On NOT driving in the UK

correct me if im wrong but when  you rent a car it already carries insurance but you can purchase addiitonal if you want

Wrong. When you rent a car in the States, the renter is responsible for providing the insurance either through purchasing it then or providing it through their own private policy. Rental companies carry car insurance for when it is on their property or driven by their own employees. But, not for renters.

did not realize that...thanks for the info

correct me if I'm wrong but when  you rent a car it already carries insurance but you can purchase additional if you want

In the UK and most of Europe, the insurance is included in the price when you rent a car and you don't have to think about it. I only found that out after hours of research online. In the USA and Canada, it isn't. If you have no car (like me), and no insurance coverage at all, you must purchase from the rental company and it usually runs around $21.99 a day.
Brits who travel to the USA or Canada are in the same situation I am.

As for having a car at my home in PA.....it would have to sit outside and only be used once or twice a year, and it would have to be inspected and pass inspection. Have thought of that but it isn't really an option. I own an apartment house with on street parking and no garage.

When renting a car in the USA I always used companies like Holiday Autos or Net flights..which does included car insurance while you are there.......you can up the insurance on the the rental buy buying their "Max" policy....

and I have used them before when my Oklahoma licenses was still valid!!!

Look up -Google-Car Club for using a car and they include insurance.

What comes up when I read your post is why do you tell them anything about the UK since you have a Penn license and a Penn address?

I think the way American Express works is you pay something like $50 for insurance for the period you rent the car whether it be 3 days or 3 weeks. You have to sign up with them for this feature so check it out.

I have the problem when I come to Heathrow and they want a £500 deposit for the 3 week rental period. The solution has been to be careful which rental company I use.

Holiday Autos will not rent to you now if they know you have a USA license... If you read the small print , it clearly states that. If something happened, you probably wouldn't be covered. I talked to them on the phone and they were very rude (and could barely speak English) and informed me that they have "never" allowed a person living in the UK with a US license to rent a car. (I used to do it years ago also)
All the UK companies state (in the small print) that you must have a valid and full UK licence . The only exception is Alamo UK, but their prices are very very high. I found a company that sells car rental insurance here and may have my better half who speaks the lingo call them. All I get when I call anyone here is "pardon??"
 

You could do what I do and borrow my mom's car and just hope nothing happens. So far so good.

A Visa Platinum card gives you car rental insurance included if its used to pay for a rental. These used to be hard to get, but now my US bank (Wells Fargo) gives them out as a standard debit card. Of course, the perks change annually so need to read the small print.

A Visa Platinum card gives you car rental insurance included if its used to pay for a rental. These used to be hard to get, but now my US bank (Wells Fargo) gives them out as a standard debit card. Of course, the perks change annually so need to read the small print.

Credit cards only cover your auto insurance if you have a valid driver's license (actually, this is true of the auto insurance you buy from the rental place, too). If you're renting the car with a US license but don't really live in the US anymore, then the license isn't valid. The rental place will rent you a car, but if there's an accident I'd bet they look into things carefully before they pay out. If you rent the car with the US address that is tied to your license rather than your UK addy, you've got a better chance of not being caught out.