Mandatory Car Rental Insurance in Italy?
Apr 1st, 2012, 02:40 PM
#1
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Mandatory Car Rental Insurance in Italy?
I keep hearing conflicting information. We will be renting a car at FCO in April, and want to be sure we are covered if we have an accident.
Apr 1st, 2012, 03:36 PM
#3
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Hi i,
CDW is required in Italy.
You also need an International Driver's permit.
However, check with your credit card to see if they are one of the few who will cover you in Italy. In that case they will send you confirmation that you don't have to buy the CDW.
CDW is required in Italy.
You also need an International Driver's permit.
However, check with your credit card to see if they are one of the few who will cover you in Italy. In that case they will send you confirmation that you don't have to buy the CDW.
Apr 1st, 2012, 04:03 PM
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Check http://www.economycarrentals.com/ ; it offers much lower rates than Kemwel with no deductible as long as the pick-up location and return location are the same. I've used this broker in Turkey and Sicily with no problems, but then I had no claim to make.
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Apr 1st, 2012, 07:32 PM
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Have your done your checking on various auto rentals as I suggested?
If so, and insurance is 'mandatory', then it should be built into the price.
bobthenavigator has a good point, don't go for the cheapest rate if it has too many gotchas. Risk vs. reward.
Call the various rental companies, check their websites, and then make your decision.
You can tell by now, that planning and research are important to me before leaping. I want to look before I leap.
If so, and insurance is 'mandatory', then it should be built into the price.
bobthenavigator has a good point, don't go for the cheapest rate if it has too many gotchas. Risk vs. reward.
Call the various rental companies, check their websites, and then make your decision.
You can tell by now, that planning and research are important to me before leaping. I want to look before I leap.
Apr 1st, 2012, 07:48 PM
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i am a huge huge kemwel fan. we have rented from them at least 6 times and in several countries. if you call them, they will beat any price autoeurope quotes... and match the coverage. also-- they know their stuff and will spend time explaining. oddly, though they beat autoeurope's prices, the cars we have gotten have generally been from autoeurope pickup. sometimes hertz-- depending on country and i think you may have input on that.
kawh
kawh
Apr 2nd, 2012, 06:20 AM
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It's not odd. Kemwel and Autoeurope are sister companies. Autoeurope will match or beat Kemwel's prices too. I've done more than 100 rentals from AutoEurope and a few from Kemwel as well. They are essentially the same company.
Apr 2nd, 2012, 06:57 AM
#12
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St. Cirq, your explanation is clear as a bell.
And, yes, Rastaguytoday, I've done my due diligence on this issue, and thank you for your concern.
Today, I will follow Ira's advice and contact my credit card companies about the Cdw.
And, yes, Rastaguytoday, I've done my due diligence on this issue, and thank you for your concern.
Today, I will follow Ira's advice and contact my credit card companies about the Cdw.
Apr 2nd, 2012, 07:21 AM
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If you want to go through the rigamarole, you will likely find the best prices on the AutoEurope.it site, or the European sites of non-US agencies such as Hertz.it. You can then phone AutoEurope or Kemwell here in the US, and ask them to match the price.
This strategy has worked well for me a number of times in Italy.
Details here; please note the last post of mine about a drop off fee that was requested on a pre-paid AE rental.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...c-question.cfm
And here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-resident.cfm
I doubt if you can find a credit card that will cover your rental in Italy. Let us know if you do.
This strategy has worked well for me a number of times in Italy.
Details here; please note the last post of mine about a drop off fee that was requested on a pre-paid AE rental.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...c-question.cfm
And here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-resident.cfm
I doubt if you can find a credit card that will cover your rental in Italy. Let us know if you do.
Apr 2nd, 2012, 09:08 AM
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ekscrunchy,
I'm learning this process as I go along. I called both CitiBank and Capital One, and there is Cdw on both cards. Next I called Auto Europe and was told that the actual counter in FCO is Hertz for my car pick-up.
The rep further told me that "In Italy when you rent a car you have no option of refusal on the Cdw because it is mandatory to be included in your rental, even though your two credit cards will give you coverage."
Who do you believe?
I'm learning this process as I go along. I called both CitiBank and Capital One, and there is Cdw on both cards. Next I called Auto Europe and was told that the actual counter in FCO is Hertz for my car pick-up.
The rep further told me that "In Italy when you rent a car you have no option of refusal on the Cdw because it is mandatory to be included in your rental, even though your two credit cards will give you coverage."
Who do you believe?
Jul 16th, 2012, 02:12 PM
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I am wondering about this too. Our Amex does not cover in Italy so we will need CDW. But do we also need personal liability insurance? I can't find anything on the Kemwel or Autoeurope websites on this.
Jul 16th, 2012, 03:19 PM
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I was a travel agent for many years and had several clients that found out that their credit card coverage wasn't as good as they thought. Since then, I always take out the car rental's coverage. I used to always use my gold card and think it was the same as the card rental company's damage waiver. Make sure you read the fine print on the policy as it is quite complicated if you get into an accident. The credit card companies all use different insurance underwriters and it is up to the underwriter as to how they will settle the claim.
Short Story:
Women rents car and pays on her gold visa. Women has major accident (total write off) and thinks she has coverage with credit card. The car rental company sends an invoice to the credit card company for the cost to replace a new vehicle plus the additional amount they are out of pocket by having a car out of commission until they can replace the vehicle. The credit card company has a different idea of what they think the car is worth and send book value without the out of pocket expenses. Women is sued by car rental company for the difference. She ends up paying lawyers and in the end settles with the car rental company as she could not afford a long drawn out court case. This happened in Canada. I'd hate to think of what would happen if the story took place in Italy...perhaps you are detained.
We had a small fender bender in Italy and had Avis' full insurance coverage. We paid a 30E admin fee and walked away without any issues. I personally think it's worth the extra peace of mind when travelling abroad.
Short Story:
Women rents car and pays on her gold visa. Women has major accident (total write off) and thinks she has coverage with credit card. The car rental company sends an invoice to the credit card company for the cost to replace a new vehicle plus the additional amount they are out of pocket by having a car out of commission until they can replace the vehicle. The credit card company has a different idea of what they think the car is worth and send book value without the out of pocket expenses. Women is sued by car rental company for the difference. She ends up paying lawyers and in the end settles with the car rental company as she could not afford a long drawn out court case. This happened in Canada. I'd hate to think of what would happen if the story took place in Italy...perhaps you are detained.
We had a small fender bender in Italy and had Avis' full insurance coverage. We paid a 30E admin fee and walked away without any issues. I personally think it's worth the extra peace of mind when travelling abroad.
