Is additional insurance required when renting a car in Ireland?
Jan 21st, 2003, 07:41 PM
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Is additional insurance required when renting a car in Ireland?
I'm going to Ireland in Feb. I recently read in a newspaper that when renting a car in Ireland you are required to pay up to 120euro per person on Irish car insurance. None of the rental car sites state this nor do any of the travel sites I've looked at. Anyone rented a car there recently?
Jan 21st, 2003, 07:49 PM
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i also am going in feb...as far as i can see from my research...ireland like 5 or 6 other countries have insurance claim problems...thus the waiving of car insurance with credit cards is limited....the companies i have talked to have told me that if you use a mastercard with insurance waiver for the entire rental that you are able to waive the expensive portions of the insurance...there is some amndatory insurance which you must carry but it is relatively inexpensive...my whole rental for a small car for 10 days is going to be about $175 (auto europe, who is using hertz)
Jan 22nd, 2003, 01:30 PM
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Maureen:<BR><BR>Rental agencies cover all of the "required" insurance except CDW. You can either buy that through the rental agency or use your MC gold or platinum to cover it. Your MC has a $0 deductible. You have two options trough the agency: Regular CDW or super CDW. Super buys the deductible down to $0 or close to it. They are usually pretty expensive and the charge is by the day. When you decide on which company to use, you must make sure that they will let you use MC to insure you. Most will. I got a fairly similar price as Bob from Hertz through O'Scannlain. Hertz, oddly, seems to be the most competitive this year.<BR><BR>Beware that websites that give rental prices don't always give you an apples to apples comparison. Different rates on insurance and different deductibles often show up. Thus, the lowest price often isn't. Obviously the best deal is to use your MC and decline the agency's insurance.<BR><BR>Renting the car is my least favorite part of planning my trip to Ireland. Good luck.<BR><BR>Bill<BR><BR>PS: By the way, this is a frequent topic here, so you can probably do a search and get lots of info.
Jan 23rd, 2003, 07:23 AM
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Just thought that I would add that you will need to leave a deposit for gas up front usually 40/50euro and you can get this money back if you return the car with a full tank as they will hold that amount as a deposit. I've done it both ways and it just feels better to not have that charged to you. There will be an airport charge added to your total about 20euros, at least through Dan Dooley. I've used them twice and have been satisfied with the vehicles with only the service being so-so. I've rented group B and C cars and have had good rates in the 180euro area, but the dollar was stronger than. Definitely not a problem and yes use the MC platinum plus for insuranc but check with your card company as not all do this. GOOD LUCK ps I wasn't charged extra insurance for passengers
Jan 23rd, 2003, 09:47 AM
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No no no. My platinum mastercard specifically disallows Ireland. I don't know where others say "all MC cover Ireland" but I can assure you it is not true, according to my card. Always good to check with you credit card company and your current auto insurance policy!
Jan 23rd, 2003, 11:05 AM
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Unless you are very accustomed to driving in Ireland, I suggest you consider what it might cost you if you don't purchase add'l coverage and you have an incident. (I say "incident" on purpose. It's not just you, but all of the other tourists you will be near; most of them are not accustomed to driving on the left, either.)<BR><BR>If your own policy protects you for liability, remember that a fender-bender overseas will still result in your own premium being raised the following year. If someone clips you and takes off a rearview mirror, it will cost upward of $500 to have it repaired, and you will have a hard time making sure that the rental company's chosen mechanic isn't padding the bill, as by that time you'll be thousands of miles away.<BR><BR>In places where I'm driving on the right, I don't buy extra insurance, but in places where I (and lots of other inexperienced Americans & continental Europeans) are driving on the left, I do. It has saved me lots of time, money, and grief on several occasions.
