ANZ Rental Car Excess Cover - anyone used it?

beardoc · #1 (**permalink**) 29th January 2006, 08:18 PM

I note that ANZ have a deal for people that use rental cars - the Excess cover included in the ANZ Gold card, and $24/year for all other credit cards. Reduces any rental car excess of up to $2400 down to $350.

As I'm going to be hiring a lot of cars this year, I thought this might be a good idea. Has anyone actually used it, or claimed on it?

fgray30 · #2 (**permalink**) 29th January 2006, 08:47 PM

Hey Beardoc,

I rent a lot of cars during the year as well - this is the sole reason I have the ANZ card, for the Excess cover.

As you would know, it can cost anywhere from $10 to $25 a day to reduce the excess on a rental to something reasonable, therefore the yearly fee would be just a drop in the ocean compared to all the savings.

I asked quite a few questions to the CSR and from what I understand, if you make a large claim, you will still be liable to the car company for the origonal excess (e.g. $2,500 or whatever), and you then notify ANZ who does the ground work with the rental company to recover the money.

It has been over a year since I signed up for the card and have not had to make a claim so maybe the above details are fuzzy/incorrect.

All I can advise is to ask as many questions as possible to the CSR before you sign up.

beardoc · #3 (**permalink**) 29th January 2006, 09:22 PM

Thank you fgray30!

I was wondering, does any other card on the Australian market offer the same deal as the ANZ Excess Reduction cover?

fgray30 · #4 (**permalink**) 29th January 2006, 09:36 PM

Beardoc,

All I know is whenever I decline the excess reduction to the rental company and explain the ANZ deal, they are quite astonished and say they have never heard of anything like that.

If there's anyone out there that's tried to make a claim through ANZ (as I havn't yet, touch wood), maybe they can shed more light on how succesful/hassle-free it was, and if there's any fine print of note.

Sure does feel good saving $100+ for a week's rental though!

Mal · #5 (**permalink**) 29th January 2006, 09:52 PM

There has been some discussion of this perk on the Flyertalk website:

eg: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=465574

Also note that the Auto Assist perk is being withdrawn (shouldn't affect the rental insurance ... yet!) http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/disc...pic.php?t=1775

NM · #6 (**permalink**) 30th January 2006, 11:15 AM

Make sure you read and understand all the terms and conditions, not just the marketing info. In many cases I have look into, insurance policies that claim to reduce the excess on rental cars also require you to pay the rental company any excess reduction fees they offer.

So if the standard excess is, say $2000, and the rental company offers to reduce that to $500 for a fee of $15/day, in order for the travel insurance to further reduce that excess down to say $350 you must accept and pay for the rental company excess reduction.

This may not be the case with this card. I have not looked at the terms and conditions for this particular card and its excess reduction. But be aware of the way some policies are structured and make sure you know exactly how and by how much you are covered. I would hate to think I was covered for an excess reduction down to $350 only to later find I was exposed for $2000 because I had not fully understood the terms and conditions.

serfty · #7 (**permalink**) 30th January 2006, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NM

... So if the standard excess is, say $2000, and the rental company offers to reduce that to $500 for a fee of $15/day, in order for the travel insurance to further reduce that excess down to say $350 you must accept and pay for the rental company excess reduction.

This may not be the case with this card. ...

It IS not the case with this card; they sell it as saving any Excess Reduction Fee:

Quote:

Rental Vehicle Insurance Excess Cover**
In addition to ANZ Auto 24, ANZ Auto Assist members are also provided with Rental Vehicle Insurance Excess Cover, which helps make car hiring more affordable. As an ANZ Auto Assist member, you’re automatically covered for Rental Vehicle Insurance Excess Cover when you hire a car from a major rental company. This can represent a saving of around $20 per day per car hired, not to mention a significant reduction in the total amount of excess payable in the event you have a covered accident.

Should you be unlucky enough to have a covered accident in a car that you have hired, ANZ Auto Assist can provide you with cover up to $2,400, less an excess of $350. This means in the event of a covered collision, you’ll only pay the first $350 where the damages do not exceed $2,400. You will have to pay the balance of any damage costs that exceed the amount paid by ANZ Auto Assist. ...

I actually have an ANZ Qantas Visa (The Blue one; I used to have a Gold but tossed it some years ago).

I use their "Auto Assist" and this includes the above insurance.

(BTW, ANZ Auto Assist costs $33 PA and provides far more benifits than standard Auto Club membership (eg RACV $68PA), covering you for ANY vehicle you are driving!)

Maca44 · #8 (**permalink**) 30th January 2006, 05:53 PM

The small print at the bottom of this page:
http://www.anz.com/australia/persbnk...entalCover.asp

ANZ Gold cardholders are automatically covered by ANZ Car Rental Cover at no additional cost. Please note this excludes ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa Gold, and ANZ Rewards Visa Gold. For terms and conditions of this program, ANZ Gold cardholders should refer to ANZ Credit Card Insurance Features booklet.

fgray30 · #9 (**permalink**) 30th January 2006, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maca44

The small print at the bottom of this page:
http://www.anz.com/australia/persbnk...entalCover.asp

ANZ Gold cardholders are automatically covered by ANZ Car Rental Cover at no additional cost. Please note this excludes ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa Gold, and ANZ Rewards Visa Gold. For terms and conditions of this program, ANZ Gold cardholders should refer to ANZ Credit Card Insurance Features booklet.

Yes but you can add it for a small fee per year (something like 30 or 40 bucks) to those excluded cards. You get a little orange paper (not plastic)card. Not sure if this has changed at all lately.

Obviously worth it if you rent a vehicle at least a couple times per year.

beardoc · #10 (**permalink**) 30th January 2006, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NM

This may not be the case with this card. I have not looked at the terms and conditions for this particular card and its excess reduction. But be aware of the way some policies are structured and make sure you know exactly how and by how much you are covered. I would hate to think I was covered for an excess reduction down to $350 only to later find I was exposed for $2000 because I had not fully understood the terms and conditions.

It doesn't seem to be an issue with the Terms and Conditions of this card. It does say that anything that the rental company insurance won't pay for, they won't pay for, which means things like driving drunk, someone driving that isn't on the agreement, driving the car into water, etc. but otherwise it seems reasonable to me.

I'm going to contact ANZ and take up the insurance offer, given I have an ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa with them (got it only to get the 16,000 bonus points).