Travel insurance (overseas) to cover car rental insurance excess

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phrozenpenguin

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#298748 12-Jul-2022 22:58

Just wanted a sanity check please after not travelling for a while.

Previously my travel insurance would have covered car hire insurance excess, i.e. you didn't need to pay the (typically high) charges at the hire company, but were covered in the event of an incident.

My current ANZ Platinum Credit Card provided insurance doesn't look to have that feature...

I have found Southern Cross which is quoting $200 family single trip, which is still cheaper than half the price of the quoted excess reduction at the car hire company. Are there other NZ insurance companies I should be considering/getting quotes from, and are there any issues with the idea i.e. using third party insurance not the car hire company?

Wheelbarrow01

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#2941361 13-Jul-2022 01:11

I buy the cheapest available travel insurance policy I can get, which is usually through 1-cover. For example, their travel policy for a week in Aussie costs me around $35 and provides $5000 rental car excess cover, with higher levels available. (You don't need to include people you are travelling with on this policy - they would still be covered by the travel policy on your credit card, thus saving you money). The 1-Cover policy has a $200 excess for any type of claim.

Another option is www.rentalcover.com - they provide worldwide rental vehicle excess cover and there is no excess to pay when you make a claim. They also cover events/damage that is usually explicitly excluded by all or most rental agencies even if you take the highest cover they offer (tyres, windscreens, roof, underbody, lost keys etc). A week's cover in Aussie is around $98 for comparison (but remember, no excess to pay in the event of a claim)

[EDIT: corrected spelling]

MurrayM

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#2941373 13-Jul-2022 08:02

I bought travel insurance for my upcoming trip to the UK from AA Insurance and it includes a $6000 rental vehicle excess.

johno1234

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#2941385 13-Jul-2022 09:18

Strange business, travel insurance.

"Free", but limited with credit card. Mine is quite sufficient for medical, repatriation air ambulance type stuff, but not good for things like vehicle excess and liability and lower limits on claims for items.

I use Tower (Allianz). For Australia and Islands it costs next to nothing. For USA week long USA trips for a couple it is a few hundred bucks. The cover is very good. Generous item limits and includes both vehicle excess and liability.

Air NZ offers a TI package on their booking site and it is very very expensive with less cover.

Dulouz

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#2941390 13-Jul-2022 09:23

Check out https://www.mixandmatch.co.nz/travel-insurance. Insurance is provided by Allianz (which provides travel insurance for AA and Tower etc). Worked out a lot cheaper for me than going through AA or Tower.

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Scott3

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#2941395 13-Jul-2022 09:53

Couple of things.

If going to the USA, Things are a bit complex. There isn't a default level of insurance, so you essentially need to pay the CDW from the rental car company, this can be expensive, and hard to find the value for some companies. (travel insurance typically only covers excess).

With travel insurance, if you have an incident, you need to personally pay the excess then claim it back from your insurance company (less excess). Make sure you have access to funds to cover this situation.

hbngan

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#2941862 14-Jul-2022 15:07

phrozenpenguin:
Just wanted a sanity check please after not travelling for a while.

Previously my travel insurance would have covered car hire insurance excess, i.e. you didn't need to pay the (typically high) charges at the hire company, but were covered in the event of an incident.

My current ANZ Platinum Credit Card provided insurance doesn't look to have that feature...

I have found Southern Cross which is quoting $200 family single trip, which is still cheaper than half the price of the quoted excess reduction at the car hire company. Are there other NZ insurance companies I should be considering/getting quotes from, and are there any issues with the idea i.e. using third party insurance not the car hire company?

Im with ANZ platium as well. was looking at the t and c's as well as we are going overseas as well. I can see car excess upto 3k is covered

hbngan

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hbngan

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#2941956 14-Jul-2022 17:24

just re-read and saw the fine print "need" to take out car rental ins first, so essentially nullifys cc ins

hbngan

nztim

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#2941970 14-Jul-2022 18:12

Scott3:
Couple of things.

If going to the USA, Things are a bit complex. There isn't a default level of insurance, so you essentially need to pay the CDW from the rental car company, this can be expensive, and hard to find the value for some companies. (travel insurance typically only covers excess).

With travel insurance, if you have an incident, you need to personally pay the excess then claim it back from your insurance company (less excess). Make sure you have access to funds to cover this situation.

US I ALLWAYStake out the rental car companies insurance for this reason

If you don’t the the rental car company and the driver of the car you hit can sue you, there is. no default insurance that your travel insurance pays making the travel insurance excess useless.

Its expensive, $150 USD per day including rental for a basic sedan

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

phrozenpenguin

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#2941999 14-Jul-2022 20:23

Thanks all.

Sorry I missed a couple of bits. This is for AU travel - no interest in the US at the moment!

AA seems competitive @ $100 for the family with $6k rental excess cover (and our rental excess is $5.5k). I will checkout the other ones mentioned.

If you look elsewhere in the ANZ T&C's you will find that it has the following wording, suggesting that you need to still take out the highest level of rental company cover - so somewhat defeating the purpose in my mind.

Am I covered for damage to a Rental Vehicle?
Most car rental companies provide some level of insurance cover for loss or damage to the Rental Vehicle. Your ANZ Premium Card Overseas Travel Insurance policy covers you for any excess you might have to pay, but only if you have taken up comprehensive motor insurance offered by the rental agency.

shk292

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#2942002 14-Jul-2022 20:27

hbngan: just re-read and saw the fine print "need" to take out car rental ins first, so essentially nullifys cc ins

You have to take out the hire company insurance, but there is always a basic level of insurance with hire cars (the CDW). Where the CC travel insurance comes in is to cover the excess you would otherwise be liable for. This is the bit they sting you for, to reduce the excess to a reasonable level.

shk292

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#2942003 14-Jul-2022 20:29

phrozenpenguin:

Thanks all.

Sorry I missed a couple of bits. This is for AU travel - no interest in the US at the moment!

AA seems competitive @ $100 for the family with $6k rental excess cover (and our rental excess is $5.5k). I will checkout the other ones mentioned.

If you look elsewhere in the ANZ T&C's you will find that it has the following wording, suggesting that you need to still take out the highest level of rental company cover - so somewhat defeating the purpose in my mind.

Am I covered for damage to a Rental Vehicle?
Most car rental companies provide some level of insurance cover for loss or damage to the Rental Vehicle. Your ANZ Premium Card Overseas Travel Insurance policy covers you for any excess you might have to pay, but only if you have taken up comprehensive motor insurance offered by the rental agency.

$100 for the family in AU seems quite reasonable.

I don't think the clause above requires you to pay for the highest level of "zero excess cover", it just means you need comprehensive (not just 3rd party) cover on the car, which is provided by default by all car hire companies

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hbngan

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#2942008 14-Jul-2022 20:49

as some of the "resellers/agents" (AA,tower) in NZ are for Allianaz

looks like
Worldcare NZ
www.worldcare.co.nz

goes directly to Allianaz

Not sure if going though local agent would give you better service though if you need to make a claim....

I am having a terrible time now trying to contact SCTI via email and their 0800 trying to get them to answer a few questions

hbngan

phrozenpenguin

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#2943249 17-Jul-2022 22:33

shk292:

I don't think the clause above requires you to pay for the highest level of "zero excess cover", it just means you need comprehensive (not just 3rd party) cover on the car, which is provided by default by all car hire companies

Interesting. Might see if I can get through to check with them then.