Tried renting a car through Auto Europe for the south of France and came to find out that even with taking their optional insurance, the driver is still liable for approx $450 deductible for collision and approx. $850 deductible for theft (of vehicle). I was told that they did not carry Super insurance which would zero out the deductibles or at least substantially lower them. Apparetnly they use Europecar for all cars less than full size and Europecar does not offer zero deductible coverage. I finally decided to pay more and rent with Avis which offered zero deductible. It all comes down to peace of mind, and if I was going to pay for insurance I felt I should at least get the peace of mind that one seeks when purchasing insurance!

Good post - Many European car hire firms do not offer 0 deductible - that is a fairly common practice - but your credit card may provide the excess cover. <BR> <BR>If not, that is an important item to consider when comparing rental rates.

If you use a gold or platinum credit cardwhen renting your vehicle, the credit card company should cover the deductible. Check with them and if so, make sure you take the info with you. I knocked the side view mirror off the rental car in Scotland and American Express paid the repair bill.

That's strange. The rental quote I just got from Auto Europe for Italy specifically notes that it includes a Collision Damage Waiver with zero deductible and Theft Protection with zero deductible.

Do bear in mind that AutoEurope is a broker, not an operator. They provide their cars through other companies. The insurance coverage and many other terms and conditions are those of the particular operator, not AutoEurope. <BR> <BR>While we frequently end up using AutoEruope, it always pays to check around when arranging rentals. And we always ask questions that are important to us ... we try to avoid making assumptions from a friend's experience or our last trip. <BR> <BR>twenj

Good point, David. I ran into the exact same situation in Ireland this Spring. I had elected to take the CDW when I booked the car, and was suprised at the airport that I was still liable for about $450. They offered MORE insurance to cut that down to about $100. I decided to take my chances, had no incidents or accidents and everything came out fine.

Ed is exactly correct. Every country and vendor is different. Do not make any assumptions based on a prior scenario. Check it out for the specifics of your current trip.

This is interesting. Normally, my American Express card would cover collision and theft and I wouldn't need to purchase additional insurance. However, Amex tells me that there policy does not apply in Italy, where I will be. So it looks like I may need to buy the x-tra coverage after all. Wonder what Auto Europe has to say about this? Seems a bit misleading to give a rate quote that says it includes collision and theft coverage with zero deductible.

Now I'm a little confused. I rented through Autoeurope and my voucher says Europcar which is the agency I assume I go to. It also says Collision Damage and Theft Protection has a non-waiverable deductible of ZERO...so not sure why France would be different. If anything, would think Italy would be the strictest!

We rented from Auto Europe in France in May. When making reservations I had also planned to purchase the insurance but was concerned that I would still be liable for a fairly substantial deductable. I started checking with American Express and found out that my platinum card would indeed cover me. The car rental companies try to discourage you from relying on your credit card coverage but the coverage was so good that I decided to save the several hundred dollars on insurance and use my American Express card. In checking what was and wasn't covered I learned that my car was covered in Italy as long as the rental did not originate in Italy - we were renting in France.

Steph -- the plot thickens! After reading your comment about being covered in Italy as long as you rented the car elsewhere first, I went back and checked the AMEX web site for their policy coverage information and found the following: "No coverage is provided for vehicles rented in Australia, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Jamaica, and New Zealand. Certain vehicles are not covered and other significant exclusions apply." The key I guess is the phrase "rented in".

David- the reason AX doesn't cover in Italy,Ireland or Israel is due to theft and/or terrorism. GO with Autoeurope and request their super CDW which is paid for at time of pick=up ,not done ahead of time....BUT DEFINITELY get it!

Thanks, Andy. I think I will.

Since I'm renting a car from AutoEurope in Italy on Saturday, I wanted to get some "official" clarification. I wrote to them and this is their response: <BR>You'll notice on your voucher, under "terms and conditions", that it <BR>states that Collision and Theft insurance are already included and <BR>both have a ZERO deductable, in the case of a wreck or stolen <BR>vehicle. Auto Europe is the only company that has the zero <BR>deductable in Italy, which is why you've probably heard concern <BR>from other people, who may not have heard of us. Rest assured, <BR>there will be no extra fees other than the road fee, and there are <BR>no deductables. <BR>Thanks, <BR> <BR> <BR>