I'm renting a car for a nine-day trip to Ireland. I was just looking at quotes from Auto Europe, which I have used many times in the past. Its "inclusive" rate has a deductible of approximately US$1855, which seems really high to me; I'm used to much lower deductibles from Auto Europe rentals. The fine print indicates that additional coverage may be available from the rental car company but gives no indication of what that cost might be.

I tried looking into a stand-alone car rental policy from Travel Guard, but it informed me that Irish rental car companies don't accept its coverage or that of ther US insurance companies. Then I looked more closely at the Auto Europe info and it says that insurance from any source other than Auto Europe, the local car supplier, or MasterCard is not accepted.

I don't have a credit card that will cover a rental in Ireland.

Does anyone have any information on:

1) what the cost might be if I buy more coverage from the rental car company?

2) if I buy more coverage, should I bother with booking Auto Europe's inclusive rate, or go with its basic rate (so as to avoid spending twice for insurance)?

3) any stand-alone policies that might be accepted by a car rental company (other than Auto Europe, since it indicates no)?

I really don't want to be liable for $1855 in case of problems, especially in a country where we'll be driving on the wrong side of the road for us!

Linda - I can't answer all your questions but just give you a rough idea of a daily charge for CDW (this will not include personal injury probably) if you add this on - depending on the size of the car and the company supplying it, this could lie somewhere in the €15 to €20/day bracket so it is a hefty add on. You need to find out who supplies the car and ask them for an exact figure so you can do your sums in advance.