Hertz Car Hire Insurance (Maximum Cover Option for $34 a Day, Reduce Excess Option for $22 a Day or Take The Gamble?)

HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 10:34
Last edited 04/06/2018 - 11:44

Hi,

Would like to seek an opinion. Recently my car got involve with a car accident and it will be send off for repair works.

During absence of my car, I have decided to hire a car from HERTZ for day to day runs (i.e going to work, pick up kids, grocery shopping, etc.)

Whilst the cost for hiring a car with HERTZ is pretty reasonable, the insurance cost is rather pricey.

I am advised that the options are:

  1. $22 a day for excess reduction from $2200 to $550
  2. $34 a day for maximum cover (cap at 10 days) to eliminate any excess cost
  3. Do not take up option 1 or 2 and take a gamble.

As per above, my runs are day to day and on familiar roads. As I am not certain how long my car will be unavailable to me for the duration or repair at this time, I have book in 9 days with HERTZ which comes up to a total of $303 for car hire and $306 for maximum cover insurance ($34 a day).

If you are in my shoe, which of the 3 options will you take up?

Regards,

HL

Poll Options expired

  • 3
    1. $22 a day for excess reduction from $2200 to $550
  • 12
    2. $34 a day for maximum cover (cap at 10 days) to eliminate any access cost
  • 13
    3. Do not take up option 1 or 2 and take a gamble.
Automotive

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Comments

  • Ocker on 04/06/2018 - 10:46
    +7

    Take out a travel insurance policy and that will cover the hire car excess and cost a fraction of the insce sold by the rental company

    • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 11:40

      which travel insurance policy should i consider, any good provider to start with?

    • mskeggs on 04/06/2018 - 12:02
      +5

      Read the PDS though, as some only cover away from home.

  • Dancingprincess on 04/06/2018 - 11:15

    If you were not at fault in the accident then go through Right to Drive. They will cover all car rental and insurance and recoup it from the at fault party.

    • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 11:43

      Unfortunately, the fault is mine. Fail to give way while changing lanes.

      • mskeggs on 04/06/2018 - 12:02
        +10

        Then I would not take the gamble…

  • HighAndDry on 04/06/2018 - 11:42

    How did you manage to misspell "excess" as "access" twice, when you obviously know that it's "excess"? I'm so confused…

    In any case, basically I take the reduce excess option every time. It's a compromise between the two extremes, and considering you're paying $200 to potentially save $1,700 on excess, that's a no-brainer to me.

    • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 11:45

      Thanks for picking up spelling mistake. I have edited my post accordingly.

  • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 11:49

    Anyone have experience with this mob - https://www.rentalcover.com/ ?

    • Cheap Charlie on 04/06/2018 - 11:53

      Interesting

      Australian Resident policies are sold by Cover Genius Pty Ltd (Australian Business Number 43 159 983 598) in its capacity as an AFS Licensee, No 490058 and underwritten by Assetinsure Pty Limited (ABN 65 066 463 803, AFSL 488 403). Cover Genius does not act as your agent: this advice is general and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the advice is suitable for you and your personal circumstances. Before you make any decision about whether to acquire the product, please read the PDS & FSG contained in your quote. Cover Genius (Australia) is also an Authorised Agent of CBL Insurance Limited who are a licenced Insurer. If you purchase a policy from Cover Genius, the company receives a commission which is a percentage of your premium - ask us for details.

  • Cheap Charlie on 04/06/2018 - 11:51

    Could you take out a new comprehensive insurance policy on the hire car, tranfer the policy to your new vehicle.
    If you are considering this option, read the insurers PDS statement.
    I do not imagine there would be an issue with taking insurance out on a vehicle you do not own, however you would want to ensure the policy does not specifcly exclude coverage.

  • vinni9284 on 04/06/2018 - 11:54

    When you take out the hire car, I would advise you to CHECK EVERYTHING on the car before you drive it. … even if the owners manual is included.

    It doesn't matter how superficial a scratch or dent is. If it is not noted, then they will try to claw back money.

    Furthermore, regards to insurance, even the highest level you pay, I would enquire if it covers EVERYTHING. You will be surprised, even with the highest Insurance coverage, it is limited,

    Ask HERTZ re full insurance, if they cover roof an under-body damage.

    Cheers

  • TakaHas on 04/06/2018 - 11:56

    Have you considered No Birds?

    Our rates already include Damage Excess reduced to a low $2000. To receive the same level of financial protection Bayswater Car Rental gives you, most other car hire companies charge $30 a day more.

    Our optional $14 a day Top Cover (capped at $98) further reduces your Damage Excess to $0. That's right, you pay nothing in the event of an accident.

    • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 12:33

      The cheapest car hire insurance i found is $10.71 per day. I picked HERTZ as AAMI provided me with a discount code for car hiring. Secondly HERTZ is only 10mins away from my home, therefore more convenient. Thanks for your recommendation though.

  • Shadowsfury on 04/06/2018 - 12:01
    +1

    Could also consider a company like tripcover.com.au - i.e. separate insurance you take out over the excess itself.

    • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 12:28

      I have actually consider it upon doing some research this morning. My research identifies the following:

      Rentalcover.com.au = $123.80 with $0 access up to claim of $100,000.00 for 9 days
      rentalcarprotection.com.au = $97.20 with $0 access up to claim of $10,000 for 9 days
      tripcover.com.au = $89.14 with $0 access up to claim of $4000 for 9 days
      carhireexcess.com.au = $96.42 with $0 access up to claim of $4000 for 9 days

      Do you have personal experience with any of the above providers?

      • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 13:45

        just a quick update, i noted that rentalcover price beat. General review of rentalcover from google seems positive. Ref: https://www.productreview.com.au/p/rentalcover-com.html

      • Elppa8 on 04/06/2018 - 13:50

        Just be aware when using this type of coverage that you will be liable for the full excess from the hire car company which you then claim back from your insurer.

        • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 14:09

          yup, spot on!

      • mlakmlak on 15/09/2018 - 10:50

        What is '$0 access'? Do you mean $0 excess?

        And does this mean I can purposely drive at and into a BMW (which just cut me off .. without indicating) and not pay a cent?

  • pjetson on 04/06/2018 - 12:24

    Don't take the gamble, having an accident in a hire car is a world of trouble, even if it's not your fault!

    Even if you're only going to travel on known roads in the daytime, that doesn't mean you're not going to have an accident, which by definition, is unexpected. And no matter how careful you are, someone else can run into you.

    • HL2 on 04/06/2018 - 12:29

      Agree, in the event not my fault, i understand i am not liable for the excess cost? May have to check with HERTZ when i pick up the rental car sometime this week.

      • pjetson on 04/06/2018 - 15:54

        My understanding is that you will be liable for the excess, whether you are at fault or not.

  • lainey13 on 04/06/2018 - 21:37

    Goget? Includes insurance…

  • affable on 05/06/2018 - 07:44

    Yesterday I was in AVIS picking up a rental car as an NRMA insured driver rear-ended me (ie their insurance is fixing my car as they were at fault). I'm actually surprised that the NRMA repair includes a hire car, as my own insurance did not include a rental when my car was previously hail damaged.
    The interesting thing to the OP was that there was another guy in AVIS getting prices for a rental, it went something like this -
    $60/day for $4000 excess
    $80/day for $600 excess
    The guy took the $80/day. I reckon the rental companies make the excess gap big to get more rental money, as I'm pretty sure AVIS would self insure so its really more money in their pocket.

  • StuffnStuff on 05/06/2018 - 07:45

    Checkout "CarNextdoor.com.au", bit like a DIY Uber where you get access to other peoples cars by the hour, great if you only need a car for an hour or two

  • KaraZorEl on 05/06/2018 - 07:46

    We recently hired an 8-seater from Avis when we had family over. We went with https://tripcover.com.au/ that offers car excess reduction and it worked out cheaper than Avis's excess reduction. We didn't have any claims so can't comment on how easy dealing with them will be. However, terms looked pretty straight forward.

  • tims on 05/06/2018 - 08:43
    +1

    I've got a multi-trip annual car hire excess insurance with this lot:
    https://www.worldwideinsure.com/car-hire-excess-insurance.ph…

    Annual cover for worldwide cover (plus your home country) is £99.00 with max 60 days per car hire.
    Available for shorter hires as well - far cheaper than anything else I found

  • backpaqer on 05/06/2018 - 08:50

    Check your current car insurance policy or ring your insurer… All the ones I've used cover the rental car as if it was your usual car while your car is being repaired.

  • chami on 05/06/2018 - 09:25
    +1

    I pay with my ANZ Black CC and believe this covers me for up to $5000 with a $350 excess.

    I have never claimed, so read the PDS for exclusions which are similar to other companies anyway.

    "Rental Excess Cover reduces your excess if you have an accident in a car you hire from a major car rental company in Australia using your ANZ Platinum or ANZ Black card account. Most car rental companies generally charge around $20 to $30 per day for this type of insurance. Without it, your excess for damage to a rental car in the event of an accident could be anywhere between $2,000 to $5,000. This complimentary cover will pay your rental excess over the first $350 up to a maximum of $5,000." from: https://www.anz.com.au/personal/credit-cards/using/premium-i…

  • [Deactivated] on 05/06/2018 - 11:05

    My Amex covers rental car damage if I book with it. Other cards may have similar?

    Cheaper to pay the card surcharge than more for insurance.

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