Renting a car in Australia

[Mikamarii]

As we move closer to our Australia adventure so many questions are starting to pop up! Most of them covid related but I'll save those for August/September as so much is changing in that realm. 

 

As part of our upcoming trip we will be renting a car for 10 days then 5 days with a cruise in between. Both rentals will be while we are in Brisbane. My questions are about Insurance and liability for the rental vehicle. My personal vehicle insurance only covers us in any vehicle in North America so none of the coverage we have will apply overseas.

 

I do have collision/damage insurance through our credit card so that covers us for damage to our rental vehicle but not a 3rd party. We also have full travel medical insurance so that covers us for our own Injury. 

 

When booking I wasn't given an option for 3rd party liability (if someone else gets hurt in a collision or their vehicle gets damaged) I've been trying to read up on that and it looks like it's an automatic coverage with no limit if the vehicle is registered in Australia. 

 

So my main question is, if I get in a collision is the damage to another's vehicle and (God forbid) any injury to anyone else covered through the rental agency?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Chiliburn]

4 hours ago, Mikamarii said:

As we move closer to our Australia adventure so many questions are starting to pop up! Most of them covid related but I'll save those for August/September as so much is changing in that realm. 

 

As part of our upcoming trip we will be renting a car for 10 days then 5 days with a cruise in between. Both rentals will be while we are in Brisbane. My questions are about Insurance and liability for the rental vehicle. My personal vehicle insurance only covers us in any vehicle in North America so none of the coverage we have will apply overseas.

 

I do have collision/damage insurance through our credit card so that covers us for damage to our rental vehicle but not a 3rd party. We also have full travel medical insurance so that covers us for our own Injury. 

 

When booking I wasn't given an option for 3rd party liability (if someone else gets hurt in a collision or their vehicle gets damaged) I've been trying to read up on that and it looks like it's an automatic coverage with no limit if the vehicle is registered in Australia. 

 

So my main question is, if I get in a collision is the damage to another's vehicle and (God forbid) any injury to anyone else covered through the rental agency?

 

Thanks!

 

 

We have a compulsory third person insurance included in the vehicle registration.

I would recommend you get CDW insurance.

[Mikamarii]

13 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

We have a compulsory third person insurance included in the vehicle registration.

I would recommend you get CDW insurance.

Great thank you so much. That’s what I figured but is very different on how we have insurance here as our Province is all privatized. 
 

we do have collision damage covered through our credit card so I’ll read up on how they compare. 

[Aus Traveller]

5 hours ago, Mikamarii said:

As we move closer to our Australia adventure so many questions are starting to pop up! Most of them covid related but I'll save those for August/September as so much is changing in that realm. 

 

As part of our upcoming trip we will be renting a car for 10 days then 5 days with a cruise in between. Both rentals will be while we are in Brisbane. My questions are about Insurance and liability for the rental vehicle. My personal vehicle insurance only covers us in any vehicle in North America so none of the coverage we have will apply overseas.

 

I do have collision/damage insurance through our credit card so that covers us for damage to our rental vehicle but not a 3rd party. We also have full travel medical insurance so that covers us for our own Injury. 

 

When booking I wasn't given an option for 3rd party liability (if someone else gets hurt in a collision or their vehicle gets damaged) I've been trying to read up on that and it looks like it's an automatic coverage with no limit if the vehicle is registered in Australia. 

 

So my main question is, if I get in a collision is the damage to another's vehicle and (God forbid) any injury to anyone else covered through the rental agency?

 

Thanks!

No. You would not be covered by our Third Party Insurance. In Australia vehicle owners pay a compulsory Third Party premium with their car registration. You mention that your credit card travel insurance doesn't cover you for the third party. I suggest you have a look at You would have to take out insurance with the rental company.

[Docker123]

A lot of travel insurance includes rental car liabilities. Best to check that policy, or see if there is extra coverage you can purchase.

 

[MMDown Under]

23 minutes ago, Docker123 said:

A lot of travel insurance includes rental car liabilities. Best to check that policy, or see if there is extra coverage you can purchase.

 

Some travel insurance policies cover an amount which you have to pay if you make a claim on the car insurance.  Car insurance through car rental agencies is expensive here.  

[Mikamarii]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

No. You would not be covered by our Third Party Insurance. In Australia vehicle owners pay a compulsory Third Party premium with their car registration. You mention that your credit card travel insurance doesn't cover you for the third party. I suggest you have a look at You would have to take out insurance with the rental company.

