BOSTON —

When you show up at a rental car counter, chances are you just want to get on with your trip. But then you're faced with an expensive question: Do you buy the rental company's insurance?

It's not cheap, but experts say it's also usually not necessary.

Kevin Brasler travels a lot for work and has seen agents pressuring customers to buy the company's insurance over and over again.

"All the anxiety they ramp up when you're trying to get your rental car. They know that that triggers a response from us," he said. "We're already worried. We're in an unfamiliar area, driving an unfamiliar car. We think something might go wrong."

But Brasler's day job is as a consumer watchdog at Consumers' Checkbook. He said the insurance upcharge is a big moneymaker for rental car companies.

"Give

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