Will be renting a car in Ireland for about 8 days in mid-October. Likely getting it and returning it at Dublin Airport. In one previous trip to Ireland I believe my credit car company covered the Collision Insurance (CDW). Now in calling my credit card company it appears this is no longer the case (in fact both my Master Card and my Visa cards both say they do not cover in Ireland). And yet it does appear they do cover it is almost every other foreign country. Am I misunderstanding something here and/or is there any options that I am unaware of?? Do I need to purchase the CDW insurance package (and maybe the additional Theft package) from the rental company?

Most credit cards do not cover you in Italy, Ireland and Israel so yes taking the car rental insurance would be wise. My Sapphire reserve credit card does cover me in those countries

>> Am I misunderstanding something here <<

Nope - Almost no cc's cover Ireland (nor Italy or Israel). A very few premium cards do. One specific World Mastercard used to re Ireland but AFAIK no longer does.

Does your travel insurance cover the excess/deductible? Mine typically would.

I don't know where dreamon lives, the travel insurance policies in the US never cover car rentals unless you expressly choose a policy with that add-on and then it costs more, of course. Most people don't need it so it is not a default coverage in US policies. I do look at the fee when combining with travel insurance versus other options when I rent a car, but I've ne;ver done that in Ireland so never had this problem. I think it's something to do with some legal issues with Ireland rentals, I forget the reason, it's not because driving is so much more dangerous there.

I don't know what it would cost from the car rental company, but compare to what it would cost to add it on to a travel insurance policy, if you are American. Making sure the coverage includes Ireland, I think it usually does when I"v e considered that. I know John Hancock, Nationwide and some other companies have that rider option. That will probably be about $50-75 per week of your trip (they can't have the car rental coverage a different time period). there are several website where you can compare costs and policies, like www.insuremytrip.com