INSURANCE

What about Insurance?

Standard Australian car rental contracts require the Renter to assume full responsibility for any loss of, damage to, or damage caused by the rented vehicle during the rental period, irrespective of how such damage or loss may be occurred. The Renter is also responsible for any loss of rental opportunity whilst vehicles are being repaired.

There is an almost infinite variety of means utilised by car rental operators to deal with the permutations arising from this basic principle. Many of the options offered by car rental operators are so confusing; one is tempted to wonder whether the confusion is intentional.

Some operators require you to actually elect to have your responsibility limited, some (not many) even want extra payment just to provide you with the standard excess arrangement.

Our rental contracts automatically provide a limitation of the Renter's obligation in respect of such loss or damage provided the Renter complies at all times with all conditions of rental.

Our Standard rental prices are structured so that responsibility is limited to $3,300 for normal vehicles and $4,400 for people movers and “lifestyle” or exotic vehicles. We have made special arrangements to enable you to minimise their insurance risk and Security Bond exposure, offering three liability reduction choices in addition to the automatic Standard Excess.

Our “Intermediate” plan is a low cost arrangement that reduces the renter’s liability limit to $2,000 (and is the ideal package for those customers who have arranged for a third party excess reduction through travel insurance or gold cover on their credit card). The following is extracted from the Terms and Conditions for Gold Card Rental Vehicle Excess Reduction cover:

“As part of the hiring arrangement you must take up all comprehensive motor insurance or waivers offered by the rental agency, whether discretionary or mandatory, against loss or damage to Rental Vehicle during the rental period. You must comply with all requirements of the rental agency under the hiring agreement and the insurer under such insurance.”

Our “MaxiSafe” liability limitation package will cut your liability to a general level of $275 ($550 for “lifestyle” or exotic vehicles and people movers) and also provide a NIL excess for windscreen or tyre damage. Drivers who are under 25yrs are subject to an additional age excess, making their MaxiSafe limit $550 ($750 for “lifestyle” or exotic vehicles and people movers).  

We also have negotiated an affordable Travel Insurance package called “TourSafe”, arranged through licenced insurance brokers, Compusure Pty Ltd. This cover provides for a NIL rental car insurance excess, loss of baggage cover, travel delay costs, legal liability and loss of deposits through cancellation, providing cover from the day you book.

Some things to bear in mind:

"Single Vehicle Accident" is a term often applied where there is no properly identified third party to an accident. Many car rental operators impose a higher insurance excess in these instances, or provide no insurance cover at all. We even found at least one rental company that charges over $15 per day for insurance excess reduction and then excludes single vehicle accidents from the reduction arrangements.

We don't make single vehicle incidents any more costly for our renters than any other incident.

Many other car rental companies exclude various parts of the vehicle from any insurance arrangements; e.g., the vehicle underside; above the bottom of the windscreen, lights, tyres, glass and interior. Some even have “fine print” that says GST is not included in the insurance excess reduction arrangements. This means your apparent $2,500 excess is really $2,750, but if you look at the whole picture with lack of cover on windscreen, lights, tyres, glass, interior etc. the “excess” you are liable for could easily be the negotiated (say) $2,500, plus windscreen and other glass damage, plus lights, plus interior (bloodstained seats?) + GST on the lot– who knows what that might come to???

Some car rental companies exclude hail damage from their excess reduction arrangements, or at least make it subject to an additional (usually) $6 per day to include protection against this natural and unpredictable occurrence.

Not only do we include protection in respect of all of these matters (except the roofline on our people movers), we also provide for NO LIABILITY by the Renter for damage that consists entirely of windscreen or tyre damage if they choose the MaxiSafe package or no excess at all if they take the TourSafe package.

Excess Reduction & Travel Insurance Options - Price List: