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Which car hire excess insurance policy is best for car rental in Italy?

Car Hire Insurance in Ireland is provided by a wide range of insurers - We explain how you can search for the best policy for your needs and show how to compare them.

What Car Hire Excess Insurance do I need when I hire a car in Italy?

With car rental in Italy when booked through a UK website, you would normally find the main insurances of Collision Damage Waiver, Theft Protection and Third Party are included. Car hire excess insurance can work alongside the main insurance to cover several of the areas that you would still be liable for. Car hire excess insurance works on a reimbursement basis for the excess and for the cost of damage to the windows, mirrors, tyres, wheels, roof and under body. These are areas which are usually excluded from the CDW cover provided by your car hire company. You would be required to pay for the damage and reclaim the funds through the policy.

Which particular features of policies might be useful when choosing a hire car excess insurance policy to best fit your car hire in Italy?

Italy has some of the highest excess levels when it comes to car hire - some can be as high as €3000! Any of the policies through the MoneyMaxim comparison service can cover this level of excess. We have policies which cover excesses in excess of £10,000.

Some regions of Italy have a higher instance of car theft and, for this reason, some of the car hire companies add further conditions to their insurance. For example, if the car is stolen in certain areas listed in the policy document, the theft excess may be increased by as much as double. The additional excess waivers offered by the companies may also not cover the full theft excess if the car is stolen within the specified areas.

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By using the MoneyMaxim car hire excess insurance comparison service, you will easily be able to compare different policies - and their features - from leading excess insurers in the UK.

What does car hire insurance cover?

When booking car hire in Italy you will usually find your package includes Collision Damage Waiver, Theft Protection and Third Party Liability Insurance. Collision Damage Waiver and Theft Protection both usually come with an excess and these can be fairly hefty in Italy. These excesses are what renters wish to cover with a car hire excess protection policy. Excess policies through MoneyMaxim also contain a number of additional benefits, such as misfuelling and towing cover.

If you are not a UK resident, or you have booked through a non-UK website, it is a good idea to check the insurances above are included within your car rental package. Collision Damage Waiver can be covered through separate policies or through their credit card for US and Canadian residents so they may find they do not have all the main insurances within their car hire.

Getting a Car Hire Excess Insurance Quotation

Here, we help you through the quote process to find the best car hire excess insurance for Italy to suit your needs. On the first page of the MoneyMaxim car hire excess comparison service you will be asked just a few questions.

What vehicle type are you hiring?

There are policies available which specifically cover motorhomes, for example, and not all car hire excess policies will cover up to 9 seats so choose the correct option for your hire from the drop down list.

What type of policy would you like?

Annual policies can cover as many car hires as you need during the 12 months BUT there is a maximum trip length for each of those hires. Please check each policy for the trip length limit. Short term policies cover just one single car hire though these can often cover longer car rentals than the annual policies.

Country of Residence

There are policies which can be used by residents of countries from anywhere in the world whereas others can only be purchased by residents of the UK. If you are not sure where you are considered resident, choose a policy based on where you believe you are resident, then confirm this with that particular insurance company. Each company has different criteria when it comes to residency status so it is always best to check with the insurer before you buy.

Where are you hiring your vehicle?

All European policies will cover Italy so you can either select this or, if you would prefer, select Italy from the drop down list.

Note: If you are intending to drive your rental car over a border then you will need permission from your hire company and to pay any relevant fees. If you have an incident in another country without cross-border permission, you may find your car hire insurance is invalid and therefore any excess insurance will not take effect either.

Taking your hire car to an Italian island?

Many car hire firms will have restrictions on taking your rental car on a ferry - say to Capri, Sardinia or Sicily. They may ban it altogether, or more often will allow it but will not cover damage sustained on the ferry. If you are taking your car on a ferry, read our specific article on the subject where we explain how we can cover car hire insurance for ferry journeys.

Are you renting in your country of residence?

For example if you are resident in Italy and hiring in Italy then you will need to say 'yes' to this question. Some policies can not be used by people hiring in their home country. These policies will be omitted from your results if you advise us you are a resident in Italy and are also hiring in the same country.

