Insurance goes with me or the car?

[Allen Trent]

the insurance follows the car, period

While that is mostly true, it isn't a fact. Couple of times the insurance on car doesn't follow:

Rental car--- your comp & collision from your own car can apply because it is a temporary replacement vehicle of the one you normally drive & have insured.

I borrow a car .(this happened to me). Was driving kid & friend to a college sports game. Had my big suburban. Kids friends dad suggested I borrow his small car for easier parking at event. We hit a deer. Filed the comp claim on my policy to avoid other guy owing deductible & impacting his rates or claims free discounts. It was paid by my car insurance because the vehicle was a tempoy replacement/ substitute of mine.

I believe the key issue of why this applied in both situations is that the vehicle I'm question was not a vehicle normally made available for my use.

Again, I go back to reading the exact policy language to know if your policy will provide any coverage components & if so, in what situations

 

[Doug Lassiter]

Well, so a "borrowed" car can be a "temporary replacement"? Can't I borrow an uninsured vehicle as a temporary replacement? That does sound a little sneaky, but things get paid for.

 

[scagnt83]

Thank you. That's useful info.

Your welcome. To be specific, its the monitor systems that actually plug into your car under the steering wheel area to the code reader. Those monitor more than just miles. Many are now tracking miles and a few minor pieces of info via phone apps, but that is different. Either one though would be useful in your situation.

You also might want to check out "MetroMile" auto insurance. Its true "pay by mile" auto insurance.

 

[Allen Trent]

Well, so a "borrowed" car can be a "temporary replacement"? Can't I borrow an uninsured vehicle as a temporary replacement? That does sound a little sneaky, but things get paid for.

You would have to read the specific policy, but it likely says the owner of the cars insurance is primary & it likely wouldn't pay for driving a car illegally without mandatory minimum insurance in force. Lastly, the affidavits for the claims would likely investigate & zero in on whether or not the car was made available for your regular use. Insurance fraud can be a lot more costly than buying insurance on the vehicle or just buying the car from her

 

[adjusterjack]

Well, so a "borrowed" car can be a "temporary replacement"? Can't I borrow an uninsured vehicle as a temporary replacement? That does sound a little sneaky, but things get paid for.

Not only sneaky but probably not going to be covered when a claim occurs and the insurance people find out what you did and why you did it.

"We do not provide coverage for any "insured" who has made fraudulent statements or engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with any accident or loss for which coverage is sought under this policy."

Above quoted from a standard personal auto policy.

What economical options might one look for in a situation like that?

Sell the car.

Or, she keeps the insurance.

There are no gimmicks that will change that.

She can of course keep minimum liability limits but if she has any appreciable assets she'd be putting them at risk in the event of a lawsuit.

She can eliminate comprehensive and collision from the policy and reduce the cost of the insurance.

 

[adjusterjack]

Well, so a "borrowed" car can be a "temporary replacement"? Can't I borrow an uninsured vehicle as a temporary replacement? That does sound a little sneaky, but things get paid for.

Not only sneaky but probably not going to be covered when a claim occurs and the insurance people find out what you did and why you did it.

"We do not provide coverage for any "insured" who has made fraudulent statements or engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with any accident or loss for which coverage is sought under this policy."

Above quoted from a standard personal auto policy.

Does she really need to keep up her own insurance on the car to enable that?

Bottom line: Yes.

 

[scagnt83]

Everyone is focused on the insurance/owership aspect. I get it, we are insurance agents. But that is not the solution imo.

My elderly mother has decided to stop driving, but would like to keep her car to allow relatives to use it when they come to visit. That might be a few weeks out of the year.

One would like to believe that there are ways of managing such a situation economically.

Cheapest option would be to get a rental when relatives come visit.

We are talking about a few weeks each year. So 3-5 range? Maybe 40 days max?

At $40 per day, a rental would be $1,600 per year max. Far less than the cost of both insurance and maintenance on a car.

