I will be renting a car in Italy for 2 wks. Rentals in Italy require you to purchase the CWD. I have been informed by Visa that there is no need to purchase the additional "super" CWD at the desk when the car is picked up. Am. Exp card says that they do not cover the damages above the required CWD. Has anyone experienced an Italian rental using a Visa card that resulted in damage to the car. The "super" CWD is most expensive at 30 US dollars per day. I do not like taking chances but do not want to duplicate Visa's coverage. Thanks in advance, Carol from Boston
Posted by
Monterey County, CA (formerly Verbania Italy-Lago Maggiore)
1641 posts
First, read the fine print on your Visa car rental coverage (you may have to call to request, or look for on line). Our credit cards specifically excluded coverage for cars rented IN Italy coverage . Your's may be different. We actually rented a car in Germany, drove to and dropped in Italy 2 weeks later. Renting a car elsewhere and driving INTO Italy was covered by our AX coverage, but dropoff charge was very high. If you do have a credit card coverage, you must decline all coverage offered by the rental company or your credit car coverage is voided. Previous threads have indicated that it may be by difficult or impossible to decline coverage in Italy.
Posted by
Tucson
4183 posts
Once again, check with Andy at Gemut.com about these questions. My understanding is that you must get the extra insurance when you rent a car in Italy. It's not about coverage, it's about the law.
Posted by
Gaston, Oregon, USA
931 posts
Ditto Lo. Read all of the awesome rental car primer that Gemut has put together: http://www.gemut.com/images/stories/report/carrentalspecialreport.pdf "In both Italy and Israel, CDW and theft coverage must be purchased from the rental company. Some credit cards offer coverage in Italy, but it means nothing because all major rental car companies require the purchase of CDW and theft insurance. The only remaining question is will your credit card reimburse the deductible in case of damage or theft?
Apparently Visa will, but confirm with your credit card company. This a murky area." First of all check with YOUR VISA card company. IMO "Super CDW" is a rip-off, and worthless: it does not cover tires, wheels, windshields, underbody parts, re-scheduling of your rental if it becomes damaged, towing, locking your keys in your car, putting in the wrong fuel, etc. That is why we bought a supplemental policy thru a broker that covered all of this. Check policies at Thomas Cook Travel, Moneymaxim.co.uk, Travel Guard, etc. We shopped on the MMax site, bought a policy (look for one that covers US citizens) and used it to pay for my stupid mistake of putting gas in a diesel car.