To be honest the moment I got the email that my claim was approved I felt very surprised and also very relieved. The repair cost was 1880 euro. If I had to pay all of that by myself my Italy budget would be destroyed. When I saw that they really paid it and it was quite fast I finally understood that choosing AXA Full Coverage at the start really saved me. The story started a bit earlier. I came to Italy alone from Australia. I wanted to rent a car and drive around the south. Around July 3 in the morning I picked up a Mitsubishi ASX at Bari airport. It was automatic with four doors and five seats. The rental company was NOLEGGIARE. The car looked pretty new. The sun was very strong that day and I felt good. Driving alone felt very free. The first days were smooth. I drove along the coast and stopped in some small towns. Around July 11 in the evening the weather suddenly became strange. In the day it was still hot. At night I was staying in a small place more inside the land and the sky started with heavy thunder. At first I did not care much. I thought it was just a normal storm. Then the rain did not even really start and hail began to fall. At the beginning I was inside the building and I heard loud bangs outside. It sounded like heavy things hitting metal. I thought someone was closing doors very hard. The sound became faster and stronger. I went to the window and looked down. The whole parking lot was full of hail. Some pieces were quite big. They were hitting the roof and body of the cars like stones. I saw my ASX there and my heart dropped. The roof was getting hit again and again. In that weather I could not run outside to move the car. I could only watch. When the hail finally stopped I went out to check the car right away. Under the light the roof and the doors were full of small dents. I touched the metal and it was all pushed in. This was not a small scratch. It was real damage. In that moment I felt a bit blank. In my head I only had one question. How much is this going to cost. I checked online and some people said weather damage is often not covered like normal accidents. The rental desk may ask you to pay. My stress went up fast. That night I did not sleep very well. I kept thinking that when I returned the car in Rome the staff might say I needed to pay the full amount. I am a student and I was alone. I pictured myself giving my credit card and maybe reaching the limit in one second. There was no one to share this. I had to handle it by myself and it did not feel good. A few days later I reached Rome as planned. I returned the car around July 19 in the morning. At the NOLEGGIARE desk I told the staff clearly that the car was hit by hail and now had many dents. They checked the body very carefully. They used a light and looked from different angles. Then they wrote down many damage points. After that they told me the repair would be expensive. When I heard the amount my chest felt tight again. 1880 euro is really a lot for me. At this point I finally realised how important the extra insurance I bought through QEEQ was. When I booked the car I saw the description of AXA Full Coverage. It said it covered car damage and theft and also some parts that the normal full insurance does not cover. I just thought it was an extra layer of safety. I did not expect to actually use it in a hail storm. I contacted their customer service and explained that the car was hit by hail and the rental company had confirmed the damage. I sent them the papers and photos I got. The next part made me nervous because I was not sure if weather disaster like hail was inside the coverage. I followed their instructions and prepared the materials. I sent the credit card charge record the damage report from the rental company and the photos from the parking lot. At first I forgot the credit card statement. They told me I needed that as proof so I went into my bank app and downloaded it and sent it. During this time I kept thinking if this claim failed I would have to change my whole travel and living plan. Later they told me they had filed the claim and I just needed to wait for the result. In those days I checked my email a lot. Every time my phone showed a new message I hoped it was about the insurance. When I walked in the streets of Rome and looked at the old buildings part of my mind was still stuck on the hail damage and the big bill. I could not fully relax. When I finally saw the words that the claim was successful I first froze a little. Then I read the email many times to make sure I was not reading it wrong. The hail damage was covered and the amount was the same 1880 euro. I had already prepared for the worst case. Suddenly it turned into zero loss for me. The weight on my shoulders became much lighter. I asked in simple English if it was full coverage and the reply was clear. That helped me really calm down. Thinking about it now this experience changed a lot for me as a solo traveler. At the start I was happy and free driving alone in Europe. A sudden extreme weather event made me face how fragile that freedom can be. I still remember the feeling of watching hail destroy the car and not being able to do anything. If I had not bought AXA Full Coverage this trip might be remembered as the time I got into debt because of a storm. Because of this I feel more sure that next time I rent a car I will look for a channel that offers strong insurance options. The extra money I paid when I booked with QEEQ turned into real protection for me. It meant I did not have to carry this big accident alone and that feeling matters a lot when you travel by yourself.
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