When I visited Costa Rica last year the scheister at the rental counter got me for "mandatory liability coverage". I showed him my credit card damage coverage and that was good enough for damage but not for liability.

I'll be renting in Spain next month (Madrid & Barcelona) with Europcar. Does anyone know if liability coverage is required? And if so, how it can be acquired before arriving at the rental counter?

My Citicard states that damage coverage is primary outside the US but says nothing about liability. I called Geico with whom I have my auto and Umbrella policy and they wanted to sell me "Overseas" insurance.

Thanks for any advice!

If you travel and rent internationally much, you might want to look into other insurance companies when your Umbrella policy comes up for renewal. Umbrella policies vary greatly in how they treat international car (or rv, boat) rentals. Some will claim their Umbrella covers a "worldwide territory" but then the Umbrella liability coverage "follows form" of the underlying policy. For example, if the underlying auto (or non-owner auto) liability policy doesn't cover rentals outside the US, then a "follows form" type Umbrella policy often won't either. [It would depend upon the specific endorsement and limitations of the policy].

Other Umbrella policies provide "drop down" liability coverage on foreign rentals.

As for Europcar rentals in general (vs Spain), check out:

https://www.europcar.com/terms-and-c...and-protection

Carefully note the two sentences under "What is the amount of my financial exposure for Third Party Liability?"

Even if your policy provides cover, remember that no rental company in Europe will ever deal directly with your insurer. If damage occurs, the rental company will charge the excess (you may call it deductible) to your credit card then it's down to you to reclaim that from your insurer.