What insurance you really need when renting a car in Australia depends on whether you are renting domestically or overseas, but there are key covers. When you rent from Hertz, Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Europcar, basic third party and collision damage waiver is included in rental price, but with a very high excess of $3,000 to $6,000 for damage or theft, meaning you are liable for that amount if you crash. You do not need to buy anything extra legally, but financially you should consider reducing excess. The rental company will offer excess reduction or super cover for $20 to $35 per day, which reduces excess to $300 to $600. Whether you need it depends on your existing cover. If you have comprehensive car insurance on your own car, some policies include rental car excess cover up to $5,000 if your own car is being repaired after an accident, so you may not need extra. Many premium credit cards like American Express, ANZ and Westpac include free rental car excess insurance up to $5,000 if you pay for rental with card, so you may not need to buy reduction. Independent rental excess insurance from providers like RentalCover.com or Hiccup offers annual cover for $100 to $200 per year for unlimited rentals with $0 excess, which is cheaper than paying $25 per day at counter. You also need to consider personal accident insurance for injury, but this is often covered by travel insurance or private health. So really you need at least basic CDW included plus either credit card cover, independent excess insurance or rental company excess reduction to avoid $5,000 bill.
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