Rental car insurance excess in New Zealand, compared
Every quote you see is priced before insurance. This is what each operator says you owe if you damage the car, taken from their own published terms, with the source next to every figure.
The excess is the amount you pay before the rental company's insurance does anything. In New Zealand it is not a rounding error: among the operators that publish a figure, standard excess runs from $3,000 to more than $7,000. Book a $45-a-day car and you have quietly accepted a five-figure-adjacent liability you were never shown.
Every operator sells a way to reduce it, and those products are where the real price of a rental hides. Reduction cover runs from about $22 to $46 a day. On a ten-day trip that is often more than the car itself.
The most useful thing here has nothing to do with the cheapest number. Two of the nine operators, Apex and GO Rentals, publish no excess figure anywhere on their websites. Both state only that the amount depends on the vehicle, and disclose it inside the booking flow. That is legal and common, but it means you cannot compare them against the others until you are most of the way through a booking.
One more thing worth knowing before you read the table: Avis New Zealand and Budget New Zealand publish word-for-word identical terms and identical excess tables. They are part of the same group. Treating them as two independent quotes is a mistake.
Standard excess and reduction tiers, by operator
| Operator | Standard excess | Reduction tiers (excess after) | Bond / hold | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JUCY | $3,000 |
| $500 | Source · jucy.comVerified 2026-09-03 |
| Snap Rentals | $3,000 |
| $2,000 | Source · snaprentals.co.nzVerified 2026-09-03 |
| Omega Rental Cars | $3,500 |
| $3,500 | Source · omegarentalcars.comVerified 2026-09-03 |
| Avis New Zealand | $5,350 |
| $200 | Source · avis.co.nzVerified 2026-09-03 |
| Budget New Zealand | $5,350 |
| $200 | Source · budget.co.nzVerified 2026-09-03 |
| Hertz New Zealand | $5,500 |
| $200 | Source · images.hertz.comVerified 2026-09-03 |
| Ezi Car Rental | $5,999 |
| $400 | Source · ezicarrental.co.nzVerified 2026-09-03 |
| Apex Car Rentals | Not published |
| $1,000 | Source · apexrentals.co.nzVerified 2026-09-03 |
| GO Rentals | Not published |
| Not published | Source · gorentals.co.nzVerified 2026-09-03 |
Figures are read from each operator's own published terms and insurance pages on the verification date shown, and are summarised here for comparison. Excess amounts, tier prices and bonds vary by vehicle, location, season and rental length, and several operators publish ranges rather than single figures. Always confirm the exact amounts on your own booking before you rely on them. Car Rental Hero is not affiliated with these operators and does not sell insurance.
Frequently asked questions
What is a rental car insurance excess?+
It is the amount you are liable for before the rental company's own insurance responds. If the excess is $5,000 and you cause $2,000 of damage, you pay the full $2,000. If you cause $30,000 of damage, you pay $5,000. It is charged per incident, not per rental, so two separate incidents can mean paying it twice.
How much is the standard excess in New Zealand?+
Among the operators that publish a figure, it ranges from $3,000 (Snap Rentals and JUCY cars) to $7,200 (Hertz, on its M5 class). Avis and Budget publish $5,350 for small and medium cars and $6,150 for large and premium. Ezi publishes $5,999 for its compact hybrids and $7,000 for SUVs, utes and eight-seaters. Apex and GO Rentals publish no figure at all.
Does paying for zero excess mean I owe nothing?+
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. Every operator's top tier keeps exclusions. Snap's $0 tier still excludes underbody, overbody and rollover damage. JUCY's Comprehensive still excludes water immersion, lost keys (up to $1,000) and anything that happens on an unsealed road. Omega's Gold still excludes snow chain damage and single-vehicle towing. Zero excess means zero excess on covered damage, not zero liability.
Is the rental company's excess reduction worth buying?+
It depends on the trip length and your alternatives. Reduction cover from the operator runs roughly $22 to $46 a day, so on a long rental it can exceed the cost of the car. Standalone excess insurance from a third-party insurer is usually cheaper per day, but it works by reimbursement: the rental company still charges your card the full excess, and you claim it back. Some third-party policies also exclude unsealed roads, which matters a great deal in New Zealand.
Why do Apex and GO Rentals not publish their excess?+
Both state that the excess depends on the vehicle class and disclose the amount during booking rather than in their published terms. Apex says its standard excess 'varies depending on the class of vehicle'; GO Rentals says the amount 'is dependent on the vehicle selected'. Neither publishes a table. It is not unusual, but it does mean you have to start a booking with each of them to compare against operators that publish upfront.
Are Avis and Budget New Zealand different companies?+
They are separate brands within the same group, and in New Zealand they publish word-for-word identical rental terms with identical excess tables: $5,350 and $6,150 depending on vehicle group, reducing to $1,025 and $1,300 with Excess Reduction. If you are comparing quotes, treat them as one option on insurance terms, even when the daily rate differs.
Compare what the car actually costs
Search live prices across New Zealand operators, then use the table above to work out what each quote really commits you to once insurance is included.
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