Insurance for rented cars - which one do you use?

I user Insurance4carhire.com. UK based, but you can buy cover if you live outside the UK. It's 40 pounds for a year's excess insurance and their service was excellent on the one time I had to use it.

http://www.insurance4carhire.com/european-car-hire-excess-insurance

Read carefully the details on the website listed by CM above. This policy covers you only if you live in certain specified countries. Belgium is not one of them. If you live in Belgium you would not be covered.

do you speak & write fluent Italian or Portuguese ?
If not, stay 100% away of all 3rd parties car insurance!
Tripadvisor is full of stories on this matter - sorry, but if cannot afford a car hire, take the trains / buses / trams of the respective country ..less hassle in case of trouble.

I am affiliated with AVIS and SIXT, have hired in IT and PT with 0 access, but anyway with (hopefully) 100% scratch controls on pick'ups and on returns ...no hefty bills afterwards, no stories.
FYI - in Italy I had anyway always a hold of over 1,250 EUR for a small car on my cc. So pay also attention on this + the famous ZTL's etc. Good luck!

Bruce M's rather alarmed me as I take out an annual excess insurance for just over forty pounds per year. The insurance is always with a major, currently Allianz, and checking with user sites service is good, I have not yet had to call upon the coverage.
It is true that if you do not take up the very expensive excess coverage offered by your car rental company a deposit will be demanded. This varies, I recently had to pay 1300Euros in France ( not actually paid but held on my credit card but do remember to extend your card maximum if necessary before you travel) but in Spain and Italy this year it was about 300.
So I checked with my insurer and received this response by return
( iCarhireinsurance customer service is excellent)

Jun 30, 10:18 BST
Dear Malcolm,

Thank you for your email.

Residents of Belgium are eligible to have our policies.

In summary, we will reimburse rental vehicle excess charges of up to £6,000 for any single incident or £6,000 for a series of incidents during the term of your policy. The policy is designed to cover excess charges which are applied by the Rental Company for accidental damage to the Rental Vehicle including any caused by fire, theft, vandalism, damage to windscreens, tyres, roof and under-carriage.

We will pay up to £1,000 for any rental fees charged by the Rental Company for which You are liable during a period for which the Rental Vehicle is unable to be used by You and for any related towing costs including any additional costs incurred by You arising from the breakdown of the Rental Vehicle for You to travel home or to Your destination, as long as those fees or costs are the result of accidental damage or theft.

Missfuelling: We will pay up to £1,000 in the event that the wrong type of fuel is put into the Rental Vehicle by any person named on the Vehicle Rental Agreement.

This is only a summary of some of the main features of the policies, for full details please view the policy documents which are available to download from our website - www.icarhireinsurance.com.

Europe Territory includes all European Union (EU) Member States and countries to the West of the Ural Mountains. However, it excludes any claim resulting from you travelling to a specific country or to an area where The Foreign and Commonwealth Office or equivalent body have advised against all or all but essential travel.

Our Excess Europe policies would cover you for rentals made in the following countries:

Akrotiri, Albania, Andorra, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dhekelia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco (Monte Carlo), Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Madeira, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

We also have an FAQ's page on our website which supplies the answers to many questions, www.icarhireinsurance.com/insurance-information-centre/faqs

Please let us know if you require any further assistance.
Kind regards,
Bethany
iCarhireinsurance