Divrdrew, thanks for the reply. I've never had that problem with car rentals in Israel. Then again, on most of my visits during the past 15 years, I've booked the car through Hertz.se, and all mandatory insurances are already included in the reservation. The only place in Latin America that I've rented a car is in Mexico, and I've been given the choice of either paying for an expensive zero deductible, or leaving a huge deposit, but they've never tried to force me to take the full package. I'm considering paying Costa Rica my first visit this summer, but I'm a bit put off by the whole car insurance thing.