Comments on: Understanding Car Hire Insurance http://www.carhireinsider.com.au/understanding-car-hire-insurance-terms/ Car Rental Guide to the Best Car Hire Companies Fri, 11 Jun 2010 06:01:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Car Hire Florida http://www.carhireinsider.com.au/understanding-car-hire-insurance-terms/comment-page-1/#comment-6435 Car Hire Florida Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:33:29 +0000 http://www.carhireinsider.com.au/?p=1026#comment-6435 Thank you for the insight as to how it is looked at. Thank you for the insight as to how it is looked at.

]]> By: Robin Willis http://www.carhireinsider.com.au/understanding-car-hire-insurance-terms/comment-page-1/#comment-5940 Robin Willis Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:24:17 +0000 http://www.carhireinsider.com.au/?p=1026#comment-5940 Helpful stuff. But car hire companies also fail to make clear the level of coverage within their basic policies. In particular they all provide cover for damage to third parties (people and property). AIUI they have to by law in Australia. But how much cover? Will it cover me if I kill your prize racing camel worth AUD 1 million? Or the Oscar-winning star of Skippy the Movie worth 10 million?? In the USA I buy one of the separate car hire excess insurance policies you point to (from Questor) with supplementary liability insurance to cover such third party liability. Do I need that in Aus please or can I run with the simpler cover for excess, tyres etc? <div class="commentreply">Reply: Robin, yeah all these policies are hard to decipher! As a standard inclusion, the Big Boys (Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Thrifty) all do limit your liability in the event of <em>"loss and/or damage to either the Vehicle and/or third party property"</em> i.e. your liability will be capped at the specified standard waiver (about A$3,000, the exact amount of which varies with the company - see their <a href="http://www.carhireinsider.com.au/terms-conditions-avis-budget-europcar-hertz-thrifty/" rel="nofollow">terms and conditions</a>.) There shouldn't be any sneaky exceptions. Besides Skippy's owner should have his own life insurance taken out on his roo.  <br/> So you can consider additional insurance for windscreen, tyres, single vehicle accident, etc. but you shouldn't need supplimentary insurance for damaging third party property. Do double check when you've chosen a company as the finer details may vary with the exact location.  <br/> And please don't run over Skippy.</div> Helpful stuff.

But car hire companies also fail to make clear the level of coverage within their basic policies. In particular they all provide cover for damage to third parties (people and property). AIUI they have to by law in Australia. But how much cover? Will it cover me if I kill your prize racing camel worth AUD 1 million? Or the Oscar-winning star of Skippy the Movie worth 10 million??

In the USA I buy one of the separate car hire excess insurance policies you point to (from Questor) with supplementary liability insurance to cover such third party liability. Do I need that in Aus please or can I run with the simpler cover for excess, tyres etc?

Reply: Robin, yeah all these policies are hard to decipher! As a standard inclusion, the Big Boys (Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Thrifty) all do limit your liability in the event of “loss and/or damage to either the Vehicle and/or third party property” i.e. your liability will be capped at the specified standard waiver (about A$3,000, the exact amount of which varies with the company – see their terms and conditions.) There shouldn’t be any sneaky exceptions. Besides Skippy’s owner should have his own life insurance taken out on his roo.
 
So you can consider additional insurance for windscreen, tyres, single vehicle accident, etc. but you shouldn’t need supplimentary insurance for damaging third party property. Do double check when you’ve chosen a company as the finer details may vary with the exact location.
 
And please don’t run over Skippy.
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