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Car insurance in France and Italy?

Posted by nicolatwig on 09/13/21 01:52 PM
So, I have CSP and I believe i am covered with primary car insurance in both countries. The car company, I believe , is trying to upsell me. Must I get car insurance just for Italy? Does anyone know or experienced this?

Posted by
2116 posts

Check with your primary car insurance. That will be more accurate than asking the group here.

I cannot speak for your insurance company, but we have State Farm and rental cars outside the US are not covered. We always buy comprehensive coverage from the rental company and we have driven in both France and Italy. It's just one of the costs of being able to explore and for me the peace of mind is worth it.

Posted by
32828 posts

this is a copy of nearly the same question in the France Forum.

There appears to be a twist not mentioned here.... the other question title is renting in France, driving to Italy and returning to France with the car - that would be different than renting in France and renting in Italy.

There are other answers on that thread.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/renting-in-france-and-driving-to-italy-and-driving-back-to-france

Posted by
1676 posts

I would rent a car separately in both countries to be safe. Take a train between countries. A lot of train stations have car rentals in them. The intercountry rules are so confusing, to me it isn't worth the concern.

I buy whatever insurance that covers the car with ZERO deductible. It is more expensive, but so is my trip. It is better than having thousands of dollars charged to your credit card. If it is too expensive, see if a car is really necessary. Trains and buses will get you almost everywhere in Europe.

Visit https://www.rome2rio.com/ and see if you really need a car. Good luck.

Posted by
331 posts

Nicolatwig, I do not know what CSP is. However, I do know that if you have an American Express card and pay for the auto coverage you can rent your car in France, drive through Italy and have coverage. American Express auto coverage is not available if you rent a car in Italy. We rented a car in Germany using the Amex coverage. We drove through Germany, Austria, Italy, & Switzerland all while being covered. This was in 2012(?). Coverage may have changed since then.