CDW Car Insurance for Car Rentals in Ireland - Exclusions Fine Print IMPORTANT !

I just bought the Rental Car Damage Coverage through Allianz for $90, covers everything up to $40k

Yep, been discussed here a number of times.

Italy is also often excluded, even American Express excludes them. Israel as well in many cases (something about "I" countries). To my surprise, my AMEX Delta Reserve card also excludes Australia and New Zealand, not sure why.

Myself, outside of the US, I do not rely on standard CC rental coverage. I do have Premium coverage through AMEX I will use, but if I have a high concern I pay for zero deductible CDW from the rental agency; well worth the ease of mind.

We generally use Allianz for CDW too; $9 a day. In Sicily we got the zero deductible from the rental company for piece of mind and it was actually pretty reasonable.

I just checked Allianz and they don't offer coverage for Ireland/NI. :(

This topic has been discussed extensively on this forum in the past. Suggest using the handy search feature to review previous threads, some of which are quite detailed and have been well researched.
We've been to Ireland about a dozen times over the past 15 years, and in our particular case we've settled on booking our vehicles thru AutoEurope (which usually winds up being Hertz) and accepting their zero deductible option. You really can't beat it for the convenience and peace of mind, and we've generally found the rates to be competitive with 3rd party insurers. We've never had a mishap and therefore have never filed a claim, but knowing that if we ever did we could just return the car and walk away without worrying about the hassle of dealing with a 3rd party insurer makes it a no-brainer for us.

On a trip in 2013, I declined CDW after the usual battle with the agent (must be on a commission!). I always carry a copy of the card agreement for dealing with the agents. Much to my chagrin, we did have an incident, scraping a protruding gate and hitting the curb, which put a small scrape the entire length of the car and bending the front wheel. We ignored the issue for the remainder of our trip, and when we checked the car back in, they "estimated" the repairs at $4500, for which they charged my card. After getting home and talking to Costco M/C, they investigated briefly and refunded the charge, and even ended up cancelling the second driver charge (not sure why). So it did require I have a sufficient credit balance for the damage, but was absolutely painless. I think the CDW was $15/day for a two week trip, if I had chosen that route.

There's a really simple rule here, which also applies to many things in life.

Read, and UNDERSTAND, the terms of any contract you sign. That includes your car insurance for a rental (and also the coverage that your particular credit card may provide in that particular place and time and situation). Know the specific terms, know the coverage levels (how much $$$ you are covered for and what that means in that place), know the exclusions, know what steps you must take to get the coverage you want. Understand what all these things mean.

Don't sign anything until you do the above. It takes time and research -- yes, homework --- unless you've been through the routine before. The time to do that homework is long before you fly off to some foreign land. The time to squint, read through, and understand all the fine print is in the comfort of your home, weeks or months before you start packing. The worst possible time to do that work is while you're standing at the rental counter, jetlagged and exhausted, with your family whining and fidgeting nearby, with a line of other renters waiting behind you, giving you the stinkeye, with everyone around you jabbering in some language you don't understand, etc. etc. If you attempt that, your odds of success are low.

If you can't/won't do that work ahead of time to know WTF you are getting in to, you shouldn't bother trying. Just pay the outrageously high costs for every option for all the insurance the rental agency has, believe me, they will be very happy to charge you for all that.

You can save many hundreds of dollars on car rental using the insurance provided by a credit card. But you need to know all the pesky little details, and they vary from one card to another, one country to another, and a dozen other variables that you probably never thought of. Either do the homework and save, or buy your way out of that work and just pay a lot more. Then be happy either way.