Originally Posted by Mwenenzi

I would check very carefully what coverage you get from your USA Visa credit card and USA health insurance. If non resident in USA for year will they even be valid? From what I have read on FT, USA health insurance is nil to not much when out of USA for many policies. It is unlikely to cover medical repatriation to USA. A cost of many 10's of thousands (~$200,000+) is not unusual.

For rental cars just buy the rental car companies insurance. That will be expensive, but having no insurance may send you bankrupt in the worst case.
(driving in Paris/France is errr different)