John Levine wrote:

how does all this work with rental cars?

Presumably the same as it does with speeding citations. You get a
bill from the rental car company after the fact along with a hefty
administrative surcharge.

It's the "hefty administrative surcharge" I was concerned about.

In my actualy experience, the surcharge is $2 or $3. You can decide
whether that
counts as hefty, in the context of everything else you pay for a car rental.

Considering that people often pay $10/day for the rental company's overpriced
insurance, it doesn't seem very hefty to me.

If one has a gold card or better from the credit card company, that includes
insurance for the collision damage waiver portion of rental company insurance.

As far as the state-required liability portion, if you own a car, it may
be included in your own policy. Even though your own policy covers liability
of other drivers who use your car, it won't cover them when they rent
their own cars.

There is such a thing as a non-vehicle owner liability policy. It covers
the driver when he rents a car. It also provides medical if the insured
is struck by another vehicle as a pedestrian or bicycle rider.

It's $400 or more a year, and probably a good idea.