The financial liability varies depending on the car rental supplier that you rent with, the type of car that you hire and the depot location that you collect your car from. To confirm your total rental vehicle excess liability, call the rental car depot that you will be collecting your car from. They will be able to confirm the RVE plus any other charges that apply (eg. premium location and single vehicle accident surcharges) to your booking.
The following information is provided as a guide only and does not take into consideration your personal requirements or situation.
Commonly, the liability comprises: Rental Vehicle Excess + Local Fees & Taxes + Car Rental Supplier RVE Exclusions.
Rental Vehicle Excess
The major component of a car hire customer’s financial liability is called the rental vehicle excess (RVE for short).
Local Fees
On top of the rental vehicle excess charges, a premium location surcharge (PLS) may apply.
Premium location surcharges are an additional charge that is usually expressed as a percentage of the car rental costs. The relevant percentage for the depot that you collect your car from is added on top of the rental vehicle excess liability.
Premium location surcharge costs vary depending on the car rental pick up location and the car rental company that the hire car is rented from.
Often depots located at airports have higher premium location surcharge than CBD or rural locations.
Premium Location Surcharges can range from an additional 1% to 30%+.
For example, if you hired a car that had a total rental vehicle excess of $4,000 and the car rental depot that you collect your car from has a premium location surcharge of 10%, the rental vehicle excess liability inclusive of the PLS would be $4,400.
Car Rental Supplier RVE Exclusions
What is covered within the Rental Vehicle Excess value varies from supplier to supplier. We can’t give advice on car rental company’s rental agreements, so please read and consider them
carefully.
The most common exclusion to the RVE liability is damage caused by Single Vehicle Accidents (SVA). Other exclusions may exclude damage as a result of underbody or overhead damage, water damage and drivers under 25 years old.
If the damage to the rental vehicle during a hire is excluded from the rental vehicle excess, the renter is generally responsible for the full financial cost of the damage.
If you are looking for options to reduce your financial liability when hiring a rental car, please consider Prosura Rental Vehicle Excess Travel insurance.