caseylowry

Hello,

I have asked many questions in the past about car rentals in Europe (namely, pickup in France and drop off in Italy) and have a couple more.

1. I called my Platinum credit card and they said that they covered Collision, Comprehensive and Theft. BUT, they do not cover medical. Thats fine for myself since it would be covered under my major medical plan (presumably). This prompted me to call my US Auto policy company asking them about any overseas coverage, which they said would not be provided. SO, my question is, what about Liability coverage? Say, god forbid, I get in an accident and cause bodily harm to someone other than myself, how is that covered? Is this something I would have to get from the renting agency?

2. Is a 250Euro one way drop off fee good for Paris pickup, Rome drop off? From all my web searching that seems low, but thought I would ask (and this is much cheaper than flying 5 of us between the two countries).

3. The best pricing I am getting right now is from Hertz (because of an additional affiliation that drops the pricing by 25%). I know most people point to AutoEurope/Kemwel, but any issues I am not seeing with Hertz?

As usual, any information is greatly appreciated!

Michael

There has been the suggestion of dropping the French car off near the Italian border, taking the train to the next Italian town to pick up a car, thus avoiding the cross-border drop off charges. Policies may have changed, but when we rented a car in Italy, we had to buy the extra insurance. Credit car coveraage was not accepted.

ira

Hi casey,

>..what about Liability coverage?<

My Autoeurope contract includes "fire insurance and liability insurance for injuries or damages to persons or things outside the vehicle".

Yours should too.

My Amex contract (Insurance if I waive the CDW in France) covers Excess Medical Expense up to $7500 for persons "insured while riding in, getting into or out of therental auto".

It also covers accidental death or dismemberment as above.

Hope this helps.

Robert2533

I'll try to answer your questions.

My advice is to purchase the zero deductible, full coverage insurance offered by Hertz, but not until you pick up the car in France. You'll find it a bit less expensive that way and you'll sleep better, especially when you arrive in Italy where the insurance requirements are different.

Double check with your own personal medical coverage. You may find that you are not fully covered, or covered at all, once you leave the States. I suggest you consider purchasing a Travel/Risk policy for one of the companies specializing in foreign travel coverage. We use a company called SRI - Specialty Risk International, Inc. (http://www.specialtyrisk.com). The coverage is very good and not expensive.

The drop-off fee sounds a little low, but it would depend on several factors, one being where you plan to drop off the car, but if you've received a quote from Hertz, then they should stand by it.

Auto Europe is a broker and may match the quote from Hertz, but I’d stick with Hertz and get the points. Note: Auto Europe and Kemwel are part of the same corporate organization.

There is one other thing you might not be aware of regarding driving in Italy. There was an item in the New York Times two weeks ago having to do with Italy and their requirement for an International Driving Permit. It seems that Italy is requiring foreigners to carry an International Driving Permit (IDP). This is a law that went into effect last summer, but is only now being implemented. There is a warning of not confusing the IDP with an International Driving License. The US State Department only authorizes to organizations to issue the IDP, AAA and the American Automobile Touring Alliance (through the National Automobile Club).

You can contact AAA at: 800-763-9900 and NAC at 650-294-7000.

I hope this helps.

StuDudley

Your Visa/MC/AE Gold & higher will cover your CDW up to 14 or 31 days (depending on the specific card issuer). Several years ago when Italy implemented the policy that you must buy CDW if you pick up a car in Italy, I called my bank & asked them if I picked up a car in France (delcined CDW - let my Visa cover it) and drive into Italy, would I be covered. They said yes. This was part of a message board thread, and another person called their card issuer (not same as mine) & got the same answer. However, ask this same question of your issuer to make sure the rules/policies have not changed in the intervening years. If they do not cover you in Italy, I don't know how you add insurance later when you get into Italy - that might make my following reply different, if you must buy insurance for the entire rental period (even in France).

Regarding dropping the car in France, train to Italy, & pick up a car there. Do the math. Renting a car in Italy is much more expensive than renting a car in France - especially if you don't need the CDW in Italy for a France rented car. I'm guessing that the increased daily rental cost, insurance cost, train cost, the duplicate rental on the same day, will eat up the $250 fast. Then consider that this maneuver will likely consume 1/2 day of your valuable vacation time.

Some people like to buy the CDW even if their Visa/MC covers it. I think every person that had their CDW covered by their card (& didn't purhcase it seperately), and then had an accident, said that getting reimbursed was "no big deal". However, I think the "every person" count was only about 3 instances, as I recall.

Stu Dudley