How to review your results to find the best car hire insurance policy for you

Once you have entered your details (including the dates and times to match your car hire if it is a short term policy) you can click on 'Next Step'.

You can select 'Vehicle Hire Excess Insurance' if you are only looking to cover the excess on your car hire insurance. Excess cover together with CDW is an option for those who do not have the main insurance included with their hire.

Once you have proceeded to the next page, you will need to tick each of the boxes to confirm you have read and understood the statements.

Please read the final section carefully and enter your name and email address if you would like a copy of your results table emailed to you. Otherwise you can proceed without entering these details and just have the results appear on your screen.

You should now be able to see a table of results. Our unique comparison service can do more though! It allows you to tailor your policy still further to find the best car hire excess insurance for your requirements in Italy.

The options include the following:

• Courtesy Car Cover - If your car needs to go in to the garage for repairs, you are often offered a courtesy car by the repairers to keep you on the road. If you select this filter you will be covered for the excess in this situation as well. You do need to make sure you have a formal agreement with the garage which shows full details of your liability. Check your courtesy car agreement and the terms and conditions of any excess insurance policy if you are thinking about taking a garage car overseas.

• Personal Effects / Baggage Cover - You will find a good travel insurance policy will usually offer much better coverage for your personal items than those available through a car hire excess policy. Also bear in mind that there are conditions applied to baggage cover under excess policies which could mean there is a limit to their benefit to you.

• Multiple lead driver policies - All the excess insurance policies in your results will cover at least one additional driver on a car hire for free. However, if other members of the family, or someone living at the same address also hires cars, these policies allowing more than one lead driver can come in very useful. These are only available as annual policies and can be found by ticking the box 'Policies allowing more than one lead driver'. Please note that conditions do apply and more information can be found under the Details button.

• Business Use - If you are hiring a car for business reasons then you will need to make sure the policy will cover you for the purpose you intend. Even when the policies will offer business use, you should still check the level of business cover they provide as they have different criteria. Use the Details button to find more information on what business use is covered and a link to the full policy document.

With all the policies shown in your results we provide even more information so you can compare the options further. On the right hand side of the table, use the Compare button to see the benefit levels of multiple policies side by side - and once you have selected the policies you wish to compare - click on the compare button at the top of the table . The Details button allows you to view more information about each policy and Reviews gives access to feedback from previous customers about their experience with that particular insurance company.

Once you are happy with any policy you can click on Quick Buy or Buy Now to proceed to purchase.

Do you have any more questions? - Call the MoneyMaxim team on 0118 321 8197 who will be very pleased to assist you in your search - we have been helping customers find car hire excess insurance for more than 10 years now and will be delighted to help you too.

This content was last reviewed on 29/01/2024

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General Car Hire Insurance Questions Answered

• Does it matter what time of day I collect or return my hire car?
• What Does All Inclusive Car Hire Insurance Cover?
• What is Personal Effects Cover (PEC) and do I need it?
• Can a hire company refuse to accept a car hire excess policy?
• Do I need car hire cancellation insurance?
• What if I need a policy to cover two groups?
• Can I get car hire excess insurance to cover business use?
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• Is damage to windows and tyres covered?
• Are there credit cards which offer Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Excess Insurance?
• Will car rental firms preauthorise on my credit card when I have car hire excess insurance?
• Does deductibles mean the same as excess?
• Do I need Car Hire Excess Insurance when I rent a car?
• How does your car hire excess insurance work?
• What if I have a problem printing or downloading the car hire insurance document?
• Does my car rental agreement already include insurance?
• Do I have to pay an excess if I buy a car hire excess insurance?
• Can I use motorhome hire excess insurance to cover peer-to-peer hires?
• Are other people travelling with me covered?
• No Excess Car Hire - What does this include?
• Will car hire insurance cover me if I pick the car up at one location and return it to another?
• Can I use car hire excess insurance to cover peer-to-peer hires?
• What is Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) and do I need it?
• What is covered by the Theft insurance included in the car rental price?
• What if I am unable to open my MoneyMaxim email with my car hire or car hire excess insurance quotes on?
• What does towing cover on car hire excess insurance include and how does it work
• Which insurance do I need for my car hire?
• What do zero excess car hire insurance policies offer?

