Auto insurance: how many of you still have it?

[FrugalBiker]

I was wondering how many of the car-free folks still pay for some form of automobile insurance, such as for rare cases when you might need to rent or borrow a car? Or did most of you ditch the insurance altogether?

Dropping my insurance payment was one of the car-free things I was MOST excited about, since the savings could actually pay for a half-decent bike, but now I've hit a bit of a snag with this issue. Car-free newbies might want to be aware of a few insurance items:

- It was mentioned in a previous insurance thread at this forum that car rental companies require "proof of insurance", supposedly.

- I read about something called "non-owner's insurance"... but I was disappointed to learn that my insurance company doesn't offer such a thing. Maybe yours will.

- If you drop your insurance and want to pick it up again in the future, you'll probably lose any good driver discounts that you've acquired over the years.

Arrgghhh! No wonder it's best to be totally free from anything to do with cars. :)

Jeff

[bragi]

I was wondering how many of the car-free folks still pay for some form of automobile insurance, such as for rare cases when you might need to rent or borrow a car? Or did most of you ditch the insurance altogether?

Dropping my insurance payment was one of the car-free things I was MOST excited about, since the savings could actually pay for a half-decent bike, but now I've hit a bit of a snag with this issue. Car-free newbies might want to be aware of a few insurance items:

- It was mentioned in a previous insurance thread at this forum that car rental companies require "proof of insurance", supposedly.

- I read about something called "non-owner's insurance"... but I was disappointed to learn that my insurance company doesn't offer such a thing. Maybe yours will.

- If you drop your insurance and want to pick it up again in the future, you'll probably lose any good driver discounts that you've acquired over the years.

Arrgghhh! No wonder it's best to be totally free from anything to do with cars. :)

Jeff

If you don't have car insurance, you can still rent a car, but you'll have to purchase insurance from the car rental company, which will add quite a bit to the fee. If you need to use a car on a semi-regular basis, it might be more cost-effective to subscribe to Zipcar or some other car-sharing service. If you go without a car for a while, and consequently have no auto insurance, and then decide to get a car again, it's going to cost you substantially more to get insurance again, too. For reasons I don't fully understand, if you've gone without insurance for a while, insurance companies view you with suspicion, even if you're blameless. (Actually, you're not blameless at all, but probably anarchist for even thinking of living without a car for a while.) The best option, in my opinion, is to just never mess with cars again if you can. That's why they make trailers. Even if you have to pay extra on those rare occasions when you have to rent a car, it's still way cheaper than having insurance on an ongoing basis. (I've been car-free for the last four years or so, and have rented a car once in that entire time.)

Actually, if you're traveling locally for a single purpose, and you absolutely have to have a car, for example to haul something really heavy, it's sometimes cheaper just to call a cab.

[Nightshade]

Crap!!! The best I can hope for living in a rural town is car-light so
I have to keep vehicles to travel to the city for needs not available
in town.

[Boudicca]

No way on car insurance. A gold credit card means I'm covered if I rent a car, and there is no earthly point in paying for something I don't need or use. I assume it means they would ding me something rotten if I ever did get a car and need car insurance, but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.

I do have household insurance though. Does that count?

[I-Like-To-Bike]

No way on car insurance. A gold credit card means I'm covered if I rent a car, and there is no earthly point in paying for something I don't need or use. I assume it means they would ding me something rotten if I ever did get a car and need car insurance, but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.

I do have household insurance though. Does that count?

You are fooling yourself if you think you are "covered" by your credit card when you rent a car. This was discussed about a year ago on this forum. You are only covered for damage to the rental car by your credit card; any other liability for damage/injury to yourself or others is all on you unless you get some supplemental liability insurance.

Unlikely that your household insurance would include any type of car insurance except perhaps for theft from the vehicle or if it burned up in your own garage.

[charly17201]

I was wondering how many of the car-free folks still pay for some form of automobile insurance, such as for rare cases when you might need to rent or borrow a car? Or did most of you ditch the insurance altogether?

Dropping my insurance payment was one of the car-free things I was MOST excited about, since the savings could actually pay for a half-decent bike, but now I've hit a bit of a snag with this issue. Car-free newbies might want to be aware of a few insurance items:

- It was mentioned in a previous insurance thread at this forum that car rental companies require "proof of insurance", supposedly.

- I read about something called "non-owner's insurance"... but I was disappointed to learn that my insurance company doesn't offer such a thing. Maybe yours will.

- If you drop your insurance and want to pick it up again in the future, you'll probably lose any good driver discounts that you've acquired over the years.

Arrgghhh! No wonder it's best to be totally free from anything to do with cars. :)

Jeff

To start, when I lived in NC, in order to have a drivers license you had to show proof of insurance. Didn't matter if you owned a car - but then the companies had policies just for that. Another insurance scam if you ask me.

Some car rental companies do require proof of insurance, but only if you are waiving their insurance coverage.

As far as losing any 'good driver' discounts, the insurance companies look at it as you were driving without insurance all that time you didn't have any OR that you didn't have a license. I went through that with my insurance a few years ago. I'd been an over the road trucker and had no need for a car. I basically had to prove that I was insured (just not by me) to them. Using copies of the company's insurance and my logbooks (which are a legal federal document) I was able to prove that I was insured and drove 150,000 miles a year without any accidents or citations of any kind. Cut the bill down significantly as they were trying to charge me entry level/inexperienced policy rates.

