How Nicola avoided paying a $1,400 car rental excess
"My policy cost $48... and it came with heaps of extra benefits"
"So, I decided to buy a domestic travel insurance policy, mostly for the rental car excess cover."
Nicola, who was Finder's commercial content editor, paid just $48.96 for her travel insurance policy, a domestic plan with InsureandGo to cover her 10-day break.
"At less than $50 for 10 days, the entire policy was cheaper than the insurance offered by the rental company and it came with heaps of extra benefits," added Nicola.
"Lo and behold, I ended up hitting a wallaby on our drive back from Cradle Mountain. I was devastated that I'd killed it and honestly didn't even give much thought to the cost – the damage seemed pretty minimal and I figured it would be a couple of hundred dollars at most."
"It was not. When we returned the car, I told them that I'd hit an animal and there were some small scratches on the bumper. I was immediately charged the excess of around $2,750. $1,475 of that was considered damage (the rental company charged additional fees including a claims fee and a charge for time off-road), and I was eventually refunded $909.
"As soon as I got home, I filed a claim with the travel insurer and they were great – far better to deal with than the rental company. There were no further shocks or surprises. I had an excess on the travel insurance of $100 but InsureandGo paid out $1,375 within a matter of days."
