First time car owner with insurance question

[Rickten]

The situation is that I've never had a car solely in my name and so I've always had insurance on my parents policy.

Soon I will purchasing a car that will be only in my name, what do I need to do about insurance for the state of california? Is being on my parents policy enough to drive the car home or do I need to purchase a policy in my name before I even own the car? Do I buy the car then call the insurance company straight from the dealership?

 

[1EZduzit]

Price some insurance from several different agents so that all you have to do is call them once you buy a car.

DO NOT leave the lot until you have insurance on the car,

 

[Rickten]

Ok, I didn't know if there was a 5day period where I was automatically covered by my current insurance. Its fine if there's not I'd just rather call from home to get the insurance since I've found wait times to be LONG while I've been getting quotes. Progressive seems to be the best for me.

 

[Thorny]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit

DO NOT leave the lot until you have insurance on the car

QFT

 

[GTaudiophile]

You buy it in advance, such that when you drive the car off the dealer lot you are insured.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Price some insurance from several different agents so that all you have to do is call them once you buy a car.

DO NOT leave the lot until you have insurance on the car,

In most cases the dealership will not let you leave without insurance.

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: Rickten
Ok, I didn't know if there was a 5day period where I was automatically covered by my current insurance. Its fine if there's not I'd just rather call from home to get the insurance since I've found wait times to be LONG while I've been getting quotes. Progressive seems to be the best for me.

Genreally when you trade a car off on another your covered for a few days

I'm not an insurance agent, but if your going through your parents insurance I'm assuming your current car is registered either to them or jointly. Once you buy one in your name only that insurance probably isn't going to automatically cover it, unless you have made prior arrangemnts with your insurance agent.

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Price some insurance from several different agents so that all you have to do is call them once you buy a car.

DO NOT leave the lot until you have insurance on the car,

In most cases the dealership will not let you leave without insurance.

I had it happen to me when I was young. Hell, I even borrowed the money from the bank and they didn't make me get the insurance. And yes, I totaled it on the way home, a lousy 10 blocks away.

 

[Lonyo]

Always worth spending a bit of time and effort shopping around a variety of insurers to make sure you get the cheapest quote.

 

[geckojohn]

If the car is in your name, it's important to have the insurance in your name also. Let me know if you would like a quick quote - i'm happy to help.

 

[deerslayer]

I bought my insurance and made sure it was in effect the day I picked up my truck.

 

[LS20]

in texas you have 10 days or something to buy insurance from date of car purhcase

 

[Bryophyte]

Insurance companies I've dealt with gave me 30 days to notify them of replacement vehicles, but you're in a different situation, so you need to have your parents call your insurance company to clarify how you need to handle it.

 

[akubi]

basically (should?) have it before you pick it up and finalize the paperwork.
i tried to time my insurance to activate as close to the pick up date as possible. came down to few days difference.

by the time you pick up the car, you should have already negotiated the price and received paperwork with the vin you need to get insurance.

 

[SpecialEd]

in NC, you can't get your tags until you have insurance.

 

[Kelemvor]

Probably should ask your insurance agent how it works. He's the one that would know. You can't do much ahead of time since the insurance depends on the car...

 

[syee]

In Colorado, you couldn't drive off the lot without showing some kind of insurance papers. When I bought my first car there, they wouldn't let me drive it off the lot. I basically had my buddy who drove me there drive it off the lot back to his place and bought insurance the next day. The driver's insurance "follows" them to whatever car they're driving. (same way as it works where you can use your auto insurance for a rental)

I don't if you can "technically" buy insurance before you own the car. I remember my insurance company wanted to see the paperwork before they would sell me the insurance. (i.e. emissions, title, sellers paperwork).

In Canada, the insurance agent comes to you at the dealership. Since insurance is a government deal here, it doesn't really matter where you get your insurance since the rates are exactly the same.

 

[jimmyjam]

In California your current insurance will cover you if you drive off the lot. You have 30 days to notify your agent, but they're supposed to start coverage back to the purchase date, so it's not like you get 30 days of free coverage. The California DMV has recently (in the last month)streamlined their registration system, however, so if they don't here from an insurance company within 14 days of your purchase they will suspend your registration and charge you a $14 fee when they do hear from your insurance, so it's best to take care of it ASAP.

If you want a State Farm quote send me a PM and I'll give you our number or the number of an agent close to you.


edit: only the coverages you have on your current car apply to the new one, so if you don't have comprehensive and collision on your current car, the new one wouldn't have them either.

 

[CountZero]

Originally posted by: jimmyjam
In California your current insurance will cover you if you drive off the lot. You have 30 days to notify your agent, but they're supposed to start coverage back to the purchase date, so it's not like you get 30 days of free coverage. The California DMV has recently (in the last month)streamlined their registration system, however, so if they don't here from an insurance company within 14 days of your purchase they will suspend your registration and charge you a $14 fee when they do hear from your insurance, so it's best to take care of it ASAP.

If you want a State Farm quote send me a PM and I'll give you our number or the number of an agent close to you.


edit: only the coverages you have on your current car apply to the new one, so if you don't have comprehensive and collision on your current car, the new one wouldn't have them either.

But what if you don't own a car and have zero car insurance. How do I go about getting car insurance for a car I don't yet have such that I could go a buy a car and drive it off the lot and be covered?

 

[thomsbrain]

i was able to buy my new car, in my name, and still insure it under my parent's policy (with their permission, of course). i simply called the agent, let them know that i would like to add a vehicle to my family's group policy, gave them the vehicles info, my credit card number to pay for it, and i was insured in 5 minutes. and yes, the car was covered for the grace period.

edit: i am in CA, and previously drove a car registered in my parent's name, with all of our names on the insurance card.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Price some insurance from several different agents so that all you have to do is call them once you buy a car.

DO NOT leave the lot until you have insurance on the car,

In most cases the dealership will not let you leave without insurance.

:thumbsup:

And you'll probably need the VIN to get insurance... I've never been in the same situation as the OP, but I imagine you'd buy the car, then get insurance, then pick the car up.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Price some insurance from several different agents so that all you have to do is call them once you buy a car.

DO NOT leave the lot until you have insurance on the car,

In most cases the dealership will not let you leave without insurance.

:thumbsup:

And you'll probably need the VIN to get insurance... I've never been in the same situation as the OP, but I imagine you'd buy the car, then get insurance, then pick the car up.

Why would you need the VIN for insurance?

 

[Reel]

I decided on a car then called the insurance company to get a quote. They saved the quote and I negotiated the car, signed, etc. Once the dealer part was done, I called the insurance 800 number and told them to activate the quote and I was covered when I drove home.

 

[Kyteland]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Price some insurance from several different agents so that all you have to do is call them once you buy a car.

DO NOT leave the lot until you have insurance on the car,

In most cases the dealership will not let you leave without insurance.

If you're financing through them you cannot drive the car off the lot without proof of insurance. If you purchase the car outright then you can do whatever you want. They won't/can't stop you from leaving.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Why would you need the VIN for insurance?

the insurance asks for it. it matches up the car to what you put in. when i added my new cars to my insurance with progressive, i put in the VIN and it automatically pulled up the make and model of the car.