Advice Regarding Unintentional Damage to Hire Car from Freak Hailstorm

bethepro on 18/10/2020 - 21:56
Last edited 21/10/2020 - 14:39

G'day,

Essentially I need legal advice. I was in Canberra in January 2020 for work purposes and was provided with a hire car. I parked my car in an opened undercover car park. For those who may already know, there was a freak hailstorm in Canberra on the 20th of January and unluckily my car's bonnet, roof and side-view mirrors got damaged. The damage was all cosmetic and apart from the side-view mirror you could only see the damage if you took a closer inspection. I was annoyed about this as I was aware of the incoming hailstorm and thought my undercover parking was sufficient. However, with the winds and opened design of the parking - I received some damage. That being said, I was one of the lucky ones, there was cars that got absolutely demolished. Furthermore, the car-hire industry in Canberra is huge and sadly saw severely damaged hire cars that became total write-offs.

Long story short, I returned the car and the car-hire company expected me to cover all the costs. I didn't take premium car hire insurance so I am left out of pocket ~$5000. This is annoying for numerous reasons mostly because it was not my fault at all, this was freak weather storm and the damage was essentially cosmetic. As said earlier, the car drove fine. That being said, I did sign a contract and I assume there is some clause in there about freak weather accidents.

I thought i was in the clear until I received a letter this week in the mail asking for $5000 to cover the costs.

Should I just suck it up and pay it? Are there any options? Is negotiation an option? Can I buy the damaged car off them? haha. Any advice would be appreciated.

The car was a Silver Toyota Camry Sedan - I think it was 2017/2018 model.

For those interested, here is an article about the freak hailstorm - https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6636982/canberra-hail…

Update - 21/10/20
- The Car was a Camry (not a Aurion)
- I agree that it is just an unlucky event and I have to foot the bill. I was just hoping there was a clause given the extreme weather (out of the ordinary)
- I made the booking for the hire car. My work reimbursed me for the full amount. Hence seems like I cannot use my work place to deal with this.
- The Car park is undercover and yes opened - like a opened style undercover car park you find at shopping complexes.

Finally, thanks for your thoughts and opinions. Appreciate it. It's always good to get external thoughts about these unique situations.

Cheers

General Discussion

Comments

  • Poppin on 18/10/2020 - 22:05
    +10

    Not legal advice.

    If you were there for work, your work should cover the insurance excess as long as you have followed your company's policy regarding hired vehicles. Generally the excess is around $3k without excess reduction insurance, but $5k is not unheard of. You should also check if there is domestic travel insurance on the credit card used to pay for the rental.

    • bobbified on 18/10/2020 - 22:15

      ….but $5k is not unheard of.

      $4-5K isn't unheard of. That amount is actually quite common in the rental contracts for a standard car if you don't take out excess reduction. It's even more for the premium cars.

  • bobbified on 18/10/2020 - 22:13
    +15

    Long story short, intentional or not, you're responsible for the car while it's in your possession.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2020 - 22:19

    Claim it through your employment.

  • pjetson on 18/10/2020 - 22:23
    +9

    was provided with a hire car

    Who provided you with the hire car? Let's assume it was you rather than someone else, since that seems to be how you've written the rest of your post.

    mostly because it was not my fault at all

    Nor was it anyone else's fault, so who do you expect to bear the cost of the damage?

    You hired the car and you didn't take out insurance, so you must bear the cost - that's why you take out insurance. By not taking out insurance, you were effectively betting that nothing would go wrong, and you lost the bet.

    • SF3 on 18/10/2020 - 22:33

      mostly because it was not my fault at all

      I assume it would be the same if a tree falls (not because someone was cutting, but some force of nature) and crushed the car?

      • pjetson on 18/10/2020 - 22:57
        +4

        Yes, anything that happens to the car during the hire period is the responsibility of the hirer.

        • pjetson on 18/10/2020 - 22:59
          +3

          Actually, that's probably not completely true. If the car suffers a mechanical failure unrelated to your use of the vehicle, you probably won't have to pay for that.

          • Cheeper on 18/10/2020 - 23:45

            @pjetson: He means as far as damage goes. Mechanical breakdown is rental co problem if not through abuse.

            • pjetson on 19/10/2020 - 08:20
              +2

              @Cheeper: Thanks, xywolap. I was just qualifing my own statement where I said "anything".

  • xuqi on 18/10/2020 - 22:59
    +3

    No sure what anyone can do or suggest for you. The contract you signed and the fact you chose not to take out additional insurance, leaves you responsible for any damage caused to the vehicle.

    • Unintentional Damage to Hire Car from Freak Hailstorm
    • There was a freak hailstorm in Canberra on the 20th of January and unluckily my car's bonnet, roof and side-view mirrors got damaged.
    • This is annoying for numerous reasons mostly because it was not my fault at all, this was freak weather storm and the damage was essentially cosmetic.
    • As said earlier, the car drove fine.

    None of these point make any difference to your contractual obligations. You hired a car, and would have been required to return in the same condition you received it in.

