Liability Insurance for Rental Cars in Italy

Liability is included w/ all rentals in europe by law. You are protected for damage to people or property oustide your vehicle. $0 deductible. Your credit card compnay may not cover CDW in Italy. I know that AMEX will not. Better check with your cc company to find out.

I am leary of ever using Credit Card CDW as coverage, especially in Europe. Usually you are left to pay (or charged to your card) and then you hassle with reimbursement. For short term rentals, I pay the bucks for CDW to be "worry-free" for a longer term rental I would consider a third party rental coverage option.

Hi Debbie, when I looked at renting a car in Italy i found that CDW was included when renting online from the States. For a couple of days I would probably pay the big bucks for the peace of mind. I will be in Italy in about a week or so from now. I just firmed up my rental car with a big difference from your situation. I am picking my car up in Frankfurt and taking it into Italy. I am paying for Amex extra insurance. I could only do this because I am picking it up in FRA and driving it into Italy. Amex does not have any agreements with Italy about their coverage when a car is rented IN Italy. This will be the first time that I am paying for any extra rental coverage. My previous 4 trips I did not. Good luck and mind the ZTLs.

CDW may be a ripoff but in Italy it is worth the extra cost for peace of mind. At my advice, relatives took CDW for a rental in Ovieto (sp?), but they only got basic CDW with a 300 euro deductible, not the more expensive full coverage. When they returned the car, the attendant found a small scratch that would be ignored in the US. and probably in Germany and Austria. Wouldn't you know it, the cost of the repair came to exactly 300 euros. I now feel guilty for not pushing them to pay extra for zero-deductible CDW. Italy is the one country in Western Europe where I would get full coverage through the rental agency. I would also not depend on a credit card or AMEX premium to pay up if you rent in another country and drive into and have an accident in Italy. If any company can find an excuse not to pay, they probably won't.

Debbie, first of all, for driving in Italy you'll need the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which must be used in conjunction with your home D.L. Failure to produce an IDP can result in fines ON THE SPOT! I'd be VERY cautious about using credit card rental insurance, as there are numerous legal clauses and exclusions. One just about has to be a Lawyer to figure out the coverage! I saw one very good example of what can happen with rental car insurance (this involved AMEX). To summarize, the individual was responsible for the FULL COST of the car (about $17,000 as I recall). Ironically, the rental agency insurance would have covered him for those particular circumstances, but he chose to go with the credit card insurance. These days I usually just accept the rental agency "full package" with the lowest deductible possible, as I don't want any hassles. Happy travels!

Sales fares are used bundled up with Theft Protection and CDW, with not-so-large deductibles. The only companies there advertising unbundled fares are Hertz and Avis.