Car rental insurance and leaf peeping in New England

[satans worm]

Ok, so a 2 in 1 thread.
I'm off to New England area in the last week of September and need to hire a car.
I currently live in Manhattan, but assume best place( cheapest) is to hire from the airports.
I have been looking on line but have been confused as to what insurance i should get and what is just ott.
Esentially I do not wish to be sued by anyone, pay for the damage to property if I have an accident or pay for the rental repairs either.
I can accept a large excess as I don't intend to do any of the above, and in a worse case scenario can accept paying a grand or 2 and chalking it up to experiance !
Can someone assist on this?

Second part, any must stop stops?
I'm into photography and would like to capture the fall, I plan on driving up the coast to bar harbour then cut inland and go back down to NYC
What are the must stops/sees in that area?
Or any other gems of wisdom you might have for new:-)

[Loach1]

I would suggest checking with your credit card company to see what you have through them. Car rental insurance is notoriously expensive!

Good advice here: http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/car-re...