Rental car insurance in Ireland?
 

I'll be renting a car this July in Irleand for about 8 days. My insurance and credit card companies will not cover rental car insurance in Ireland. The Avis company will. About $22 daily for collision and an extra $15 daily for theft. That's dollar prices. Should I purchase one or the other, both or neither?

Do a search of "CDW, Ireland". You will find LOTS of information.

Short answer is that you DO want SOME type of insurance....

Bob

Thanks Itallian Chauffer. Is that a search here or on Goggle?

I'd try both.

If you are able to get a World Mastercard beginning with the numbers 5466, you will not have to buy insurance because the World Mastercard is the only card (as far as I know) that covers the CDW in Ireland. I got mine through Citibank and it worked like a charm.

Hi M,

Ireland requires CDW, which is why almost all CC's do not offer insurance as they do for most other countries.

Is the insurance you are buying from Avis in addition to the standard CDW?

Have you checked prices at www.autoeurope.com?

((I))

Buy all the insurance they sell! For 10 or 15 euros a day for "super insurance" I had nothing to pay when a wall ran out in front of my van on a very small Irish road. Worth the peace of mind? No doubt. Worth the money? With the small roads and other drivers, absolutely. Scrapes and scratches and left side vehicle collisions can happen to even drivers who've never had a ticket! Get the insurance in my opinion. And, most important, have a great trip.

Thanks to all. I have indeed changed my car rental from Avis to Autoeurope for a savings of about $100 with insurance. Now, I'm wondering if I should get the "super CDW" since the deductible is about $1,200. Amazing. If it hadn't been for this site and all the helpful travelers, I would not have known any of this and been stymied at the rental counter!! So, super CDW? While I'm here any suggestions for a good travel guide for Ireland? I'm staying in Shannon, Galway and Westport (for the ancestors)and a day in Dublin. Or should I bring the GPS my son just bought me?

I'm thinking about using insurance4carhire -- has anyone had direct experience with them?

http://www.insurance4carhire.com

el

Super CDW has been running about $150 in estimates for our 9 days in Ireland. Do I want to pay that or risk $1200? Are we safe drivers? Yes. Have we ever damaged a car in Ireland in 5 trips? No. But we are buying the extra coverage.

And our latest travel guide is of course - Fodors Ireland 2008. We have an older Eyewitness that we are not upgrading.

July days are so very long in Ireland, have a great trip!

Hi M,

> Now, I'm wondering if I should get the "super CDW" since the deductible is about $1,200.

It's your call.

Do you want to self-insure for $1200, or pay $150 for reduced deductible.

Not all Super CDW is zero deductible.

((I))

We're one of those lucky Citibank WC that begins in 5466. Call me skeptical, but I'm still worried that even with that card we'd have to pay something. Has anyone used it and had a positive experience?

I used insurance4carhire for my last trip in June. Much less expensive than the suuper CDW at the rental counter. They sent the policy to my printer with a detailed explanation on how to file a claim. I had no claim but you should know that the policy is a reimbursement to you. After you pay the deductable to the rental company you file your claim and they reimburse you for the money you paid. They also cover glass and tires which most super CDW does not. About half the price that you would pay at the counter. Have fun

I did the World MC thing with Hertz Dublin Airport this summer and skated by without any hassles or fees from them. I would print a copy of your MC agreement and bring it with you just in case you run across an agnostic at the rental counter.

Rick

You can actually get a travel insurance from your own car insurance company. This will be a lot cheaper. Ask your insurer or you can find car insurance companies from http://www.autoquotenow.com. I used them the last time I travelled

We just got back yesterday from 15 days in Ireland. We did have a world mastercard along with the letter from them saying the card covered cdw. Rented an economy (Ford Fiesta) from carrentals.com with Enterprise. No problems at all with Enterprise. Total cost including taxes and airport charges was $300 (not euros) We did have to pay a deposit of 250 euros which they refunded already. I would recommend them.

We had rented a car in Scotland several years ago and thought we were prepared for narrow roads, driving on the left hand side, etc etc We found the roads in Ireland to be more difficult because of all the stone walls right on sides of road and very narrow in a lot of places. But we got used to it and somehow managed to return the car unscathed. But it is nervewracking at times and I can see why people would want to be fully insured when driving there

I lost three hubcaps in Ireland. Those shrubs right at the edge of the road apparently ate them. But that was the only damage.

Prior to last summer's trip I search WalMart for nylon ties and found a pack of 25 to fasten on the hubcaps on the rental car. On arrival I found that some nice Fodorite had beat me to it, so now I'm all ready for the next trip. Surely I wouldn't be so lucky as to always get rental cars which had been previously rented by Fodorites....

Dang. "Searched"

We purchased the insurance. When we took the car back to the rental agency there were no questions asked and they didn't look the car over. It is for peace of mind and if something happens you don't have a big hassle over it.

Prior to our trip we had reserved a car at the Dublin airport that would be large enough for us. When we arrived they tried to give us a smaller car and said it was the size we ordered. They also said they didn't have a larger car. Before we signed the papers I checked with another car rental agency and they said the car that was being given to us was not the size we ordered. So then I went back and told them it was not the correct size and we would not be renting a car since they did not have what we wanted. Low and behold, they just got a car in that would be what we wanted. It was a new car and we had no problems. Scratched a hub cap on a curb but who doesn't?

So don't let them try to give you something you don't want.