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I'm travelling to Finland and renting a car (not a van or bus) in which I will be carrying a number of members of a sports team, most of whom are not related to me. Our home/auto insurance (TD Meloche-Monnex) does not extend our third-party liability insurance outside of Canada/US.

I've heard that car rentals in Finland cover (by law) unlimited 3rd party liability on people outside the car (e.g. http://www.autoeurope.com/go/driving-information/finland/), but I'm unsure about passengers.

So...

  • What third-party liability coverage is provided for passengers (I'm sure there is some legal minimum in Finland like there is in Canada)
  • Are there any Canadian insurance companies that can provide third-party liability insurance in Europe on the order of $2M? The rental car companies personal injury policies cost a phenomenal amount for little coverage, so I'm not interested in that option.
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  • I'm not clear enough on this (or the finnish legal status) to submit as an answer, but many car rental companies offer "personal injury" cover as a smallish additional option. I think this would cover anyone in the vehicle, but you should check detail. But you seem to be seeking what would effectively by liability insurance for a tour operator, and I'm not sure you really need that.
    – CMaster
    Commented Jun 9, 2021 at 15:12
  • Many travel insurance policies provide some level of third-party liability cover either inclusive or as an option. I don't know Canadian insurance, but this is true for insurance bought in many countries including USA; CAD 2m may be available as an option (I've seen similar amounts in GBP or USD offered).
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 13:56

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I have not rented a car in Finland but I have rented one in many other EU countries and I expect that Finland is the same. Insurance works quite differently here than over your way, most personal policies do not cover rentals. Hence, even the locals require insurance. The list price should include all legally required insurance and probably more. There will be options, e.g. Collision Damage Waiver if you want to limit your risk. A visit to the websites of the rental companies should give you detailed answers.

Study the rules of the road. At least the Finns agree with you about which side to drive on but many other rules differ. E.g. Give way to busses. I have not tried playing the ignorant foreigner card with the Finnish police but Finnish friends tell me that it won't work.

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  • Thanks badjohn. I lived in Norway for a few years, so the rules of the road are probably not an issue. My concern is getting adequate liability insurance for the passengers. It's one thing to be renting for my family, but this time I'm a chaperone moving other people's kids. In Canada we also need separate insurance for rental cars, though our home liability coverage often extends to rentals in Canada or Canada/US. Rental price in Canada includes the minimum liability coverage. All the scams surround extra liability insurance and CDW. I've got CDW covered through my credit card.
    – EBlake
    Commented Jun 17, 2017 at 22:59
  • Sorry, I didn't fully appreciate your question. It's a bit too specialised for me. I guess that you should start with travel insurance companies. Your Norwegian driving experience should be very helpful. One particular Finnish rule that I remember is that if a bus signals that it wants to pull out then you have to give way (yield).
    – badjohn
    Commented Jun 18, 2017 at 14:38
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I couldn't find any law in Finland that mandates the liability insurance to Finnish rental cars (correct me if I'm wrong). There is mandatory traffic insurance for rental cars, but I couldn't find confirmation that it would have to cover liability too. Some webpages of Finnish rental companies stated that liability is part of the insurance and some didn't have an explicit statement of that at all. Probably the safest way is to ask prior or while making the rental deal if their insurance has such coverage. There is always some own risk part in case of an accident, but it can usually be reduced or eliminated with extra cost.

The following is additional information, as I misunderstood first that the question was about medical care insurance for the passengers:

In Finland people traveling to other countries take a travel insurance. It might be for one trip only or for any travel with specific terms. Most people (who travel at all) take the one that includes all traveling. So based on that I would assume that people traveling to Finland would be assumed to be insured by a foreign company.

Although the Finnish law requires to give medical care in emergency situations to anyone. If that person is afterwards identified as a non-EU citizen then the actual costs of the treatment can be billed later. For Finnish people emergency care would be almost free just a fraction of the costs are typically paid by the receiver of care.

I didn't find any Finnish companies selling insurance for traveling in Finland only and I don't know what their stand would be if you would ask them. But by a little googling there are European insurance companies that offer insurance for traveling in the EU (e.g. in here). And Canadian companies offering travel insurance in general (e.g. in here).

In my opinion this is not about cars or rental cars at all as the question is about the health and wellbeing of the people traveling.

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  • Thanks for the answer, but travel (e.g. medical) insurance is not what I was asking about. The question concerns liability insurance which is insurance to protect an at-fault driver from other people (third-parties) suing to recover things like lost wages or future earnings potential. Such damages can quickly climb into the millions of dollars/euros. For example, if a driver injures a young professional so that they can never work again, they may be held liable for their future lifetime earnings.
    – EBlake
    Commented Jul 3, 2017 at 14:22
  • Ok @EBlake. I misunderstood the question. I will correct my answer.
    – Communisty
    Commented Jul 4, 2017 at 6:02

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