From my experience, rentals in the UK are generally straightforward with little pressure to purchase additional insurance. There are several factors to consider, however, when renting. First, as most TATL flights arrive in the early morning hours and since most folks, even in a lie-flat seat, haven't gotten a restful night's sleep, renting the car at the airport upon arrival puts the renter at a disadvantage. Tired and maybe confused, he may easily cave to the sales pitch for additional items, including "super cover," to get his vacation started.

Doing what you've done here, seeking good info, is the best antidote. Just to understand the scenario regarding levels of insurance, there are three potential levels of coverage. First is declining all coverage (as noted above, not allowed in the UK and many other foreign countries). Second is the CDW coverage normally provided, which will insure your rental against damage but makes the renter responsible for roughly the first $2000 of any damage that occurs. Third is the "super cover" scenario where you pay as much as $30-40 per day to eliminate the $2000 or so that is uncovered by CDW. You can decline this coverage IF you have enough remaining on the credit line for the CC you use to pay for the rental because the rental company will put a hold on your card for that $2000 or so. I've heard of people getting tripped up in this scenario because if your CC company rejects the hold, the rental company won't release the car to you.

Another common problem has been outlined above. If you have a CC with excellent coverage (I use my AMEX Plat in the UK with no problems), you can cover rental car insurance with the card BUT ONLY if you decline all other coverages. Otherwise, the CC company will claim it provided no coverage to you.

All of this can be placed against the backdrop of a common dilemma for American drivers in the UK: driving on the right side of the vehicle counters every ingrained instinct for American drivers. I have driven on various trips to Scotland and Ireland since 1998 with at least annual trips the last ten years and some years with two or three, and only in the last five years have I managed to avoid the occasional lapse of finding myself in a lane meant for oncoming traffic. Most of the time, those lapses have occurred in rural areas with no bad result, but even doing it once can take a normally confident driver and make him tentative. And tentative driving can lead to an increase in accidents.

Then add in the occasional oddity a driver from American may face, such as roundabouts. When you get in to lesser-traveled areas, it's easy to encounter the one-track road. Despite its narrowness, the road is still intended to carry traffic traveling in both directions. And then there are the occasional roads and bridges that just barely fit even one vehicle. Under these circumstances, it's easy to cause damage to a rental vehicle.

There has been a positive development I have noticed in the last five years, though, and that's the amount of technology on a vehicle that's now included to alert a driver to proximity to other vehicles and objects. Some drivers don't like the intrusiveness of these devices, but I think the sensors and backup cameras make it a lot easier to avoid the bumps and scrapes that can easily add up to $1000-2000 worth of damage.

One more caveat. Although all of these comments apply to all of the UK, including Northern Ireland, don't make the mistake some Americans do of believing that the Republc of Ireland is part of the UK. Renting in Ireland presents its own unique set of circumstances, including the extent of bad one-track roads. In April 2023, I was driving on a one-track through an area of farms when I encountered a full tractor-trailer rig (in local parlance, a "lorry") coming in the opposite direction. The road had no pullover areas unlike many others in Ireland and every one of the one-track roads I've driven in the UK. My only alternative was to back up for a quarter of a mile untii I reached a home and its driveway so I could pull off the road.

Most auto policies in the US do not cover rentals in foreign countries so I recommend either buying all of the insurance or using a good CC with excellent coverage. I'd also check online resources about operating vehicles in the UK. There are some educational sites with information about roundabouts, figuring out road signs, and the etiquette of driving on one-track roads. Good luck!