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I’ve been trying to sell one car on Craigslist and eBay (know anyone who needs a low mileage Toyota Solara?) and the other car is a lease that’s being returned three months early, so of course I’ve also been planning on canceling my car insurance. That should save me some money, right?
That is what I thought until I read this post on Fat Wallet (edited here):
Last year I sold my car, canceled my Progressive insurance and left the country for 10 months for a research trip. Now I am back and buying a new car and I have just learned that I made a big mistake in allowing my insurance to lapse. (I though that it would be common sense to assume that if I have no car, I should have no insurance. Boy, was I wrong!).
Now “Progressive” quotes me premiums which may be even $200-per-6-months more than if I did not have an insurance lapse. Lesson learned – consult an an agent when you do things which appear commonsense. I did not allow my health insurance to lapse, but this…
I am in Ohio and have clean record, good credit and all. I complained and complained to “Progressive” that the issue of lapsed insurance was not addressed whan I was cancelling the policy last year. Any agent would mention that. Why not a CSR? They say I will have to wait 2 year to get the premiums back down and could possibly see some discounts in 1/2 year.
That started an interesting conversation on the topic and prompted me to call Geico to find out if I should keep some lower level of insurance in place to prevent this. The agent at Geico said I should simply cancel my insurance. They could offer “Non-Owner” liability insurance, but the agent did not recommend it as she thought it would not be worth it. They said that when I called to renew, they would look over my past driving record and she noted that I was moving out of the country.
That works for me, but if you’re moving, you may want to call your insurance company and check.
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1 response so far ↓
1 yill // Sep 4, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Again, you’re blog is so interesting and helpful. Thank you!
I’m planning a move to BsAs in Nov/Dec. I didn’t’ even think that I’d be dinged for not having car insurance (lapse in car insurance)
Sure enough, I just called Nationwide and they confirmed that if I drop car insurance once I return I will be considered high risk (rates will go up).
Possible Solution:
The woman I spoke with suggested that before canceling my policy, I be added to someone else’s policy (family?). This way, I’ll have continued car insurance without a lapse. She said the cost to me/family would be virtually nothing (I’m over 30 with no accidents)
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