Jan 23rd, 2003, 01:08 PM
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Well, it is odd to hear that your card does not cover insurance in Ireland. The coverage, as I was told by my bank and by the folks at MC is handled by MC, and not the bank. Perhaps it's due to some contractual agreement with MC and the bank. I have also heard quite a few people say that they have checked with Capitol One and they ARE covered. The best way to find out is not to call your bank. They don't have a clue. Call 1-800 MCASSIST. When you present them with your credit card number they will tell you if you are covered and will send you a letter to present to the rental agency as proof. You must check with the rental agency though to find out if they accept MC as valid insurance. I know that Hertz does. I am not an expert on this, but I have researched the crap out of my own situation. For those of you who have been told no, call the 800 number just to make sure. You may be surprised.<BR><BR>In the end, when you call the bank, you may not be talking to an expert. I found that out the first time that I called. When I called back, another phone person told me that I had to call MC and even gave me the number.<BR><BR>Here is the MC website that explains the coverages.<BR>http://www.mastercard.com/cardholderservices/guidetobenefits/masterrental_insurance.html<BR><BR>I hope this helps.<BR><BR>Bill
Jan 25th, 2003, 07:33 AM
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I would recommned getting a letter stating that you are covered, if you are. If not they will require some time of payment for coverage. I would recommned FULL COVERAGE and nothing less if you plan on doing a lot of conutry driving and you want to explore off the beat and track.
Jan 25th, 2003, 08:11 AM
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Bill<BR>Thanks for the web site. I just read it and here is what it says regarding coverage: "You may be unable to use this service in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, and New Zealand. Please contact your car rental company before you travel" ?????
Jan 25th, 2003, 09:04 AM
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CD. The reason that it says "may not be able to use" is because the car rental agency might have restrictions. The Mastercard coverage will cover you if the company you rent from allows you to decline its coverage for CDW.<BR>When you check various agencies for prices, ask them if you are permitted to provide your own CDW coverage. If they say yes then you can use your credit card. It a benefit through Mastercard Assist which is a general program offered on certain cards.<BR>I have a Capital One Platinum card and one of the benefits is the MCAssist program which has car rental coverage which includes Ireland.<BR><BR>Bill: I was curious about your rental car. I checked O"Scannlain for May and their quote was about $80 more for my seven day rental (using my own insurance) then the quote from Auto Europe. I am only renting the small automatic, so maybe this is the difference. This is for May.
Jan 27th, 2003, 11:00 AM
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Hi Sherry and CD:<BR><BR>I didn't compare the price of automatics with other companies this year. I did notice a healthy price difference between the automatic and the standard, so O'Scannlain (Hertz) may be higher there. I am renting the small standard. This will be my first time with a standard and those who have gone with a standard in the past have told me that I will be embarrassed that I spent the extra money on the automatic once I'm in it. We'll see.<BR><BR>CD: Sherry is right. You have to inquire with the rental agency. I received a leteer from MC stating that I am insured. That will travel with me.<BR><BR>J: Well, if you are right, the thousands that use that every year have been fooled and I know a number of people who have had to make claims. The have made them successfully.<BR><BR>Bill
Jan 27th, 2003, 01:12 PM
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Thanks Bill. It has been many years since my husband has driven a stick shift and he says get the automatic. <BR>I am not unsatisfied with the price from Auto Europe as it is only $203 with all taxes, even VAT, for seven days for the automatic plus the $22 or so airport fee. I can live with that. And this is after looking and looking and back and forth with the price match team of Auto Europe.<BR>Renting a car in Italy has always been my least favorite part of the trip and now I get to add Ireland to that list.<BR>Sherry<BR>P.S. for this price I prepaid, but they don't give you a hard time about a refund.
Jan 27th, 2003, 03:35 PM
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Hello. We travelled to Ireland in August and used our MasterCard to book the car. We're from Canada and our card is an MBNA Platinum Mastercard. We paid nothing extra for insurance, although we did have to pay airport tax and road tax (if you want these amounts let me know and I will look it up in my files). Although we were advised by Autoeurope to have a letter from the credit card company to say waiving CDW was okay, we called MNBA/Mastercard and they said it wasn't necessary and just take the policy info. with us that you get when you first sign up for the card. We had no problems at all in Ireland. We've driven in Ireland many times and up until this year had always been able to book a car using our Gold Visa, but can no longer do that. Fortunately, we've never had an accident in Ireland, so I can't say how well the system would hold up if we got into trouble, but the booking and waiving CDW went without a hitch.