Your Driver related Questions Answered

• What are the age limits on Car Hire Insurance policies? Are policies available for those over 85?
• Can I buy car hire excess insurance if I am under 21 years old?
• Do I need to buy a second excess insurance policy for an additional driver?
• Can I cover two or more lead drivers on one policy?
• Are other people travelling with me in my hire car covered?

Car Hire Companies - Your Insurance Questions Answered

• What insurance policies do Alamo offer?
• What insurance policies are offered by Auto Europe?
• What is Avis Insurance Cover like? Do they have CDW, Liability and Excess Waiver Cover?
• What insurance policies are offered by Budget?
• What insurance policies are offered by Car Hire Brokers? And are they a good deal?
• Does Sixt include CDW in its car hire packages?
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• National Car Hire - are their Super Cover collision damage waiver excess policies a good deal?
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• My hire company offers Super CDW or Excess cover? What is this?
• Super CDW, Deductible or Non Waiver - Terms Explained

Daily and Annual Policy related Questions Answered

• What is an Annual Car Hire Excess Insurance Policy?
• What are the advantages of buying annual car hire excess insurance?
• What do you mean by annual policy? Can I use it throughout the year?
• What are the restrictions on the Annual Excess Policies?
• What does Daily Car Hire Excess Insurance mean?
• My car hire is for 31 days. Should I take a daily 31 day car hire excess insurance policy or an annual policy?
• Should I buy an annual Car Hire Excess Insurance policy or single trip policy for my upcoming hire car?

Excess Insurance Questions Answered

• What is Covered by Baggage and Personal Accident Cover?
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• What Cover does Car Hire Insurance provide for Carjacking and Road Rage?
• What Cover does Car Hire Insurance provide for Curtailment or Restitution?
• Do I still have to provide my credit card for the excess on my hire car when purchasing a policy from you?
• What is Excess Waiver Insurance?
• What Countries are designated European for Excess Insurance?
• How do I know what the excess limit is for my hire car?
• What Cover is Provided by Car Hire Excess Cancellation Insurance?
• Do I have to have Excess Cover?
• Does Car Hire Excess mean I wouldn't have to pay for anything?
• What is an Excess on a Car Hire and what are my responsibilities for it?
• How large does my excess insurance limit need to be?

Vehicle related Questions Answered

• Do you cover vehicles such as Camper Vans, Caravans and Motor Bikes?
• Can I get excess insurance for a pickup truck?
• What cars are covered by car hire insurance?
• What kinds of vehicles can you be covered for by an excess insurance policy?

Purchase related Questions Answered

• Can I buy car hire excess insurance when I am not in the UK?
• How far in advance can I buy car hire excess insurance?
• Can I purchase your Excess Policies if I am not a resident of the UK?
• Can I just buy an insurance policy, or do I need specific dates to be able to buy my insurance?
• Is the price displayed a daily or total cost?
• When is the best time to get Excess Insurance?

Claims related Questions Answered

• How good are these companies at settling claims?
• How do I make a Claim on my Excess Insurance?
• Will a car hire accident claim affect my car no claims bonus?
• Does Excess Insurance cover Bodywork Claims?
• How are Excess Insurance Claims handled?
• How are worldwide policy claims handled?
• How are SLI/CDW Claims handled?
• Make Sure Your Car Hire Insurance Claim is Valid

Combined Worldwide CDW, SLI & Excess Policy Questions Answered

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• What are the features of the CDW/LDW & SLI Policy?
• What does the term Collision Damage Waiver mean?
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Questions on CDW & SLI Policies for the USA and Canada Answered

• What are the restrictions on the CDW/LDW & SLI Policy for the USA and Canada?
• If I purchase a Collision Damage Waiver and Supplementary Liability Insurance Policy, am I fully covered for car rental insurance in the USA and Canada?
• What are the requirements for car rental insurance in the USA and Canada?

• What is European Car Hire Excess Insurance?

Geographical related Questions Answered

• Why are there restrictions on UK usage?
• In which countries is Excess/Super CDW not charged?
• In which countries is Excess/Super CDW charged?
• Do Worldwide Excess Insurance Policies cover you everywhere in the world?

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