Amex does not cover cars in Italy.. do other cards??

Barbara, You may be interested in this information from the Gemut 2012 Car Rental booklet (can be downloaded from their website): "In both Italy and Israel, CDW and theft coverage must be purchased from the rental company. Some credit cards offer coverage in Italy, but it means nothing because all major rental car companies require the purchase of CDW and theft insurance. The only remaining question is will your credit card reimburse the deductible in case of damage or theft? Apparently Visa will, but confirm with your credit card company. This a murky area." I've used credit card rental car coverage in the past, but I've found the "Terms & Conditions" and "Exclusions" are often complicated and difficult to understand. These days I just take the maximum CDW with the rental firm with a fairly low deductible, as I don't want any hassles and don't want to be stuck with a huge and unexpected bill. Regarding the items not covered by insurance that you mentioned above, that seems to be quite common even with rentals in this part of the world. Also, I wouldn't rely on the advice given by a particular rep. from the credit card firm. I'd want to see specifics in writing, as the rep. that handles a claim may have a different view. One other point to mention - are you aware of the usual "caveats" regarding driving in Italy? If not, post another note for further details. Happy travels!

I'm not sure that any VISA card automatically covers insurance. It may be only for VISA Signature cards, which are a subset of all VISA cards.

That should tell you something. The reason is because the accident rate is so high. Don't believe that any other card offers coverage either and it is the same for Ireland. You insure by taking the insurance offered by the rental company. It probably is not real smart to rely on credit card insurance coverage anyway. There has been more than one horrid story posted here about credit card insurance suddenly disappearing when it came time to pay the claim.

Oh I agree and we always take the insurance from the rental company but the insurance that we see from the rental company has several levels (with and without a deductable) and even the most expensive does not cover roof, undersides, windows, tires, wheels and interior... not much else left of the car at that point!

Just discovered that VISA does cover Italy! And it seems they will cover what the other insurance will not. So should be covered on all ends with the VISA card

Barbara please be careful if you decide to use the VISA insurance coverage. Remember that you must refuse all offered insurance from the rental company and they may well place a hold on your card for the entire value of the car...

Nigel, can you explain what you mean / have first hand knowledge of ' they may place a hold on your card for the entire value of the car'. Seems like an urban myth. Has this happened to you? I've rented many times in Europe using the insurance from my Visa card; my total charge limit is nowhere near the value of a car, and I've continued using the card throughout my trip with no problem.

In our experience you cannot decline the CDW on rentals in Italy.

We're about to take a trip to Italy, and I looked into the car insurance question. The agent at Capital One referred me to the Visa headquarters (800-847-2911 or visa.com/benefits). The agent I talked to there said that visa does cover cars in Italy, but you have to decline the optional insurance offer from the rental company. I plan to recheck before our departure.

In http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/carrental_cdw.htm . In the fifth paragraph Rick Steves writes: " Therefore, as far as some rental companies are concerned, you're technically liable for the full deductible (which can equal the cost of the car). Because of this, the car-rental company may put a hold on your credit card for the full value of the car. "

Italian law forbids non-Italian insurers for offering certain products in Italy. Other law provisions require Italian-plated cars to have authorized insurance at least against third part. The combination of both makes unlikely for a credit card to be able to offer such coverage.

We have a VISA signature card. The rep said all would be covered.;the website seems to confirm this. We can easily use other credit cards while away in case they do put a hold on the card. We are only renting for three days.

Oh also we did inform them that italy will not let you decline CDW they are aware of that and on their site they say call this number if your car rental company will not let you decline the insurance.. that was the number we called. and it seemed that they were aware that Italy will not let you decline. I suppose its possible they are not being straight with us but we asked all the questions and looked at the web site so it seems that we should be covered In any case there was no other coverage anyway that we could get as its not offered so not sure that we lose anything if we put it on our VISA card --we are not paying extra for it as it is a benefit of the card. I don't see a reason for them to lie unless they were trying to get us to buy something. The only countries they do not cover are Ireland and Israel
The other cards also do not cover Italy

I am one who has told my story regarding credit card insurance here many times. In short, I confirmed and reconfirmed that I was covered (even had it in writing), I declined the rental counter insurance (this was in Ireland), had a small accident, and was then told that they would not pay. My card was charged for the damage, and even though the rental company itself went to bat for me, the credit card insurance refused to pay. I will never again trust credit card insurance. There are just too many ways they can dream up to get out of paying, and by declining the rental counter insurance you leave yourself completely vulnerable for all costs. Barbara, VISA IS trying to get you to buy something - they are enticing you to use their card, instead of another, for your rental because you hope to get something free (insurance coverage). They have no incentive to pay out on it if something happens.