[Lamplight]

I dropped it when I sold my truck. I've never rented a car, so I'm not going to worry about it.

[Roody]

You are only covered for damage to the rental car by your credit card;

And how much damage could a credit card do to a car? Probably not enough to even worry about! ;)

[Roody]

In my state, insurance goes with the car, not the driver. It isn't even possible to buy insurance if you don't own a car, AFAIK.

[Foldable Two]

I do still have two fully insured cars - an SUV to pull our small folding trailer, and a 36-40MPG city car (Toyota Yaris LB). we have, however, gone to a "collector car" policy on our 1974 Alfa Romeo, which we bought new 33 yrs ago. The policy, and the WA State "collector car" registration keeps my total cost to $130/yr and restricts me to no more than 1,000 miles.

Although this does not sound simple, and definitely is not "Car Free", we live pretty simply after retiring when I was 57 and wife was 55. I ride one of my two folding bikes to the store every day, even if only to buy a newspaper.

[FrugalBiker]

Sorry to bump this thread up again, but I just wanted to report my findings after contacting several insurance and car rental companies:

- As others have mentioned, in my state it doesn't seem possible to buy an auto insurance policy if you don't own a car.

- Many (most? all?) car rental companies here require that their customers have "full transferable insurance coverage".

Arrgghh! Does this mean that in some states, a car-ownership-free person is not able to rent a car?

This is an unfortunate snag in the car-free dream; I'm planning to sell my ancient car this week to a friend's sister. I certainly have no plans or desire to rent a car, but it would be nice to know that it is an option if it ever becomes necessary.

Jeff

[TuckertonRR]

- Many (most? all?) car rental companies here require that their customers have "full transferable insurance coverage".
Arrgghh! Does this mean that in some states, a car-ownership-free person is not able to rent a car?


I would think you'd just buy the rental companies' standard policy that comes with the rental. You just won't have the add'l coverage you'd have if you already were covered under another policy.

[sumguy]

Plan on getting a car for vacations but may go the rental route instead. Regardless, maintaining some form of coverage keeps me out of the high risk group. So I have theft and fire on a car that doesn't run. The high risk group rates are too outrageous.

[smurfy]

I think that car insurance companies have been in cahoots with car companies to make car-free people's lives as difficult as possible, basically forcing people to own a car. They don't want this "car-lite occasional-using" stuff they can't make a profit on. Also the insurance companies have the government wrapped around their little finger so they help write the laws.

[heywood]

Sorry to bump this thread up again, but I just wanted to report my findings after contacting several insurance and car rental companies:

- As others have mentioned, in my state it doesn't seem possible to buy an auto insurance policy if you don't own a car.

- Many (most? all?) car rental companies here require that their customers have "full transferable insurance coverage".

Arrgghh! Does this mean that in some states, a car-ownership-free person is not able to rent a car?

This is an unfortunate snag in the car-free dream; I'm planning to sell my ancient car this week to a friend's sister. I certainly have no plans or desire to rent a car, but it would be nice to know that it is an option if it ever becomes necessary.

Jeff

This can't be right. What happens when people come from other countries, or states? Does that mean they can't rent a car. Many people in Europe (or NYC) just don't own a car but have a drivers license (me for example). Does this mean I can't rent a car if I visit? This would make no sense..

[ken cummings]

None of the above. She has to have the car so she pays for insurance. I am covered when I drive her car. My truck is nearly undriveble until we figure why it stall out below 15 MPH and what it will cost to fix it. Over a ffew hndred? Give it to charity. Then I'll be carfree.

[patc]

Why no option for "I have NEVER had car insurance"? Even in LCF the "cars=normal" mentality predominates!

[Cosmoline]

Car rental companies I've dealt with have been MORE than happy to sell me their own coverage for the trip. I see no sane reason to keep paying for something I don't use. It's not as if a standard auto policy will cover bike accidents.

[lima_bean]

Why no option for "I have NEVER had car insurance"? Even in LCF the "cars=normal" mentality predominates!

I noticed the same thing and thought it was strange.

[gonzohill]

I still have an insurance policy because I still own a truck because I still have a horse and need to be able to haul hay etc

[Az B]

I still have an insurance policy because I still own a truck because I still have a horse and need to be able to haul hay etc


Hook up a wagon to that horse and make him haul his own food!

Az

[uke]

I think I'm covered under my parent's insurance plan. The car I'm using (or rather, not using) was paid for years ago, so there's a very low monthly cost to keep it parked out front.

[sbhikes]

I would like to purchase insurance that takes into account the fact that I rarely drive my truck. I really should get my butt in gear and see if that's possible.

I tried in the past but my stupid insurance company said their prices were based on how many miles between your house and your job. I argued with them it should be based on how many miles you actually drive. Now, without a job, the distance is zero so maybe I can finally get a break.

Somehow I suspect not, though.

Oh, and I think also when they jack up the gas prices it's a conspiracy to get people to buy new cars. Now SUVs are out of fashion and everybody needs a Prius. When it comes to the auto, oil and insurance industry you can bet that we're all manipulated on multiple levels.

[Elkhound]

When I need to rent a car, I get trip insurance. Since I only do it a few times a year, it is less expensive than maintaining a policy.

[cerewa]

I have never had my own car or my own car insurance.

[swbluto]

I got rid of insurance along with the car. I got rid of it largely to do the lack of financial support that accompanied my study-focused jobless lifestyle as a graduating-as-soon-as-possible-with-as-much-relevant-knowledge-as-possible student.