Car rental in Italy

I rent through AutoEurope when I go to Italy

https://www.autoeurope.com/travel-guides/italy/italy-car-rental-insurance/

I don't know the answer to your question about the specifics of CDW coverage, you'd have to have a look at the details. However, my two cents is to always pay for zero-deductible or "super" coverage for a rental car in Italy. You will scrape a fender or two, or be scraped/have a side mirror removed. It's pretty much impossible to keep a car pristine on smaller roads. This applies doubly if you're going anywhere near the Amalfi Coast/Sorrento peninsula.

This is speaking from plenty of my own experience and the experiences of various guests...

If you are renting directly from the company, there is usually an additional Personal Injury insurance that you can opt into at the time of reservation or pickup. I know that Sixt, Hertz, and Avis/Budget offer this

I agree with Nelly, outside of the U.S. I always opt for all the insurance. I also have decided it's best to get it directly from the car rental company. We recently rented in Scotland through Costco, and I bought Costco 3rd party insurance for $30 total. But when I got to the car rental place, they explained that I'd still be responsible for each incident ($1500/incident) and then would have to apply to be reimbursed. We decided not to risk it and paid the extra to get the full insurance from National. So, the $30 was wasted. Not too much and it's my own fault for not fully understanding the plan. I had called Costco to get clarification but the answer was vague so I should have known better.

In Italy I've used AutoEurope which is a bundler, but have always taken full coverage, zero deductable. I don't take the personal injury because we have separate travel insurance. Luckily I've never had an accident so I can't say how the claim process works.

If driving in Europe, I always get the maximum coverage offered by the rental company. It's usually quite expensive but it provides some peace-of-mind.

You may find it helpful to download the free car rental guide from this website - https://www.gemut.com/latest-travel-news/what-you-should-know-about-renting-a-car-in-europe . It has a section that describes CDW, etc.

For driving in Italy, don't forget to pack an International Driver's Permit along with you driver's license. It's mandatory in Italy.

Drive in Italy, beware where you can drive, many cities and towns won't even allow your vehicle into the city. If you drive there get ready for a huge ticket.

Many on this forum complain about getting huge tickets a year after they return from the trip. Consider taking the train.

I’ll second the personal injury insurance. CDW generally only covers the car. Read all the terms and conditions to ensure you get the coverage you think you’re getting. We had no tickets on our Sicily trip a few years ago. Drive carefully, at or below the speed limit, know what the ZTL signs look like, and you should be fine.

Many on this forum complain about getting huge tickets a year after they return from the trip. Consider taking the train.

Many on this forum who got huge tickets didn't follow the easy-to-understand rules of driving in Italy. Don't speed. There's zero tolerance. Speed cameras are used so not seeing a policeman doesn't mean they don't see you. Who wants to speed through the lovely countryside anyway? There may be locals who want to go faster. I just found a spot to pull over and let them by.

Don't enter ZTLs. They are very clearly marked. Learn what the signs look like and obey them. Assume anywhere inside the walls of a hill town is ZTL. Avoid driving in large cities where you may get confused. We park outside large cities and take the commuter train in.

We drove from Rome to Tuscany and back. We spent 10 days driving all over Tuscany with absolutely no problems, including driving into Siena. In almost every post fussing about the tickets, when you read the details the poster made an easily avoidable mistake. One griper sticks out. He got multiple fines for speeding. It turns out his companions thought he was driving too slow and insisted on taking the wheel and drove way over the speed limit.

ZTLs explained:

http://driventoit.blogspot.com/

N_Kingdom's link is very useful. I actually saw that information before we went to Tuscany and it helped us have a safe and ticket free experience.

In addition to the major cities in Italy, we do not drive in big cities in other European countries. If we have a car, we stay in the suburbs and take the fast and inexpensive commuter trains into town. For instance, we stayed in the charming town of Linlithgow outside of Edinburgh. We stayed at a farm B&B that specializes in raising Clydesdales. We got to see a very pregnant mare. There was a chance she'd deliver while we were there, but to both her and our disappointment, she did not deliver until after we left.

We rented through AutoEurope using Hertz at MXP back in July. We had full insurance offered through AutoEurope. Happy that we bought "walk away" insurance as we had a minor incident on our last morning with the car. It made drop off of the car stress free with no hassle. Fingers crossed - it's 6 months since our trip. So far no speeding tickets in the mail! I tried my best to stay at the limit or below. Though a couple times we found speed cameras just after a sign for a lower limit with barely time to reduce speed.

Take some time and familiarize yourself with Italian street signs. Especially to understand ZTLs. It really isn't that difficult. Follow the speed limit closely. Keep an eye out for the orange speed cameras. If you aren't 100% at ease with a manual transmission, splurge on an automatic. It's one less thing to focus on while driving in an unfamiliar area. Also, I'd advise not renting a car larger than what you really need. Some streets are narrow especially in smaller villages. A small car is just plain easier to park.