I hear you but it does not even matter. This VISA card is the card I use all the time as it is my Marriott points card and from what I have seen there is no other insurance that will cover everything... we have to take the insurance from the rental company in italy as it is mandatory but for the items it does not cover that was where we were hoping VISA would come in.. however if they dont we are no worse off that we are now unless someone knows of other insurance we can get in Italy that would cover the windows tires wheels underside roof and interior! :) pretty crazy right?

I am currently trying to collect about $100 for parking lot damage in England. VISA is making it very difficult to complete the claim. They finally asked for a document that doesn't seem to exist but they said to call England from US to ask Hertz. Anyone else having trouble collecting from VISA?

Well, our car rental in Italy was in 2009. Visa conditions might have changed since (but our current agreement still doesn't mention Italy in its list of exclusions) but I doubt the Italian legislation was so different then. We had no problems declining the CDW offered by AutoEurope in Rome, just had to sign a waiver. In the end we did end up with some damage to the car - scraped it getting stuck in a narrow side street in Sorrento. BTW, that is a region in Italy where it's pretty much impossible to find any car with a complete and undamaged set of side mirrors ... Visa covered everything, there was no deductible, and no, there was no hold for the "entire value of the car". However, this was not the regular Visa card but a CIBC Aerogold Visa which comes with a hefty annual fee.

I rented a car in Chiusi this April, and before leaving home printed the insurance information from my credit cards; VISA and AMEX. I took them to my local vehicle insurance people so they could tell me if I would have sufficient coverage in Italy with what they were offering, and the answer was an absolute NO. As stated on this forum, Ireland and Italy are in a class by itself when it comes to automobile insurance. On arriving in Chiusi, I went over the details with the agent there, comparing what they offered; and what made up my mind was the 1000 Euro deductible I would be liable for in the case of damage! I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself worrying about the car every day, and so for me, purchasing the extra insurance was worth it to buy a little peace of mind. My trip was long-anticipated and long-saved-for and I wasn't willing to risk any unexpected costs jeopardizing my vacation. IMHO it was money well-spent.

Re Jim: "I am currently trying to collect about $100 for parking lot damage in England. VISA is making it very difficult to complete the claim. They finally asked for a document that doesn't seem to exist but they said to call England from US to ask Hertz. Anyone else having trouble collecting from VISA?" A couple of years ago I blew a tire in France while parking to return my car (I was excited to have finally found where to drop off the car), and ultimately I was never able to get the 150 Euro repair charge paid by VISA. They first asked for a bunch of documents, some of which I had and others of which didn't even exist, and ultimately they agreed they didn't need all those documents, but there was one type they wanted (evidence of how Europcar determined the 150 Euro charge), and ultimately I cold never get Europcar to furnish such a document. Someone from VISA even called me and assured me they weren't just trying to avoid paying, but wanted such a document, and even told me what to ask Europcar. Maybe that was just a line. I'd be interested in knowing what kind of document VISA is asking you for, Jim.

continued ... And I'd also be interested in knowing why coverage has been denied by VISA/MC for others who have had that experience. I have been relying on my credit card for insurance for 20+ years in France, but now I'm worried that maybe I shouldn't press my luck. By the way, whereas in the US rental car agents have usually pushed hard to get me to take the CDW even when I say I'm relying on CC insurance, in France the agents have never been pushy and sometimes will even indicate that I don't really need CDW because my card will cover it. And I always dedicate one card for the rental and don't use it for anything else during the trip, because I don't know how much the hold is, although a few times the agents have indicated that it's not a large amount. I seem to remember 1,000 euros once (or was it 1000 Francs?).

@the person who blew a tire: I think part of the fine print is that tire damage is excluded! Seriously! @the person who couldn't collect on a 100 euro charge: Look at it this way. If you had taken the optional insurance for more than a few days, it would have been more than the charge you are now dickering over. We recently rented for 6 days in Sicily, and the insurance ( which I refused, but somehow got finagled into signing for) ran to 200 euros. BTW, in a different vein, the Hertz agent at the Catania airport was a big liar who tried to convince me that there were no gas stations nearby and I shouldn't try to fill up before returning. I didn't fall for that one; and in the future, I intend to actually write out, "decline optional insurance" on the contract. I've a complaint in to Autoeurope, but I'm not hopeful they can do anything.