What is collision damage waiver?

Collision damage waiver (CDW) is a type of protection that takes care of your financial responsibility for loss or damage to the rental car you use, as long as you don't break the rental agreement's terms and conditions. While you don't have to pay for the direct damages, the waiver might charge an excess which means you can still be at risk of significant out-of-pocket expenses if things go wrong.

What does it cover?

Collision damage waiver generally covers the following:

• The cost of damage to your vehicle and damage to third party property above the excess amount
• Accidents where you're not at fault, as long as they believe the third party insurer will pay
• Third party injury, paid for through the vehicle registration fee

What doesn't it include?

Common collision damage waiver exclusions include:

Finder survey: Do Australians understand rental car excess cover?

Is collision damage waiver the same as excess?

No, it is not the same. For most car hire companies in Australia, a level of standard excess known as collision damage waiter or loss damage waiver (LDW) is already included in the price of most rentals. This is because it's too risky to hire out a car with no insurance at all – if the car is written off, the car hire company could be left chasing the customer for tens of thousands of dollars, which they might have no hope of recovering. CDR or LDR automatically limits the renter's financial responsibility for loss or damage to the vehicle, but there is still an amount of excess payable – usually between $3,000 and $8,000.

"On a skiing holiday in Victoria, my husband backed one of our rental cars into the other and we forked out thousands of dollars in excess. After that, we chose a credit card with rental vehicle excess cover so we wouldn't have to pay extra for collision insurance or face crazy excess amounts. It came in handy when a rock cracked our windscreen on a holiday in Tasmania!"

Pauline Hatch

Writer and mum of three

Why do I need rental car excess insurance?

Because there are so many exclusions, a collision damage waiver isn't enough if you want comprehensive protection against being out of pocket thousands of dollars if you have an accident. Rental car excess insurance can give you that added protection. Essentially, even if you have CDW, the rental company will still charge you an excess amount if the car suffers loss or damage under your care.

Let's say the worst happens and you end up writing off a rental car completely. Instead of paying out the value of the car, you'll have to pay the excess amount agreed in your rental agreement, which can be thousands of dollars. With the right rental car excess insurance, you can reduce this excess to $0 so you have no further out-of-pocket expenses if your rental car is stolen or gets into an accident.

It can also include cover for windscreens, tyres, roof, underbody and more. Car rental companies usually also offer rental car excess insurance but it normally costs a lot. If you want cheap rental car excess insurance, buy it online; cover starts at $2.83 per day.

Name	International or domestic cover	Eligible driver age	Features	Starting price (per day)	Apply
Rentalcover.com	Both	19-99 years	Complete vehicle coverage for up to $100,000 in damages Coverage for theft, towing, damage to tyres, windscreens, roof, underbody, and key loss Coverage for accident-related charges e.g. admin/processing fees, "loss of use", relocation fees, and more Cancel anytime up until pickup, and for any reason No further excess payable	$7.92 ($0 excess)	Get quote
Car hire excess	Both	21-75 years	Cover from $4,000 to $8,000 Additional cover for damage to windscreens, roof, tyres and underbody Underwritten by HDI Global Specialty SE - Australia No further excess payable	$9.29 ($0 excess)	Get quote
Tripcover	Both	21-71 years	Cover from $4,000 to $8,000 Underwritten by Allianz Excess options: Nil or $300	$5.68 (with a $300 excess payable)
American Express	Both	Up to 79 years	Cover up to $3,000 Underwritten by Chubb Excess options: $100, $200 and $500	$2.83 (with a $100 excess payable)
RACV	Domestic cover only	18-110 years	Cover from $1,000 to $8,000 15% discount for RACV members Underwritten by Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd No further excess payable	$2.25 (for $1,000 cover)

*Prices are based on a 15-day hire in Australia, as of April 2024. Benefits vary from brand to brand. Always read through the product disclosure statement (PDS) to make sure the product is suitable for you.

What's the difference between CDW and LDW?

Most car rental companies consider collision damage waiver (CDW) and loss damage waiver (LDW) to be the same thing. In most countries, they come packaged together. However, you often need to purchase them separately in the US and Canada.

For the rental companies that separately define CDW and LDW, CDW provides cover if there's damage to your rental car as a result of an accident while LDW is a combination of CDW and theft protection. That means you'll also be covered for car replacement if your rental car is stolen. CDW also usually excludes windscreen, tyres, interior, undercarriage, roof and side mirror repair. If any of these parts are damaged, you'll likely have to pay the full cost of repairs.

LDW/CDW in other countries

While collision damage waiver is included when you use a rental car in Australia, there are several popular holiday destinations where you'll have to pay extra if you want it.

• US. Some rental companies in the US will not include collision damage waiver in their initial fees. It's common for you to be offered CDW at the time of rental for an additional daily charge.
• New Zealand. You will probably find collision damage waiver as an optional add-on with many car rental companies in New Zealand. It can often cost you an additional $20 per day on top of your initial car rental fee.
• UK & Ireland. The majority of UK and Irish car rental companies should include collision or loss damage waiver in their total rental fee.

Compare car rental excess insurance

Frequently asked questions

• What is a loss damage waiver?

  A loss damage waiver is an optional type of protection that waives your financial responsibility for damage to your rental vehicle. It also covers you for loss, meaning if your rental vehicle is stolen, it will cover you for a car replacement, up to certain limits.

• Does LDW/CDW cover third party liability?

  Loss or collision damage waiver does not ordinarily cover third party liability; it only partially covers your rental car.

Written by

Gary Ross Hunter

Editor, Insurance

Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise

Gary Ross has written 648 Finder guides across topics including:

• Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
• Managing the cost of living