Do you need to buy additional insurance when renting a car in Australia depends on your credit card cover and risk tolerance, but rental companies include basic insurance with high excess, and additional insurance reduces excess. In Australia, car rental from Hertz, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Thrifty includes basic collision damage waiver with excess of $3,000 to $6,000 for standard car, $6,000 to $8,000 for premium, meaning if you crash, you pay up to that excess. Rental companies offer additional excess reduction insurance, called Excess Reduction, Super Cover or Premium Protection, costing $20 to $40 per day, which reduces excess to $0 to $500. Whether you need to buy it depends, if you have comprehensive car insurance on your own car, it does not cover rental cars in Australia. If you have credit card travel insurance, many premium credit cards like Amex Platinum, ANZ Black and Commonwealth Diamond offer rental car excess cover up to $5,000 if you pay rental with card, so you may not need additional insurance. If you have standalone travel insurance, it may include rental car excess cover $2,000 to $5,000. If you have none, buying additional insurance is recommended to avoid $4,000 excess bill if you scratch bumper. Cost benefit, if renting for 3 days, additional insurance $90 vs risk $4,000 excess, many travellers buy it for peace of mind. Always check what basic cover includes, whether tyres, windscreen and underbody excluded, and check credit card PDS. So not legally required, but financially wise if no other cover.
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