous written disclosure that the damage waiver may be duplicative of coverage that the customer maintains under their own policy of motor vehicle insurance.
(3) (A) The following is an example, for purposes of illustration and not limitation, of a notice fulfilling the requirements of paragraph (1) for a rental company that imposes liability on the renter for collision damage to the full value of the vehicle:
“NOTICE ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND OPTIONAL DAMAGE WAIVER
You are responsible for all collision damage to the rented vehicle even if someone else caused it or the cause is unknown. You are responsible for the cost of repair up to the value of the vehicle, and towing, storage, and impound fees.
Your own insurance, or the issuer of the credit card you use to pay for the vehicle rental transaction, may cover all or part of your financial responsibility for the rented vehicle. You should check with your insurance company, or credit card issuer, to find out about your coverage and the amount of the deductible, if any, for which you may be liable.
Further, if you use a credit card that provides coverage for your potential liability, you should check with the issuer to determine if you must first exhaust the coverage limits of your own insurance before the credit card coverage applies.
The rental company will not hold you responsible if you buy a damage waiver. But a damage waiver will not protect you if (list exceptions).”
(B) When the notice in subparagraph (A) is printed in the rental contract or holder in which the contract is placed, the following shall be printed immediately following the notice:
“The cost of an optional damage waiver is $____ for every (day or week).”
(C) When the notice in subparagraph (A) appears on a sign, the following shall appear immediately adjacent to the notice:
“The cost of an optional damage waiver is $____ to $____ for every (day or week), depending upon the vehicle rented.”
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a rental company may sell a damage waiver for each full or partial 24-hour rental day for the damage waiver, subject to the following rate limitations:
(1) For rental vehicles that the rental company designates as an “economy car,” “compact car,” “intermediate car,” “standard car,” “full-size car,” or another term having similar meaning to the five smallest body-size categories of vehicles established by the Association of Car Rental Industry Systems Standards for North America when offered for rental, the rate shall not exceed twenty-five dollars ($25).
(2) Starting January 1, 2023, and each January thereafter, the rate cap shall be increased based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the previous year as reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 415, Sec. 1. (AB 901) Effective January 1, 2022.)
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