Cost of Car Rental Insurance Italy

Letizia,
I am renting a car in England and experienced the same sticker shock as you. I then used my AAA membership and they booked a car with all the insurance for much less. I am not sure if you have to be a member of AAA to take advantage of that service, however, we could have paid the annual membership and still come out ahead. I have also seen on another post that you can also rent a car through Costco if you have a membership.

Also, get ready for the expensive ticket that many tourist drives get in Italy.

Check the rates with AutoEurope. I always use them when I rent in Italy.

They have 3 websites you should check as deals vary among the 3:
www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com
www.autoeurope.eu (prices here are expressed in euro)

If you want zero deductible, under the insurance coverage options check on the box NO DEDUCTIBLE.
In the .eu website, to check the same you need to select REFUNDABLE EXCESS under the Excess Coverage option

Price will increase compared to leaving the box blank, however depending on which of the 3 websites you look at you might be ok with the results, as prices vary greatly (I just tested a random week in September with pick up FLORENCE ALL LOCATIONS). Try, but make sure you test all 3 websites above, using the same criteria (same dates, pick up locations, etc.), then go for the best deal for you. Also, if you pick up in Florence, make sure you select FLORENCE ALL LOCATIONS, as you will have the largest choice compared to selecting Airport only.

Also, get ready for the expensive ticket that many tourist drives get in Italy.

Only those who don't do their homework and/or ignore the traffic and ZTL laws get an expensive ticket. We spent 10 days in Tuscany, driving from Rome to there and back. We traveled rural roads and drove on the Autostrada from the airport and back. We visited a number of towns in Tuscany, including Sieana, Greve, Radda, San Gimignano and Volterra. We did opt to take the bus from Greve into Florence, because it is our custom to commute into any large city from the countryside.

I keep reading these horror stories, but when you dig into the details it is because people didn't see or ignored the very well marked ZTLs or they were speeding. Italy has a zero tolerance for speeding, especially in the countryside and small towns. They also use automated systems to monitor car speeds. You may not see a policeman, but that doesn't mean the police aren't monitoring your speed.

Do your homework on signage. Assume anywhere within the walls of a hill town is ZTL and look for the signs. Don't speed. If you do this, you'll come home like I did, ticket free after having a wonderful, stress free time.

Roberto- Thank you for your response. Our "package" already comes with the rental car included and when I add on the cost of requesting an automatic, the gas, the toll roads, parking fees at our hotel and the zero deductible coverage it brings the price up enough that our great deal may be more expensive than just taking trains.
We really just want a car for the Tuscany part of our trip. With our package landing us in Milan we are seriously thinking of just skipping the car rental, taking the train to our town in Tuscany and renting a car there for 2-3 days. The cost will be less than the upcharge for the automatic and we had planned to do a train to Florence and Lucca anyway. So the car was really just to do some wineries and visit the Chianti Region and we are only in Tuscany for 5 full days.

DougMac- Reading up on all of that now, thanks for your input.

you should compare the cost and ease of renting a car and driver per day, your hotel can offer suggestions (someone's brother or uncle is always ready and willing). also check with Rick's suggested city guides they will know people who know people.

Skip the car rental part of the package. Just rent for the few days you need using the websites I gave you above. Pick up the car in Florence. I rented a compact SUV in April and again in July in Florence through AutoEurope for 3 weeks each time, and the cost was about $400+ a week (with NO DEDUCTIBLE insurance). If you rent just for 3-4 days it might even be less, depending on the time of the year and the type of vehicle.

I always request manual transmission, since I'm a boomer and only drive manuals, also in America (it's the best anti-theft device you can find, since none of the young kids who steal cars know how to drive one in the US). If auto transmission costs a lot more, see if you can drive a manual rental car instead.

If you plan to drink and drive in the Chianti, make sure you can handle it. Alcohol levels for DUI in Italy are much lower than in the US, so all you need is a glass and you are over the limit.

Phred- that is such a good point. The hotel I am staying at actually says they can help with car rental so I might just take them up on that, or use Roberto's suggestion to pick up in Florence.

Roberto- Yea I think we are leaning towards skipping the car rental, but picking up a car in Florence means we would need to return to Florence...Which can be worked out as we are going to spend a day there anyway and can return it on our way back to Milan, timing it 3 days before we depart. I LOVE your logic on the Manual not as easy to steal, ha ha...never thought of that. Good to know on the alcohol limit, we plan on eating small bites at each winery so hopefully that will help. I am not a big drinker, but since I can only drink organic wines I am really looking forward to some tastings, and I will not be driving.

You’re in Tuscany, not Naples. So maybe skip upgrading your insurance to the most expensive level?