Extra insurance for car rental? Rip-off or Recommended?

VISA told us explicity and clearly we were covered for any eventuality and so we declined the extra insurance. We had an accident. I called VISA to find out how to make a claim and they told me what to do and then said that it MIGHT be covered but they had to investigate. In the end, when we dropped off the car, the depot had a bigger problem in the waiting room than our damage and didn't make issue with the (not) minor damage to our car. Now we pay the extra for peace of mind.

My personal experience with the person I get when I call a credit card company is that they are likely a low level operator trained to answer basic questions, and usually do not know the fine details of your benefits (it says you have insurance coverage so you do). I would be very reluctant to take their word without seeing it in writing. Advice given to me a while ago said to get the name of the actual insurance company providing the coverage and would handle the claim (It is not Visa) then call them. While I have not personally relied on CC Insurance and have had to file a claim, if you search this board you will find previous discussions and reports from people who have, I would venture to say that most regretted the decision. Other reports from people who did get into accidents and had the Rental Company CDW report a better experience. Myself, in Europe and Mexico, I spring for the super CDW, for me, it is worth having a worry free vacation, and if there are issues, I pretty much can walk away rather than deal with claims for the next couple months.

I will be interested to see what the reply is here because last year we rented a car and had to pay theft upfront with the car BUT when we got back we were charged an extra 200 dollars for insurance. Be wary!
Pat

This quote from the Auto Europe site may help you. General Information
Car rental insurance varies widely, so please review the information below prior to making your reservation. Regulations of the country where you rent the car will be in effect for the duration of your rental. All our car rental rates include fire and third party liability insurance. In Italy, all our rates also provide collision and theft coverage. Specific insurance information for your reservation will be printed on your confirmation voucher. Super CDW may be offered locally to reduce the deductible as low as zero. The following guidelines apply to rentals commencing in Italy. Required Coverage In Italy Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and theft protection are mandatory. CDW reduces the deductible (responsibility of the client) to US$125-US$1180. Theft protection reduces the deductible to US$305-US$1180. Third party liability insurance covers a maximum of US$2,000,000 in case of damage or injury to people or property outside of the rental car. Fire insurance is also included in our rates. End of quote. If you want to get Super CDW to reduce your liability to zero, it probably will be cheaper to get it from someone like insurance4carhire.com rather than from the rental company.

I believe that theft and collision is mandatory in Italy on rentals. Also most credit card companies won't provide coverage in Italy even if they do provide it elsewhere. Be sure to carefully check to see if you can be covered. A lot of people opt for the extra coverage. It is very easy to get dinged or to scrape a fender in a narrow street. There are also separate policies that can be obtained for the duration of your trip that will cover the rental car deductible. Perhaps someone here can provide some names.

There is not a good answer to this question. Credit card insurance varies from card to card but there have been a couple of horrid stories posted here when credit card companies refused to step in for major accidents. The other consideration is that with a third party insurer you will always be in the middle. No one is your friend if you put a big dent in the car.

Thank you for your responses. Please keep responding. I thought I would clarify with additional info..... I was told by Visa (with my particular Visa card) that if I decline all coverage, that Visa would cover me without me having to pay a deductible. I would be protected against theft, physical damage and vandalism regardless of fault. They would not cover for anything stolen or damaged inside the car, nor to injury to us in the car. They said it does not cover scooters, only cars. They said that I might want to get some kind of personal effects coverage if our home insurance doesn't cover it - (it doesn't) Hertz told me that they cover for body injury or propterty damage to us. No coverage to other car or people in the other car - that's what the Visa supposedly would cover. My reservation says theft only. When I walk up to the counter, can I get theft only with no additional charges or will I be forced to buy the additional/ get a bill later for it? Has anyone out there rented with ONLY theft and been covered with their credit card? Thank you.

Being told is not the same reading it in the fine print. This is an area that you cannot be too careful. My son had a bad experience with VISA in the US when his rental was sideswiped by a hit and run when the car was parked on a street. Damage was over two thousand. VISA refused because a box or a blank on the rental form will not filled our properly. The rental company tried to support him with VISA but no luck. In the end the he and the rental company split the damage. Still a big out of pocket expense. I personally would not rely on a credit card company in a substantial claim.

The absolute #1 peace of mind coverage in Italy is to buy Super CDW from the rental car company. Yes, it's a rip-off. But ANY third-party coverage is going to leave you potentially vulnerable to red tape, fine print, delays, claim denials, reporting deadlines, etc. Like Paul, I grin and bear it and fork over the dough.

My husband is an insurance agent and he buys the CDW. As others have mentioned, the hassles with the credit card companies are just not worth it, ESPECIALLY overseas.

Are you sure Visa knew you were talking about rental in Italy when you called to ask?

Yes, to answer the question... Visa did know I was asking specifically about Italy. In fact, they have a short list of countries which they won't cover at all when renting a car and waiving the coverages. In fact, I spoke to a specific division of Visa that deals with car rental benefits. Still doing research.... Thank you to all of you who are giving advice. I appreciate your wisdom. Keep the knowledge coming!

Generally speaking, in most cases the extra super coverage from the rental car company is only going to add about a 80-100 euro to a weekly rental. If nothing happens, you're probably paying too much. but if you happen to have an problem, the coverage from the rental car company allows you in most "normal" cases to just walk away. You won't have to fight or hassle with any third party for the coverage.

People, this has nothing to do with Hertz or rental companies policies. Italian LAW mandates that all vehicles licensed in Italy (e.g., with Italian plates) must have (at least) a pre-defined set of Italian-issued insurance certificates, and those must cover theft. The law specifically includes rentals on the provision. So there is no way for you to get around the mandatory insurance, only the additional (excess waiver) insurance. As for additional insurance, it all goes down for each person and the rental length. For 2, 3 weeks rentals, the cost of excess waiver insurance usually hits up 50, 60% of the value of the excess. Be aware of AutoEurope promotions that offer excess waiver included in the price. A tip is to check the European versions of all car rental agencies, including AutoEurope. Especially, check the Italian version of AutoEurope (www.autoeurope.it) , which will often quote the same vehicles, same dates at lower total prices.