Car Hire in Italy: Insurance?

dutchcloggie

Hello,

I have booked a car through Enterprise car rentals at Milan Malpensa Airport in February. After all the stories about being sold insurance at car hire counters, I am confused (and a little afraid) of what they can legally tell me I should pay for, insurance-wise. Can someone enlighten me?

I have booked the car and snow chains (which is cheeky because they are compulsory in Italy in the winter so charging me extra for them seems...well...anyway...). I paid with a Mastercard. The confirmation says the rental price includes damage waiver and theft protection.

What IS damage waiver? And MUST I take out any additional insurance beyond my normal travel insurance? I think they normally try to sell me insurance that covers the excess in case of an accident? But what if I am happy to take the risk and just pay the excess if I were to be unlucky? What's the deal with 'stand alone insurance'?

Update: I have just read the small print of the rental agreement and it actually says that in winter months, snow chains are INCLUDED in the rental price. Yet they still let me purchase snow chains without mentioning that at all. I'll change my booking now but it makes me feel even more worried about renting a car. I feel I just don't understand the risks and right insurance requirements...

richardw

Are you familiar with driving in snow, with chains ?

Isn't snowy weather a bit risky to drive in without excess insurance? Why risk it?

NiftyDigits

You can and probably should buy stand-alone car hire excess insurance. It's much cheaper that the waiver offered by the car hire companies.
The difference is that in the event of an incident, you pay the car hire company yourself, obtaining an invoice etc and then submit a claim for reimbursement to your stand alone insurer.

MSE has an article here

dutchcloggie

Right, so if I buy stand alone excess insurance, I have everything I need and I can tell the people at the rental desk to stop trying to sell me anything else?
That's all I needed to know. It just seems so odd to have insurance for the excess. Because in normal insurance, you don't usually insure that excess, you just pay it. So it confused me. Thanks.

PeacefulWaters

dutchcloggie wrote: »

Right, so if I buy stand alone excess insurance, I have everything I need and I can tell the people at the rental desk to stop trying to sell me anything else?
That's all I needed to know. It just seems so odd to have insurance for the excess. Because in normal insurance, you don't usually insure that excess, you just pay it. So it confused me. Thanks.

The excess on many rentals is often several times what you'd accept on a normal motor policy.

£2 a day to cover nearly £3,000 of excess on a car I'm hiring in Iceland seems like a decent price to pay.

antenna

dutchcloggie wrote: »

Right, so if I buy stand alone excess insurance, I have everything I need and I can tell the people at the rental desk to stop trying to sell me anything else?
That's all I needed to know. It just seems so odd to have insurance for the excess. Because in normal insurance, you don't usually insure that excess, you just pay it. So it confused me. Thanks.

You WILL pay for any damage to your car,they will use your credit card to take the money.You then try to claim the money back from your stand-alone policy.........and good luck.....has anyone ever been paid out on their stand-alone policy?

CM66

I have claimed thorough I Hire Car Insurance without issue when my car was damaged in Sardinia a few years back.

Just had to send off the relevant documents from the hire company to show the damage and had been charged.

If i remember rightly it took a few weeks to process. For the sake of around £50 a year its worth having for extra piece of mind!

eDicky

dutchcloggie wrote: »

Right, so if I buy stand alone excess insurance, I have everything I need and I can tell the people at the rental desk to stop trying to sell me anything else?

Yes, but simply decline their own excess cover, without giving any reason or entering into any discussion. Your separate cover is nothing to do with them, simply say 'no thanks'..

But the more unscrupulous hire firms are likely to make up for the loss of that sale by inventing some damage to the car when you bring it back So inspect the car closely and make sure the report of existing damage includes every tiny scratch and blemish, interior, wheels etc, and is signed for correctly, before you take the car away.

NiftyDigits

....and don't leave before the car is checked and a final invoice received. No matter how they object at how busy they may be.

NiftyDigits

antenna wrote: »

You WILL pay for any damage to your car,they will use your credit card to take the money.You then try to claim the money back from your stand-alone policy.........and good luck.....has anyone ever been paid out on their stand-alone policy?

Yes.... paid promptly with no issues.