Originally Posted by stut

Welcome to Flyertalk, Socal Travel Junkie.

It's a tricky one to answer from somebody based in the UK, as our experience will often be different to yours. It's not the norm here for your personal car insurance (if indeed you own a car) or credit card insurance to cover it for a rental ("hire") car. So the rates we get always include basic insurance (including mandatory third party), generally with an excess of around £1000 (more for premium cars).

However, book with one of the international companies from the US, with a US address, and you'll often be quoted without this insurance. So when you reach the counter, they need to make sure you have the mandatory minimum. CDW insurance alone won't cover this. What may have happened is that, if you booked Europcar from the US, you were quoted a rate with no insurance, but when you approached Enterprise, you were quoted a rate with basic insurance (where your CDW cover will apply). Alternatively, you stumbled across a smaller agency not set up to deal with a situation that it's pretty obscure to them. (Am applying Hanlon's razor here...)

I also get annual CDW cover, and generally find it is accepted. That doesn't stop some rental companies trying to convince me to buy CDW because "the claims process is easier". These guys are on commission - and Europcar seems to be the worst offender (not that it stops me going there, I know the dance).

The main companies - Hertz, Avis/Budget, Europcar and Sixt are generally fine. Enterprise too - they have a great customer service ethos over here. Avoid the "too good to be true" rate people like Greenmotion at all costs. With all of them, double check what insurance is included. With the cheaper ones, check what other small print may be there - mandatory fuel purchase, cleaning charges, etc, etc.