    No insurance company covers anyone for 'Intentional damage. The whole point of taking out a policy is to cover yourself from unforeseen/unintentional accidents/damage.

    Lucky it's only $5000, as you would be paying far more had the car been written off.

  • whitelie on 18/10/2020 - 23:48
    +2

    As per some comments above - it was a work trip, get them to cover it.
    Did they pay for the hire car originally or did you pay for it?

  • Cheeper on 18/10/2020 - 23:50
    +1

    10 months have passed, why now?
    Aurion ended production in 2016 afaik.
    Seek legal advice.
    While the car was in your possession the damage occurred. They could argue you could have parked under cover when not in use?
    Speak with your employer, they provided the car so should have taken out full cover.

  • cjbowden on 19/10/2020 - 01:01

    First up, deny all liability and buy yourself some time.

    I would then go looking for other insurance that might cover it. Travel Insurance, your employers insurance, and maybe even your own car insurance at home.

  • yoonibear on 19/10/2020 - 02:47
    +1

    Not a lawyer (and it sounds like something you'd get legal advice on).

    You could try arguing (using an Act of God clause) that you're not responsible for the damage seeing as you've taken all precautions to avoid damage (by parking undercover) and that the hailstorm was something you can't control.

  • Meho2026 on 19/10/2020 - 08:19
    +4

    You say you were provided with a hire car.
    If your work organised the hire car and they didn’t preselect the additional insurance, can you not just forward them the bill?

  • brad1-8tsi on 19/10/2020 - 09:43
    +4

    I was in Canberra in January 2020 for work purposes and was provided with a hire car.

    "Provided" implies you are an employee or contractor and your "employer" instructed you to hire a car and they paid for the hire car? If so, then your employer is responsible for the $5000 excess.
    Note that most standard excess agreements are between $4000-$8000.

    If you are self-employed and you were in Canberra as part of running your business then you are responsible. On the bright side, that's a really good tax deduction.

    The CSA would have offered you excess reduction for an extra fee when you picked up the vehicle.
    Typically you can reduce excess to ~$1k for $45/day and zero excess for $60/day.
    You would have signed in several places and one of these was an agreement to the excess and they would have emphasised the $5k excess. You really have no excuse if you didn't know. I hire cars a lot and they tell you several times.

    You or your employer should check if you have a credit card that will cover this excess as part of the included travel insurance (a lot of gold/platinum/black cards have this).
    Also if the business insurance covers the excess (long shot).

    If the business hires cars regularly then try and get onto a "business solutions" agreement either through the car rental or a corporate travel solutions company.

  • shaybisc on 19/10/2020 - 10:23

    "opened undercover" - huh?

    • thatonethere on 19/10/2020 - 10:25
      +2

      Basically it is a typical multi storey car park - but not fully enclosed.

      The Canberra hail pretty much came in sideways and even richochet hits smashing car windows and plastic fittings.

      • Quantumcat on 19/10/2020 - 14:39

        Same thing happened to me, I was undercover but car ended up written off

  • shaybisc on 19/10/2020 - 10:54

    Whose money were you saving by not taking premium car hire insurance? I assume it was your employer's but in that case why no insurance?

  • Ryanek on 19/10/2020 - 11:10

    I didn't take premium car hire insurance

    Umm yeah, end of thread.

  • windale on 19/10/2020 - 12:19
    +1

    hindsight I know but I always get travel insurance, even when travelling locally, as the policy I choose covers your car hire excess up to a certain amount (usually all of it). It is much cheaper than the car hire company excess cover and it also covers you for other issues that may arise in your trip.
    As other have said in your case shouldn't work be paying for it anyway?

  • miwahni on 19/10/2020 - 23:34

    Doesn't matter if the contract has a clause about freak weather conditions or not - if the vehicle was damaged while in your care, you're liable.

    I've always paid the extra to reduce the excess and was really glad of this on my last trip - firstly a truck threw a rock through the windscreen, then someone reversed into the car. Neither event was my fault but I was responsible. Car rental agency firstly said that the excess reduction only covered one "event" and I'd be up for one reduced excess but also the full cost of repair for the second incident, but then they must have felt sorry for me because they decided to only charge two reduced excesses - and then when the windscreen repair actually cost less than one excess they refunded the difference a couple of weeks later.

    Moral of the story - always, always make sure you're covered, unless you're prepared to self-insure.

  • bethepro on 21/10/2020 - 14:39

    Thanks for the opinions, thoughts and suggestions. I've written an update in the original post.

  • Legoncy on 21/10/2020 - 15:36
    +1

    OP I believe either way you cut it you'll have to pay something, the best suggestion I can offer is try to negotiate the amount as from my understanding hire cars tend to try and overcharge on repairs etc.

    For example say you have $3000.00 you can pay full and final.
    Otherwise you'll need to do a payment plan of X amount per month.

    This is simply a suggestion but you may save some money.

    • bethepro on 21/10/2020 - 19:26

      I fully agree with this!

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