This is what I was able to find on one car rental site 

 

In Australia as long as the rental vehicle is registered; the Green Slip (CTP - Compulsory Third Party Insurance) covers all injuries including death caused to other road users such as drivers, passengers of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, motor cyclists and pillion passengers if you are at fault in a motor vehicle accident. CTP does not cover damage to property or other vehicles. The CTP provides unlimited indemnity to the insured party and ensures those who are injured have access to funds for services including all reasonable medical costs, treatment and rehabilitation. There is no fixed coverage limit per policy.

 

 

 

the only option I was given when booking a vehicle was collision/damage waiver. Looks like this is covered through my credit card so I'm covered though. So it looks like I'm covered for third party just not property damage to other vehicles. But I wasn't given that option to book. Only insurance I was offered was covering  the rental vehicle at 30$ day which seems awfully pricy but I'm covered for that anyway. If I'm given the option when I pick up the vehicle for 3rd party damage and injury I'll get it. Just not sure if it's available 🤷‍♂️

[Mikamarii]

1 hour ago, Docker123 said:

A lot of travel insurance includes rental car liabilities. Best to check that policy, or see if there is extra coverage you can purchase.

 

I double checked this just now and we aren't covered for rental car liabilities. Our travel medical insurance is through our employer and quite awesome (5 million per person per incident for up to 60 days out of country) 

[Bubbeh]

As far as I'm aware all vehicles registered in Australia have compulsory third party personal insurance.  It a payment made during the registration process. 

 

Now, I'm not sure exactly if driving on an International Licence affects the owner / driver or third party property in terms of rental vehicles but I'll give you my two cents worth anyway.  Whenever we've hired a vehicle in Australia (NSW / Vic / SA /Tas) we've always used a known company (Avis / Budget etc) and all their vehicles are already comprehensively insured.  What you're not covered for is the Excess, which you may know as the Deductible.  This can be a very significant cost, usually in the thousands.   Our VISA card gives complimentary cover for the rental car Excess provided the entire rental cost is paid via the card.  It may be well worth checking with your CC provider to see if they also offer complimentary cover for this.

[Mikamarii]

34 minutes ago, Bubbeh said:

As far as I'm aware all vehicles registered in Australia have compulsory third party personal insurance.  It a payment made during the registration process. 

 

Now, I'm not sure exactly if driving on an International Licence affects the owner / driver or third party property in terms of rental vehicles but I'll give you my two cents worth anyway.  Whenever we've hired a vehicle in Australia (NSW / Vic / SA /Tas) we've always used a known company (Avis / Budget etc) and all their vehicles are already comprehensively insured.  What you're not covered for is the Excess, which you may know as the Deductible.  This can be a very significant cost, usually in the thousands.   Our VISA card gives complimentary cover for the rental car Excess provided the entire rental cost is paid via the card.  It may be well worth checking with your CC provider to see if they also offer complimentary cover for this.

Perfect thank you. This is what I'm gathering from the research but the terms and definitions are a little different than what we use so was a tad confusing. 

 

My cc says it covers the excess or deductible when insurance is mandatory or included in the rebtal cost. When we rent vehicles here there is no insurance at all for the driver and entirely up to us to ensure we have our own coverage or we pay out of pocket for everything. 

 

I did check when we first started planning and we don't need an international drivers permit as our license Is in English so we are good for something like 3-6 months to be there on our own license. 

 

Thanks for all the input and assistance. 

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, Bubbeh said:

As far as I'm aware all vehicles registered in Australia have compulsory third party personal insurance.  It a payment made during the registration process. 

 

Now, I'm not sure exactly if driving on an International Licence affects the owner / driver or third party property in terms of rental vehicles but I'll give you my two cents worth anyway.  Whenever we've hired a vehicle in Australia (NSW / Vic / SA /Tas) we've always used a known company (Avis / Budget etc) and all their vehicles are already comprehensively insured.  What you're not covered for is the Excess, which you may know as the Deductible.  This can be a very significant cost, usually in the thousands.   Our VISA card gives complimentary cover for the rental car Excess provided the entire rental cost is paid via the card.  It may be well worth checking with your CC provider to see if they also offer complimentary cover for this.

You have explained the situation very well.

[lyndarra]

I have rented cars in Greece, UK and NZ. Each time the rental includes accident damage with a  large excess/deductable. I have found that by paying a bit more I could get cover for the excess. This came in habdy in NZ where the basic insurance did not cover windscreen damage and, yep, the screen got hit by a stone which left a star chip. This was picked up by a check of thje car when I retuirned it but, by having the extra cover, I did not have to pay for a new windscreen. Another time in Wales I scraped a rear fender against a stone wall while parking in Caernarfen. I didn't notice that this had happened as the fender/bumper was made of plastic. The damage was picked up on return of the car at Heatrhrow and I was saved from having to pay a hefty excess.