Auto and Car Insurance

Can I get cheaper insurance while my vehicle is in storage?

I'm going to be out of the country for a while, and am putting my car in an auto storage place. But since I'm keeping it registered and leaving the plates on it, I have to maintain insurance. Do any insurance companies offer cheaper insurance or a special type of insurance that I can put on there, since I wont be driving the vehicle? This is because I'm deploying to Iraq, btw.

Public Comments

1. yes i am currently in kuwait on deployment and geico is reducing my rates for storage.
2. In California, you can change the registration of your vehicle to "non-operational". I believe you can call your insurance company and tell them your plan. In some cases, they will reduce your insurance if you raise the car off of the ground (on jacks).
3. Yes, you should be able to get coverage for just fire and theft, from most ins company's, but check with your current carrier or agent first as you may be able to get a lower rate as an existing customer.
4. you dont need insurance if your not driving it, doesnt matter if you keep the plates or any of that, just whether or not you drive it. remember, the insurance is there for crashes, and if it doesnt move, it cant crash.
5. Can you do it? Many companies will let you, yes. You can contact your company and ask for coverage to be dropped to "COMP only," which will remove all liability coverage and physical damage coverage (i.e. collision coverage), leaving only comprehensive coverage. Leaving COMP coverage protects your vehicle from theft, building collapse etc. This will significantly decrease your premiums, but there are a few things to know about doing this. First is that you will have zero liability protection. This means if someone is walking by your car while it's in storage and they happen to trip on it, they can sue you and your insurance comapny will (rightly) deny the claim because the coverage wouldn't exist. Trust me, it happens. This risk is magnified since your vehicle will be in a public storage facility and I would bet they have a strict no-liability rule about how you're responsible for any damages that are related to your vehicle. I'd definitely recommend that you check into what the storage facility's policies are with regard to liability. Second, if you do not own your vehicle outright (i.e. have a lease/loan on it), the title company may have a requirement that you maintain COMP and COLL coverage on it at all times. If this is the case, you cannot drop down to COMP coverage only or they may force-place coverage on the vehicle. You should give them a call to see what their requirements for coverage are. On a personal note - thank you for what you're doing for our country!