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As Australians start to plan their escapes from the impending winter, we wanted to share some research from RentalCover.com, a global distributor of car rental insurance that partners with online travel agents worldwide. The findings finally reveal the shocking cost difference between the upfront insurance policy price, compared to the cost of making a claim.

Customers will more often than not purchase a policy based on the cheapest purchase price, however the below breakdown of leading car rental companies proves that holidaymakers need to be wary of the staggering excesses and hidden fees of up to $6,000 in some cases.

Data below shows the expected cost of a 7-day trip (8 April -15 April) for a medium-sized car from a range of rental companies:

EuropCar

Budget

Enterprise Rental Company

Hertz

Sixt

Avis

Thrifty

Trip Cost

$364.14

$366.24

$293.98

$278.53

$267.84

$370.81

$360.33

Trip Cost & Accident

$5,864.14

$4,919.24

$3,043.98

$5,078.53

$4,667.84

$4,920.81

$6,560.33

Trip Cost & Accident with RentalCover.com

$462.91

$464.01

$392.75

$377.30

$366.61

$469.58

$459.10

Price Difference

$5,401.23

$4,455.23

$2,651.23

$4,701.23

$4,301.23

$4,451.23

$6,101.23

To avoid hidden fees, RentalCover.com suggests keeping an eye out for additional costs associated with insurance, such as processing, toll charges, admin (which can range from $20 to $150 per transaction), legal, handling or service fees, collection fees and cleaning fees (anywhere up to $100 each), location surcharges (can range from $30 to $50 or 3.5% to 6%) and credit card fees.

RentalCover.com offers a standalone policy to customers with full protection insurance for AU to AU trips which includes roadside assistance, coverage for glass and tyres, and has $0 excess.