Wicked Campers / Damage Insurance

[aphex2k]

Hey guys. I'm about to hire a  Wicked Camper for a couple of weeks. They seem keen on selling the damage cover - some of the deals work out an extra $20 per day.

In the UK when you hire a car you can sort your own short term insurance out, which is normally a lot cheaper than the bundle they try and sell at the dealership. Does anyone know of any companies in Oz that offer insurance for leased vehicles? They are trying to push the A1 cover which covers tyres and windscreens as well as "damage" but it's 15 dollars a day I'd rather not have to spend, on top of the rental price and fuel.

Any ideas?

[PR]

G'day aphex2k and welcome to the Backpacker Tours forum!

Firstly, if you belong to a motoring association such as the RAC, AA or similar, contact them or the Australian equivalent and ask if they can give you advice.  They are in touch with the latest trends, scams, etc.  They will also be able to help out with breakdowns, maps, etc!   If you don't belong to such a club, it's worth investigating, especially if you're intending to do a lot of travelling around this vast (and sometimes, inhospitable) country.

Do you have 'normal' travel insurance (such as you'll find at http://www.travel-insurance.backpackertours.com.au/index.php)?  If so, do read the policy and see exactly what it does and, more to the point, doesn't cover you for!

Now please let me ask if you have researched your choice of campervan hire company well?  The first thing to do is a comparison between the different companies for both the van hire AND the insurance.  A simple Google search (using the words 'campervan hire compare') will help you find results such as:

Campervan Hire Comparisons:

http://www.backpackertours.com.au/backpacker-camper.php

http://www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au/content/vehicles/camper-van-rental.asp

http://www.discovery-campervans.com.au/index2.php?ntitle=Campervans&ref=camper

http://www.campervanhiresalefinder.com.au/

For the insurance side of things, I can only say "BEWARE"!!! DO make sure that you read the insurance policy small print.  Yes, I know that it's boring and partially unintelligible without a legal background, BUT some of the most important issues will become clear and you can always ask questions.  For instance, many vehicle hire insurance policies only cover you for damage in the event of an 'accident' (read the definition of this term), fire or theft of the vehicle (not its contents).  This can mean that, if you side-swiped a telegraph pole or overhanging shop awning for instance, you may not be covered as that can be considered to be your own fault, not an 'accident'.


For more details on insurance, again, I'd recommend a search.  You should find things like:

Campervan Insurance:

http://www.cmca.net.au/pages/insurance/index.php

http://www.insurancecompared.com.au/explained/vehicle/rv.php

http://www.discovery-campervans.com.au/catalogue/insurance.php

http://www.drivenow.com.au/travel-centre/car-hire-insurance-options.jspc


You can also get insurance to cover vehicle excess payments, for example:

http://rac.com.au/Travel/Travel-insurance/Plan-types/Rental-vehicle-excess-25-plus.aspx


Another type of organisation worth thinking about joining is the likes of the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia.


Anyway, I hope we've given you some 'food for thought' here?

Enjoy Australia!!