Renting a Car in Italy: What My Credit Card Covered
The short answer
In July 2026 I rented a car in Sicily, backed it into a pole thirty seconds into the trip, and paid nothing. Here is the short version, and then the whole thing.
Don't count on your US auto policy in Italy. Every policy names the territory it covers, and in my experience US personal auto policies stop at the United States, its territories and Canada. Mine did. Check the territory in yours, or call me and I'll read it with you. Overseas you have three options: buy the rental company's damage waiver at the counter, rely on a credit card benefit, or arrange separate coverage.
Credit card coverage works, but it depends entirely on which card. I carry two. Before the trip I called American Express about my Delta SkyMiles card and was told Italy was excluded. I called Chase about my Marriott Bonvoy card and was told it was covered. Two cards, same wallet, opposite answers about the same country.
So I booked the whole rental on the Chase card and declined the counter's coverage — two of the conditions a card benefit usually sets. When I damaged the car, Budget charged me about €1,750 and Chase reimbursed it in full in roughly five days.
The lesson is the phone call, not the card. Fifteen minutes before you book is the entire job. Assume you are uninsured abroad until an issuer tells you otherwise, and get that answer before you are standing at a counter.
The two phone calls
Before the trip I already knew my own policy wouldn't come with me. What I didn't know was which of my cards would cover a rental in Italy.
I called American Express first, about my Delta SkyMiles card, because it's the one I use most. Italy was on their excluded list.
I called Chase about my Marriott Bonvoy card. Chase confirmed they'd cover it.
That answer changed how I booked. Card coverage generally requires all three of these, and missing any one can void the benefit:
Reserve and pay for the entire rental with that card
Decline the rental company's collision damage waiver at the counter
Be the named renter on the agreement
So I booked on the Marriott Bonvoy card, paid for the rental in full on that card, and declined Budget's collision coverage at the counter. Three deliberate steps, all decided before I left the house.
I checked their paperwork afterwards
A phone call is a phone call, so I went back and read both issuers' own documents.
American Express publishes its exclusions. Its Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance Benefit Guide, revised April 2024, states that the plan does not cover "any vehicle rented in Australia, Italy, or New Zealand or any country subject to comprehensive sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control." Italy, named, in writing.
Its Marriott Bonvoy benefits page, as published in October 2026, sets out the conditions — "Decline the rental company's collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your Card" — and lists no countries. The full terms sit in the Guide to Benefits that Chase sends after account opening, and the page tells cardmembers to "call the number on the back of their card for assistance." So the page itself cannot tell you whether Italy is in or out, and the answer has to come from your guide or from a call to Chase.
One line on that page mattered more than I expected: "In the U.S., coverage is secondary to your personal insurance." Secondary means it pays after your own auto policy. But I wasn't in the US. My policy didn't reach Italy at all, so there was nothing for the card to sit behind. In practice it was the only thing covering that car.
That difference between the two issuers is the practical lesson, and it's why I can't just hand you a chart. One names its exclusions in a public benefit guide. For the other, the public page names none, so you ask.
What happened in Sicily
Thirty seconds into the trip I backed into a pole in a parking space, in 108-degree heat.
When I returned the car, the Budget agent photographed the damage, generated the estimate on the spot — somewhere around €1,750, call it $2,050 — charged my card, and emailed me the photos and the rental agreement.
That last part is why this story has a happy ending. I left the counter holding the complete claim file: the damage photos, the rental agreement, and the charge.
I filed with Chase when I got home, forwarded those documents, and was reimbursed in full, in US dollars, in about five days.
The plan worked. But only because I made two phone calls before I left. If I'd assumed my everyday card covered it, that's two thousand dollars out of pocket.
Your three options abroad
Abroad you have three ways to cover a rental car: buy the rental company's damage waiver at the counter, rely on a credit card benefit, or arrange separate coverage. The counter waiver is the only one of the three that doesn't depend on an issuer's country list. If you hurt somebody, a card benefit won't respond, so ask the rental company what liability cover comes with the rental before you sign.
Counter waiver (CDW) | Credit card benefit | Your US auto policy | |
|---|---|---|---|
Covers damage to the rental | Yes | Usually, with conditions | Read the territory in your own policy. Mine stopped at the US and Canada |
Covers liability to others | Sold separately, often compulsory locally | No | Generally not abroad |
Country exclusions | No issuer country list. Check its terms for the country you are in | Yes, and not always published | The policy territory itself |
What you must do | Accept and pay at the counter | Pay the full rental on the card, decline the CDW, be the named renter | Nothing, but check before you rely on it |
Cost | Highest | Included with the card | Already paid for, and probably not helping you here |
The middle column is the one people get wrong, because it's the only one with homework attached. Here's what card coverage does and doesn't do.
