Hiring in Perth, Broome or Margaret River? WA’s vast driving distances push rental excess to $4,000–$6,500. Get standalone $0 excess cover from around $10 a day.
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Rental counters at Perth Airport (PER) commonly charge $34 to $52 per day for excess reduction, and WA’s long touring distances mean operators set some of the highest base excess figures in the country. Rental Shield takes your excess to zero.
| Coverage Feature | Perth Rental Desk Waiver | Rental Shield Standalone Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Fee Rate | $34 – $52 / day | From ~$10.00 / day |
| Standard Damage Excess | $4,000 – $6,500 | $0 Policy Excess (up to $100K cover) |
| Excess Remaining After Waiver | Typically retains $500 – $1,000 | ✓ Nothing retained |
| Windscreen & Glass Protection | ✗ Often excluded | ✓ Fully included |
| Tyre, Wheel & Underbody Damage | ✗ Often excluded | ✓ Fully included |
| Single Vehicle & Animal Strike | ✗ Extra fee required | ✓ Included |
| Roof, Hail & Storm Damage | ✗ Excluded | ✓ Premium & Ultimate tiers |
| Additional Authorised Drivers | Often charged per driver | ✓ All included free |
Desk waiver rates and excess amounts are indicative ranges observed across major operators and vary by company, vehicle class and season. Always confirm the figures on your own rental agreement. Cover details are set out in the Product Disclosure Statement.
Rental Shield is a standalone policy, so it works with any rental company — including Hertz, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Sixt, Thrifty, Enterprise, Apex, Bayswater and Britz / Maui campervans. These are the busiest Western Australia pickup points.
WA’s main hire-car hub across T1/T2 and T3/T4 terminal precincts.
Kimberley gateway — heavily weighted toward 4WD and campervan hires.
Pilbara pickup point, largely resource-sector and long-distance travel.
Regional access for Margaret River, Busselton and the Cape-to-Cape region.
The damage that actually gets charged back to drivers in WA follows a clear pattern. These are the three risks worth understanding before you collect the keys.
Covers pickups from all major operators at Perth’s terminal precincts and the Broome depots that serve Kimberley touring.
Karri forest roads around Pemberton and the Cape-to-Cape are narrow, shaded and lined with gravel verges — a frequent source of scrapes and stone chips.
The North West Coastal Highway and Great Northern Highway carry road trains for hundreds of kilometres between fuel stops, with heavy stone spray and stray livestock.
Read this before you buy. The exclusions matter as much as the inclusions, and they are the same across every Australian state.
This is a summary only. The full terms, limits and exclusions are in the Product Disclosure Statement.
Three steps to avoid paying inflated desk rates before you collect your keys.
Lock in $0 excess cover with Rental Shield before you arrive at the Perth terminal. Your policy document is emailed immediately.
When the agent offers daily excess reduction, tell them you already hold independent cover. They will still place the standard security hold on your card.
If you are charged for damage, upload the invoice and rental agreement to your dashboard. We reimburse the excess up to your policy limit.
Western Australia is the largest state in the country and rental pricing reflects it. Damage excess on a standard WA hire agreement commonly sits between $4,000 and $6,500, and 4WDs hired for Kimberley or Pilbara travel routinely sit above that. The practical issue is exposure time: a Perth-to-Broome run is over 2,200 km, so you are simply on the road far longer than a typical east-coast hire, with more opportunity for stone damage.
On the Great Northern and North West Coastal Highways, road trains up to 53.5 metres long throw significant stone spray. Windscreen chipping is close to routine on these routes, and a chip that spreads into a crack means full windscreen replacement — often charged directly to your card on return. Windscreen and glass cover is included on every Rental Shield tier, which is not true of most counter waivers.
This matters more in WA than anywhere else. Most rental agreements prohibit travel on unsealed roads unless you have hired a specific 4WD product that permits it, and excess cover follows the rental contract: if you breach the hire agreement by driving a prohibited surface, the claim will not be paid. Gibb River Road, most of the Kimberley tracks and many station roads fall into this category. Confirm in writing with your rental operator what surfaces your vehicle is permitted on.
The Margaret River and Cape-to-Cape region is the state’s busiest leisure hire corridor. Roads through the karri forests around Pemberton and Northcliffe are narrow, deeply shaded and edged with soft gravel — conditions that produce kerbing, mirror strikes and tyre damage. All are covered on sealed public roads. See what each tier includes before choosing.
Still deciding? Read the full FAQ or compare coverage tiers.
Rental excess amounts and road risks differ by state. Pick your pickup location for local detail and pricing.
Get a quote in about 30 seconds. Your policy document is emailed instantly, so you can decline the desk waiver with confidence.