Car rental in Italy- would you get full coverage?
 

I am renting a car in April for a week to drive through Tuscany. I have coverage through my car insurance and my credit card but I remember a discussion about this, not sure if it was on this board or not.

Is there any reason to get full coverage through the car rental agency as well? (Enterprise)

You have car insurance that covers you driving other cars outside your country? Also have you checked with your credit card that it covers Italy?

Some folks say that if you do not get damage coverage the agency may put a huge charge on your credit card in case you do have an accident or damage - and check the car upon receipt for any damages and check to be sure that they are noted - take a picture of any.

Many credit cards do provide coverage, but they generally do require that you waive ALL offered insurance. Since Italy does require some insurance that is included on all rentals, in the past I think some credit card companies have issued confusing guidance on what they do cover in Italy; perhaps some or all now exempt Italy's required insurance as a bar to their coverage. It can be time consuming and messy to have the credit card company take care of you. For that reason, in recent years, we have paid for full coverage for our own peace of mind. And, once we found AutoEurope and their often reasonable full coverage, the sting has been minimal, and we don't have to worry about dings and scratches at the outset and at the end. It may be helpful to look at AutoEurope rates. They are a broker (based in the US), have an excellent reputation and have great rates in Italy. They do require advance payment but allow a cancellation within something like 48 hours with full refund.

We never take full coverage through the rental company. CDW is always included in the rental price and furthermore we have a year policy covering the excess (and a lot more) with worldwideinsure.com.
It is true that the car rental company will block a certain amount (approx. 1000 euros) if you don't buy their insurance. They release the sum when you return the car without damages.

1,000 euros not so much to block so that's not a factor to most.

Blocking the CDW excess is not a factor for us, either. We will always get our money back, be it from the car rental company if we don't have any damage, or from worldwideinsure.com in case of damage/threft/collision.

Thanks for the replies. We have a substantial family discount through Enterprise, but will check AutoEurope as well. I don't mind the $1000 block on my credit card but may get the full coverage just for peace of mind this time. I have driven through Germany, France and Switzerland, but for some reason, I am not as comfortable with Italy this time.

Do check . . . few if any US credit cards cover Italy (nor Ireland or Israel)

I do not believe that AMEX and Mastercard will cover Italy, but the last time I checked VISA does (although it will only pay after the insurance that comes with all rentals pays first.). It's only good for rentals of 30 days or so, and claims need to be made promptly. There are also limits on the amount of coverage. All of us who have ever filed insurance claims know that the adjuster may have questions that may be difficult to fully answer when we get home, thousands of miles from the damaged car. That's why I pay for the peace of mind. We once rented a Hertz car in Italy directly with Hertz and paid something like $30/day for full coverage (doubling the rental rate), and the next time we rented a Hertz car, using AutoEurope's insurance, that was only $8/day.

The catch as I understand it -- one cannot decline CDW in Italy (it is mandatory and built into the quoted rates) so even if a credit card 'technically' covers a rental car there, it won't in practice. Just be sure to read the fine print very carefully.

I've had this very discussion with my credit card carrier several times - they tell me if I can't decline mandatory CDW (which is included in the rental price in many countries) I'm still covered with my credit card. I've never purchased car rental insurance and I travel a lot.

Check with your credit card carrier for their interpretation. You might be surprised.

Having said that, I seem to remember Ireland...and perhaps Italy, as being exceptions for some reason.

It is my understanding that this used to be a "catch", but VISA changed this policy, as it relates to Italy, a few years ago.. But, as you say, each traveler should confirm with his credit card issuer.