The nightly rate is easy to compare. What you pay when something goes wrong is not: a fleet company and two marketplaces use different words (deductible, responsibility, excess), different limits and different exclusions. Here they are side by side, with three everyday accidents worked through.
Quick answer
- Cruise America includes cover in the rate: you pay up to $3,000 per incident for damage to the RV. The optional Zero Damage Plan cuts that to $0, but not for damage while reversing, overhead strikes, interior damage or freezing [I1].
- Outdoorsy and RVshare let you pick a package at booking: deductibles of $500, $1,000 or $1,500 for most RVs, $2,000–4,000 for a Class A [I2][I5]. Their cover is excess: your own auto insurance pays first, if you have one [I4][I7].
- Third-party liability is thin everywhere: state minimum limits on the marketplaces unless you buy the top package [I4][I5]; Cruise America adds up to $500,000 for US departures until January 31, 2027, and not from February 1, 2027 [I1].
Side by side: deductible, liability, deposit, exclusions
| Cruise America · fleet | Outdoorsy · marketplace | RVshare · marketplace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you get cover | Included in the prepaid rate [I1] | Pick a Protection Package at booking: Essential, Preferred or Peace of Mind (Stationary for parked RVs) [I3] | Essential is added to every quote; switch to Basic or Preferred at booking [I5] |
| Your deductible for damage to the RV | $3,000 per incident, regardless of fault. $0 with the Zero Damage Plan (bought at the counter for a “nominal nightly fee”; no price published) [I1] | Essential $1,500, Preferred $1,000, Peace of Mind $500; Class A: $4,000 / $3,000 / $2,000. Per loss: two incidents, two deductibles [I2][I3]. Drivers aged 21–24: Essential only [I4] | Basic $1,500, Essential $1,000, Preferred $500; Class A: $4,000 / $3,000 / $2,000. Per occurrence [I5] |
| Damage to others (liability) | State minimum (secondary) plus Supplemental Liability up to $500,000, US departures until January 31, 2027. From February 1, 2027: SLI excluded [I1] | State minimum limits; $500,000 option with Peace of Mind [I4] | State minimum (for example up to $50,000 per person, $100,000 per occurrence, $25,000 property); Preferred: 100/300/50 [I5] |
| Primary or excess? | Liability on a secondary basis [I1] | Excess: your own auto insurance pays first; if you have none, Outdoorsy’s is primary [I4]. Its terms still list a personal auto policy as a requirement [I3] | Excess over any other insurance; primary if there is none [I7] |
| Security deposit | $500 by credit card at pickup ($1,000 in the Burning Man week) [I1] | Set by the host, $500 minimum ($1,500 Class A). Used first to pay your deductible [I3][I8] | Set by the owner. The deductible is paid from it if there is a claim [I6] |
| Not covered (examples) | With the Zero Damage Plan: interior, reversing, overhead strikes, wrong fuel or water, freezing, prohibited use. Any cover is void on unpaved back roads; no Mexico [I1] | Interior (optional add-on), awnings, tyres, mechanical and slide-outs unless caused by a covered collision, wear and tear (dents up to 4 inches), freezing, off-road use, pets, unverified drivers, towing and hotel costs, Mexico [I3] | Basic: windscreen repair only, no awning cover. Interior only with the optional Interior Damage Protection (up to $1,500 after the deductible). No Mexico [I5] |
| Breakdown help | 24/7 Travelers Assistance; travel expenses after a breakdown over 12 hours, up to $3,000 per tour [I1] | 24/7 roadside and technical assistance, towing and tyre service (Coach-Net) [I4] | 24/7 roadside assistance, towing up to 100 miles [I9] |
| Extras in the package | — | Optional interior cover and trip protection [I4] | Essential: personal effects, pet injury and tyre & wheel road hazard, $500 each; Preferred: $1,000 each. Campsite liability $10,000 (Preferred $50,000) [I5] |
| To keep the cover | Call Travelers Assistance from the scene and get a police or “bench” report [I1] | Photos in the app within 24 hours before and 48 hours after the trip; claim within 48 hours; police report within 48 hours for theft or vandalism [I3] | Departure and Return Forms; without them the deductible can go up [I6] |
| Price of the cover | In the rate. Zero Damage Plan: not published; ask for the nightly price when you book or call to set your pickup time | Shown per booking; depends on the RV | Shown per booking; based on age, type, length and value of the RV [I5] |
Not a Class A? Use the first figures. Our cost calculator budgets $25–40 a day of cover for a campervan and $30–50 for a Class C [A]; get the real price in your quote.
