Global Vehicle Insurance on auto rental

My credit card does offer insurance for most countries but not Italy (comforting - right up there with Libya). I've been looking thru RS archives and think the term Global Vehicle Insurance may not be in general usage. We have CDWwith AutoEurope, and if the additional insurance is only 4.5 Euros per day as my rep thought, this would probably be worth getting anyway for peace of mind (especially since we are two couple splitting expenses. Did you rent your car thru American Express too? If you did not, and you didn't have to pay anything additional when you picked the car up, the extra insurance must not be mandatory?

" would appreciate any of you travel veterans weighing in on this" Do you need a car? Have you explored the use of trains & buses?

Liz, check your credit card - you may have all the coverage you need. I use American Express and do not buy additional coverage since it is included in my benefits.

@ Jim - I believe American Express rental car coverage excludes Italy. Correct me if I'm wrong. @Liz - the most complete, no hassle, no deductible, worry-free coverage is to buy "Super CDW" from the rental car company. Just tell the desk agent you want "100% no-deductible coverage." You can buy this coverage from third party insurers such as Travelguard, but if you have a problem you could be faced with a lot of hassles. If you buy it from the rental car company, you have "walk-away" coverage.

Tom - the CDW I have with Auto Europe is not Super (that was not offered) but it is zero deductble - I had thought of TravelGuard too, but am trying to find out if, when we pick up the car at the Rome Airport,we're going to be told that something else is mandatory. I thought perhaps someone reading might have recently had the experience we will be having soon. It does make sense that we would want to be insured for damage other than from collision. I'm trying to firm up our budget, as we are travelling with another couple, and this is one of the things I am responsible for. One of us is already bummed that I'm not guaranteeing an Alpha Romeo...

Bob, thanks for the thought - the short answers are Yes and Not a Lot. We have been given the use of a house in a small town in Tuscany off the bus routes. The owner is a friend who stays often at the house and who has told us that we will need a car to tour all the small towns around as we want to. We will take public transportation for, say, a day trip to Florence, though the more we talk with folks who have driven around Tuscany, the more we thing we may just skip Florence this trip, and opt for Siena instead - and save Florence, if we are really lucky, for some return trip -