The above isn’t generally true. The fact is that state-mandated minimum liability insurance requirements on registered car owners — including rental car company-owned-and-registered cars — in most US states do provide for the state-mandated minimum liability insurance coverage amounts for liability incurred from the vehicle’s use by the driver when the driver has no liability insurance of their own; and it covers your liability as a rental car driver up to the liability amount as stipulated in state law as regards minimum liability insurance requirements for vehicle owners.

“Liability and Property Damage Protection is not included in their rental rates” but any state-mandated liability insurance required of the registered car owner is included with the rental car’s use.

Liability insurance up to any minimum state limits is usually included automatically in the rental cost in most US states. And there is a reason rental car companies sell additional/supplemental liability insurance using words like “additional”, “supplemental” or branded proper nouns in trying to sell some liability insurance coverage for the amounts above the state-mandated amounts of included coverage.

Here is an Illinois example of how this works:

http://illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/S...015/118058.pdf

And I picked this rather extreme example (albeit from Illinois and not Virginia) for multiple reasons, as the rental car company was still liable for the state minimum insurance coverage amounts for liability incurred by the driver’s accident with the rental vehicle — even when the driver was not an authorized driver of the rental vehicle.