Three everyday accidents: what you pay
If the claim is accepted and you kept to the terms. Not a Class A. Our arithmetic from the rules above [A].
| Accident | Cruise America | … with Zero Damage Plan | Outdoorsy: Essential / Preferred / Peace of Mind | RVshare: Basic / Essential / Preferred |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 collision on the highway | $3,000 | $0 | $1,500 / $1,000 / $500 | $1,500 / $1,000 / $500 |
| $2,000 scrape while reversing at a campsite | $2,000 | $2,000 (reversing excluded) | $1,500 / $1,000 / $500 (“backup accidents” are covered [I4]) | $1,500 / $1,000 / $500 |
| $600 of interior damage (broken cupboard door) | $600 | $600 (interior excluded) | $600 (interior not covered without the add-on) | $600 (the add-on pays only after the deductible) |
In short: the Zero Damage Plan is strongest on the open road and weakest in campgrounds, where low-speed reversing and roof-height mistakes happen [A]. On the marketplaces, the package you pick is the deductible you risk on every single incident.
Renting from abroad: the excess trap
- No US car insurance? Outdoorsy’s and RVshare’s cover is excess over your own policy and becomes primary only if you have none [I4][I7]. Outdoorsy’s terms still list “a personal auto insurance policy” as a requirement, but nothing we read says it checks one [I3], and its help centre says international guests are covered once they pass the driver check (see From abroad). Get the answer for your case in writing before you pay.
- Drivers aged 21–24 on Outdoorsy can only take the Essential package, the highest deductible ($1,500) [I4].
- Your deposit is not your limit. On Outdoorsy the deposit goes toward the deductible, and anything above it is still charged to you [I3]. Make sure your card limit covers the deductible as well as the deposit [A].
- Cover at home: some travel or credit-card policies sold in Europe pay back a rental deductible. Ask your provider whether it covers a motorhome in the US: many policies exclude them [A].
Five questions to ask before you pay
- What is my deductible per incident, and is it different for a Class A?
- What liability limit do I have, and is it primary or excess?
- Are reversing, roof (overhead) strikes, interior, tyres, windscreen and awning covered?
- Which roads void the cover (unpaved, BLM, Mexico)?
- What do I have to do at the scene and within 48 hours to keep the cover?
Next step
Money at pickup: deposit and counter feesWhat your credit card has to hold on day 1, separate from the trip cost
Sources and how we checked
All pages opened on 2026-10-28 unless noted. We quote the published terms; the rental contract or policy you sign is what counts.
- [I1] Cruise America — Client Essential Notes, departures 2026 (PDF, “Summer 2026, Winter 2026/27”): $3,000 responsibility per incident regardless of fault; Zero Damage Plan to $0 and its exclusions; statutory liability on a secondary basis; Supplemental Liability up to $500,000 for US departures to January 31, 2027, excluded from February 1, 2027; $500 deposit; travel restrictions; accident reporting; travel expense reimbursement up to $3,000 — assets.cruiseamerica.com (PDF)
- [I2] Outdoorsy Help Center — What do I need to know about filing an insurance claim as a Guest? (Essential $1,500 / $4,000 Class A, Preferred $1,000 / $3,000, Peace of Mind $500 / $2,000) — support.outdoorsy.com
- [I3] Outdoorsy Help Center — RV Protection Package Terms of Service, effective April 11, 2026 (packages, per-loss deductible, deposit applied to the deductible, exclusions, photo and 48-hour claim rules, personal auto policy requirement) — support.outdoorsy.com
- [I4] Outdoorsy Help Center — RV Protection Packages, updated October 15, 2026 (state minimum liability, $500,000 with Peace of Mind, excess basis and primary if no other policy, backup accidents covered, Coach-Net roadside, drivers 21–24 Essential only, interior and trip protection add-ons) — support.outdoorsy.com
- [I5] RVshare — Protection Plan (package table: deductibles, liability, windshield, awning, campsite liability, personal effects, pet injury, tyre and wheel; Essential added by default; Interior Damage Protection; pricing factors) — rvshare.com/insurance
- [I6] RVshare Help — Do I have to pay for RVshare Rental Insurance and Protection? (charged at booking; deductible payable from the security deposit; Departure and Return Forms), June 23, 2026 — help.rvshare.com
- [I7] RVshare Owner Toolkit — Insurance and Protection: how it works (coverage on an excess basis; primary if no other policy) — owner-toolkit.rvshare.com
- [I8] Outdoorsy Help Center — What is the security deposit? ($500 minimum, $1,500 Class A), as cited on our From abroad page (checked 2026-10-27)
- [I9] RVshare Help — What does 24/7 Roadside Assistance include? (towing up to 100 miles; call (855) 229-9696), January 27, 2026 — rvshare.my.site.com
Not from a source [A]: the three accident examples and their arithmetic, our reading of where the Zero Damage Plan is weak, the card-limit advice and the note on cover bought at home.
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