Removing car insurance temporarily

[Ryan Coke]

With us not using our vehicles as much right now and looking for ways to minimize unnecessary expenses, I’m considering removing insurance from one of our vehicles. Now, and when I have done this in the last, insurers seem reluctant to actually take all insurance off, but instead keep fire and theft on it, which then minimizes the savings (it’s about 40% of the policy cost).

The car will be kept in the garage, and really I think I’m fine taking the very low risk of it being burned up or stolen.

So I’m wondering what others thoughts or experiences are on if it is reasonable to fully remove it, then reinsure it once things get back to normal. Or if is should keep the partial coverage on it for reasons I’m unaware.

We do have another vehicle that would stay insured in my name.

[Lubicon]

Would your home insurance cover the car in case of fire if it's in the garage? If so then why would you need to keep that policy on the vehicle? That's a question, not an answer - I apologize for that.

[transplant99]

I looked into this just yesterday.

In essence, it came down to saving about 30 bucks a month. Not worth it to me.

Also it was pointed out that if the vehicle taken off the policy was 10 or more years old, it would require a full inspection to be re-added. Not that it would be an issue, but that would be 2 months of savings in my case. I haven't driven the thing in 18 months and should just sell it, but obviously that option isnt available at this point.

[MoneyGuy]

We have done this on an RV with no problem. It’s parked outside and I remove the battery so little risk of theft and the vehicle isn’t worth much. We have a second vehicle as you do but it’s never occurred to me to do that with that car. It hasn’t been driven in weeks.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Would your home insurance cover the car in case of fire if it's in the garage? If so then why would you need to keep that policy on the vehicle? That's a question, not an answer - I apologize for that.

You would have to add a rider I imagine and it wouldn't be cheap. Probably the cost of fire and theft..

[Torture]

If nothing else you can tell your insurance company you're no longer using it to commute to work and update the estimated mileage per year and save a few bucks.

[Canadianman]

If your vehicle is leased or financed, the lender might require that you keep the policy in place.

[btimbit]

This is why every insurance company needs to be online. I'm not using my car for a week or two, sign in to website, two clicks, it's uninsured. 1 minute to add it back on

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by btimbit

This is why every insurance company needs to be online. I'm not using my car for a week or two, sign in to website, two clicks, it's uninsured. 1 minute to add it back on

That sounds like a money losing idea for the insurance company.

[RogerWilco]

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

With us not using our vehicles as much right now and looking for ways to minimize unnecessary expenses, I’m considering removing insurance from one of our vehicles. Now, and when I have done this in the last, insurers seem reluctant to actually take all insurance off, but instead keep fire and theft on it, which then minimizes the savings (it’s about 40% of the policy cost).

The car will be kept in the garage, and really I think I’m fine taking the very low risk of it being burned up or stolen.

So I’m wondering what others thoughts or experiences are on if it is reasonable to fully remove it, then reinsure it once things get back to normal. Or if is should keep the partial coverage on it for reasons I’m unaware.

We do have another vehicle that would stay insured in my name.

I used to have a summer car that I would park every winter in my garage. The insurance company was fine with it as long as I kept fire and theft on it through the winter. I did this ever winter for about 10 years. - This is assuming that you have the vehicle paid off.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I looked into this just yesterday.

In essence, it came down to saving about 30 bucks a month. Not worth it to me.

Also it was pointed out that if the vehicle taken off the policy was 10 or more years old, it would require a full inspection to be re-added.

Who are you with? Fire/Theft coverage should be a fairly small amount of premium. Typically it's liability that takes up a good chunk of premuim.

And is this your actual insurer or your broker telling you it would need a new safety inspection. I know with Intact they will waive that requirement if it's an existing vehicle, they usually only do this on vehicles that are new to the policy.


And as a heads up as I see a ton of people making this assumption. Your home insurance DOES NOT cover vehicles parked in your garage. That's what vehicle insurance is for.

[Iggy_12]

Can you do this if you already pre-paid the insurance for the year?

[rvd123]

Originally Posted by btimbit

This is why every insurance company needs to be online. I'm not using my car for a week or two, sign in to website, two clicks, it's uninsured. 1 minute to add it back on

Which insurance company?

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Iggy_12

Can you do this if you already pre-paid the insurance for the year?

Yes

[bagofpucks]

I changed both our vehicles to non-commuters and it saved about $30 per month, which was fine for me as I will likely using a different vehicle as a commuter when we do end up going back to the office. I was going to have to call them anyways, so not a big deal and save $90.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

We suspended the insurance for one of our vehicles. Quick and easy with no repercussions when we reinstate. Intact is who we go through.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Who are you with? Fire/Theft coverage should be a fairly small amount of premium. Typically it's liability that takes up a good chunk of premuim.

And is this your actual insurer or your broker telling you it would need a new safety inspection. I know with Intact they will waive that requirement if it's an existing vehicle, they usually only do this on vehicles that are new to the policy.


And as a heads up as I see a ton of people making this assumption. Your home insurance DOES NOT cover vehicles parked in your garage. That's what vehicle insurance is for.

Broker and it is with Intact actually.

[Ryan Coke]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts.

Originally Posted by Leeman4Gilmour

We suspended the insurance for one of our vehicles. Quick and easy with no repercussions when we reinstate. Intact is who we go through.

So was this a full suspension? Like to zero coverage? That is what I am thinking of doing.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I looked into this just yesterday.

In essence, it came down to saving about 30 bucks a month. Not worth it to me.

Also it was pointed out that if the vehicle taken off the policy was 10 or more years old, it would require a full inspection to be re-added. Not that it would be an issue, but that would be 2 months of savings in my case. I haven't driven the thing in 18 months and should just sell it, but obviously that option isnt available at this point.

Have you considered this option?

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Torture

If nothing else you can tell your insurance company you're no longer using it to commute to work and update the estimated mileage per year and save a few bucks.

I've been thinking of doing this also. I was also thinking about raising my deductible sky high. I'm not an insurance expert so I don't know if that would also lower the rate substantially or not.

I envision only using my car for short trips to the grocery store over the next couple months, so might be worth looking into.