Basic car rental coverages in Italy?

Yes, the agent is correct, third party liability is mandatory to drive a car.
And yes, double-check your cards' T&C's, but using the card to cover the deductible in case of a claim is much cheaper. It will involve more paperwork than using the renter's expensive zero-deductible cover, and it sometimes won't cover the admin fees that rental companies can charge to "process" claims, but it should save you a ton of money.

Thank you for the response. So because third party is mandatory, all car rental companies already have it included in the rental ?? When I was looking through other car rental companies such as europcar, it always showed CDW and Theft protection included, but nothing about the third party insurance on check out. That’s why I was confused if I have to purchase it or not.. but by the sounds of it, CDW in Italy should have third party included with it because it’s mandatory, so I shouldn’t have to Purchase anything extra .

The CDW/LDW in Italy quite often has a deductible of as much as 1000 euro.

Most US credit cards do NOT provide the CDW/LDW coverage in Italy ( and a few other countries).

You need to check to see if yours might.

I’m lucky my credit card does . That’s why I wanted to get as much info I can from this forum.. you guys have been very helpful. I think
I should be good to go then if my rental from hertz came with these basic options plus my credit card coverage too

What card do you have that provides CDW in Italy?

I am sure there are many who would like to know, as it is a situation that affects many

Being from Canada. I’m with Royal Bank of Canada and carry type Avion Infinite card. I just called them to to make sure and the representative told me that in Italy it is mandatory to have the CDW so with my card, I just put any deductible if something were to
Happen.

What card do you have that provides CDW in Italy?

Mine does. Chase Sapphire Preferred (USA).

I've rented cars in Italy (and many other countries) multiple times, and have always used the free insurance coverage provided by the card. This has saved me a bundle over the years. Be aware, you need to decline all additional (non mandatory/included) insurance offered at the counter, or the card's policy will not be in effect. Follow instructions to a "T".

Contact the insurance folks for your credit card (call the card issuer, they will transfer you to the insurance people). Make sure you know exactly what you are getting (and what you are not), and what you should do/not do. Get it in writing from them. IME, they are happy to send you the details in writing via email, plus a note that you can show to the rental agency when you pick up the car, explaining that you do have coverage (they even will send you a copy translated into a language of your choice, so the staff at the rental counter can't just shrug and pressure you to buy their expensive insurance).

Details vary by country you're driving in (and by credit card, of course). Check details carefully. But it can save you quite a bit.

That’s for the tip! I’ll get on that again. It’s so hard reading about car rentals in Italy. Seems like every dealer has bad reviews and horror stories about people being charged for damages they didn’t even do. Hopefully all goes well. I’m be with my wife and 6 month old daughter for a month

Well, you know the internet: full of complaints, few people go online to rave about great service.

I have never had any trouble renting in Italy (or anywhere else, now that I think of it...). But that doesn't mean you should be careless. Always go over the car with a fine-tooth comb, take photos, videos, note EVERY tiny scratch on the pre-rental paperwork. Check for spare tire, etc. Check operation of all lights, signals, horn, etc., adjust mirrors, figure out controls for radio, fan, aircon, etc. before carefully pulling out in to traffic.

The first 10 minutes of driving in a foreign land are the most dangerous -- strange car, strange signage, foreign language, etc. Not to be taken lightly.

Watch out for ZTLs.