In some countries part of the counter's coverage is compulsory and already built into the rate — so read the quote before assuming you're being upsold.
What the card won't cover: people
Even when your card covers damage to the rental car, it typically does nothing for injuries or property damage you cause to somebody else.
Amex is explicit. Its April 2024 guide lists among things not covered: "personal liability, uninsured/underinsured motorists, personal injury protection, worker's compensation injuries, disability benefits of any kind, any coverage mandated by government or any other form of insurance coverage except as specifically described herein," and separately "injury of anyone or Damage to anything other than the Rental Vehicle."
Read that again, because it's the expensive half. My pole cost about €1,750. A person costs a different order of magnitude, and that is the exposure a credit card benefit is not built to touch.
If you take one thing from my trip, take this: the card handled the car. Nothing in my wallet would have handled a person.
Which is why liability matters more than anything else in this article. Ask what liability cover comes with the rental, and know what you carry at home. The New York numbers are below, and they are lower than most people assume.
Mexico is its own category
Even driving your own car across the border, your US liability coverage is not the thing that answers in Mexico. The US State Department, in guidance issued August 2026, puts it in seven words: "Mexican car insurance is required for all vehicles."
It goes further, and this is the part people do not expect. "Uninsured drivers involved in car accidents, major or minor, may be subject to arrest." And then: "Arrests can happen regardless of who is at fault."
Read that twice. Not a fine, not a claim you lose. Arrest, whether or not the accident was your doing. "I have full coverage at home" (collision and comprehensive, plus liability, on your own car) is not an answer to that. Before you drive into Mexico, call me and I'll tell you what to look for in a Mexican policy.
Worth knowing about the border-zone endorsement some carriers sell: it does a narrow job close to the border, and people routinely assume it does far more. Do not treat it as a substitute for a Mexican policy without checking exactly what it covers and how far it reaches. The State Department also notes that temporary vehicle permits are required once you drive beyond the immediate border area, roughly 12 miles in. That is a conversation to have before you book, not at the crossing.
If you're driving to Mexico, call me before you go and I'll walk you through what to ask for.
For New York drivers
A New York policy names a territory like any other, and in my experience that territory ends at the United States, its territories and Canada. Being insured in New York bought me nothing in Italy.
What New York does give you is a floor, and it is a low one. New York State DMV, as of October 2026, sets the legal minimum for most vehicles at $10,000 for property damage in a single crash. For bodily injury it is $25,000 per person and $50,000 for death of a person, rising to $50,000 and $100,000 where two or more people are involved. Abroad, a card benefit typically covers the car and not the person, and in my experience a New York policy's territory ends at the United States, its territories and Canada. So before an overseas trip, ask the rental company what liability cover is in the rate, and read the territory section of your own policy. At home, the limit you carry is the number that matters, and the state minimum is a low floor.
Worth checking before you travel rather than after. Most Long Island families I work with are carrying less than they think.
Frequently asked questions
Does my car insurance cover a rental car in another country? Generally no. Your policy names the territory it covers, and in my experience US personal auto policies stop at the United States, its territories and Canada. Renting in Italy, France, Costa Rica or nearly anywhere overseas, assume your policy does not travel with you until you have read its territory section, or call me and I'll check it with you.
Does my credit card cover a rental car in Italy? It depends entirely on the card. American Express's Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance names Italy as excluded, alongside Australia and New Zealand. Chase's public benefits page lists no countries, and I confirmed mine by calling Chase before I left. Two cards in the same wallet gave me two different answers.
How long does a card claim take? Mine was reimbursed in full, in US dollars, in about five days after I forwarded the documents. That's one claim on one card, not a service standard.
What should I keep if something happens? The rental agreement, the damage photos, and the final charge receipt. That was my entire claim file. Get all three at the counter, before you leave the return lane.
Is the counter waiver a waste of money overseas? No. Abroad it's often the cleanest option, and in some countries part of it is compulsory anyway.
Bottom line
Overseas, assume you're uninsured until you've confirmed otherwise — and confirm it before you book, not at the counter.
Two calls. Fifteen minutes. Mine was worth about two thousand dollars.
Renting at home rather than abroad? That's a different decision, and I've written it up separately: should you buy the rental company's insurance.
Going overseas? Call or text me at (631) 825-9106 with the country and the card you plan to use, and I'll tell you what to ask the issuer before you book.
This is general information about how personal auto policies and credit card benefits commonly work. It is not a description of your policy or your card's benefit, and it is not advice about your coverage. Coverage varies by policy, carrier, card, issuer, state and country, and card benefit terms change. Read your own policy and your own guide to benefits — or call us and we'll read them with you.
