Additional car rental insurance in Italy

Celeste, don't worry, Hertz will be glad to sell you all the insurance that you need, at the time of rental. (full CDW) In fact, the Italians require that you be "completley covered". If you can't get a good answer, rent from Auto Europe. Call their headquarters in Maine. They will be glad to patiently answer any question that you may have. The thing that you really need to worry about is ZTL's...and if you are not " up on them", don't drive in Italy!

We did end up renting through Hertz and will buy the additional coverage at the counter for 23 Euros per day (the zero deductible). And I don't think we'll encounter the ZTLs because we will only be driving out of Venice and through the Veneto countryside in the very small towns/villages (Asolo, Fonte Alto, etc) and then back to the Venice airport for drop-off. I've heard about the ZTLs and they scare me! :)

Celeste, Be sure that each driver has the compulsory International Driver's Permit. Also, if you'll be in Florence, be VERY careful to avoid the ZTL areas (hefty fines!).

Just to give you further ZTL summary - most Italian cities and towns have them, but Florence is most notorious. The ZTL limits traffic in city centers and congested areas and cameras will catch every violation. It is important to be aware of what they are and where they are and avoid them. If you must enter a ZTL for a hotel, the hotel will register your plate with the authorities to avoid a ticket (always confirm they do this). But even then, if you accidently stray into another ZTL, you'll get a ticket. Tickets are expensive and the first sign you are getting one is a charge on your credit card by the rental agency for supplying your contact info to the authorities. Then 4-12 months later, you get a ticket(s) in the mail. It all sounds very ominous, but careful planing and awareness is all it takes to avoid them. A typical rule is do not drive in cities and for many towns, you park in lots outside town and stroll.

We are in Cinque Terre right now and drove from Milan to Lake Como to Cinque Terre region. We rented a car adn found the following. First, Italy does require insurance coverage and the coverage that some credit cards give you is not longer acceptable in Italy as full coverage. Second, make sure you list all drivers. Don't decide to have a person that wasn't listed drive and get in an accident. Third, you need the international license and you need to bring your regular license. Finally, we were pulled over at a police stop and told by the policemen that the rental companies need to but orignal registrations not copies in the glove compartment. He said he could have given us a thirty nine Euro fine. He was nice and let us go without the fine. Finally, watch out for parking. Have coins available because they charge you just about every where you go. You go to the central meter and put the reciept in your window.

Tom - it's always good to hear actual experiences so thank you. One question, at the checkpoint, did the officer request to see your International Drivers Permit as well as your state license? This question often comes up here. Oh and Celeste, there is a foolproof way to avoid ghost damage claims: take pictures of your car before you leave the lot. With a digital camera, it's quick and easy and you'll have proof of what the lot condition was.

Could someone please explain "ZTL" ??? I hope to rent a car in September in the Abruzzo area any info would be helpful. Thanks.

Diana, plug "ZTL" into the search spot in the upper right hand corner, and also Google it. ZTL= "zone of traffic limited", i.e. it means you can't drive here unless you want to pay huge fines for each and every time you drive past this sign. see for pics and explanations: http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

Better safe than sorry. I always buy all the insurance and insurance upgrades offered. You can't rely on a credit card to get you out of a bind quickly enough. There are hoops to jump through. Better to be able to walk away and hand them the keys. The rental company's website should give you the cost for the extra insurance if you plug in all your information as though you are going to reserve a car.

Scott, it doesn't - that was what was worrying me. Only Hertz (out of AutoEurope, Avis, and Budget) could tell me the additional cost of the full coverage (23 Euros per day is what they said it would be at the counter)...everyone else told me I would have to call the rental counter in Italy. It is well worth it to me to be able to walk away from it, with no worries. I think we're all set - husband is driver and he has his IDP, reservations made. Now to just get there! :)

To answer the ealier question, the policeman did ask to see both the internatianal license and my NY license. Again, he said copies of documents even from the auto rental company will not do, you need actual documents. He didn't give us the ticket, he was very nice. Also some other driving advice. I strongly recommend using a GPS. We bring our garmin from home. You can buy the micro chip from the garmin website. We used it both in italy and when we went to france got that one. It saved us hours of being lost and of much frustration. It is a must!