Instead of paying insurance premiums and maintenance costs... contribute on a regular basis to a "car rental fund" for relatives when they visit. Much cheaper option here.

* Also, from an automotive standpoint, not running a car for the equivalent of 11 months out of the year is terrible for the engine and other mechanical parts. A car needs to be operated on a regular basis to keep functioning correctly and not seize up. Running the engine periodically helps.... but the transmission, drivetrain, axles, gears, etc all need to be used as well or they can go bad. Specifically the fluid inside them goes bad and it causes malfunction when it finally gets used. It also causes seals to deteriorate which cause leaks and make the situation even worse and even more expensive and even more detrimental to mechanical parts when finally driven.

You might think a seldomly used car would not have much maintenance to worry about. And you can get away with that for a few years maybe... but eventually it will cause major mechanical issues for the car.... probably leaving one of her relatives stranded on the side of the road. Most mechanics will recommend a car be turned on at least once per week, and driven every other week. You could probably get away with turned on every other week and driven once a month without many long term issues.

Plus you have the issue of "who takes care of the maintenance? Not your mom since she isnt driving. That means relatives will have to take on that responsibility when visiting. And if the car needs repair... that means the relative will not be able to use that car for at least 1, if not 2 or 3 days of their visit. Which would put them at the car rental desk either way during their visit.

Also, it sounds like most relatives would be flying in since they need a car... so it makes it a lot more convenient to just rent a car at the airport vs. paying for a ride to the car they plan to use that may or may not need servicing while they are there.

Sell the car, start a rental fund. Even if the car is only worth $5k... that is 3 years of rentals already covered.

 

[Doug Lassiter]

That's a good point about service and maintenance, but no problem here with that. She has a friend who deals with all of that happily. I'm less worried about keeping things lubed than keeping the gasoline good. Running it every month or two is fine for transmission and drivetrain lube, and adding a stabilizer to the gasoline will suffice.

But yes, considering the options, the car rental solution is probably the best. Not at all the most convenient, but likely more economical.

I have to say I'm a little surprised about this. One would have assumed that liability insurance could be carried by the driver, but I guess that isn't the case. There are more drivers than there are cars, so from the perspective of insurance marketing, you'd think that would be in the interest of their business.

 

[scagnt83]

I'm less worried about keeping things lubed than keeping the gasoline good. Running it every month or two is fine for transmission and drivetrain lube, and adding a stabilizer to the gasoline will suffice.

You should have the opposite mindset.

Gas inside of a sealed environment (which a gas tank is) will last 6 months. So assuming she gets 1 visitor every 6 months, no stabilizer needed for the gas.
(it only lasts about 3 months in a poorly sealed container, so that is why you see the 3-6 month figure quoted)

Tranny/drivetrain/steering rack/etc. need operation every 2-3 weeks to keep parts and seals coated and the fluid mixed properly.

I realize you might find some so called professionals who say you can go 1 or 2 months without driving a car. But they are probably more interested in fixing your car than helping you properly maintain it. Talk to a true expert, or just a classic car collector who cares about the condition of their collection, and they will tell you 2-3 weeks max. Going 1 or 2 months at a time will not immediately cause issues, it will likely take 2-4 years for them to really show themselves.

Tires are also an issue when you let a car sit for over 3-4 weeks. Using tires creates heat, which helps to keep them inflated. Sitting still for too long causes them to lose air more than normal, which causes excess degradation because of how the load of the car puts more pressure on the sidewalls with a deflated tire. (I dont mean they will be totally flat, just low on air)

(I've worked on cars my whole life, on my own and under professional mechanics, and have always owned a classic car that gets minimal use. So Im just speaking from personal experience here.)

 

[Doug Lassiter]

Well, this is kinda getting off-topic, but fuel stabilization is considered necessary for even a sealed container. My mower repair people are adamant about needing gas stabilizers (which they don't sell) to keep fuel good for more than a few months. That's in a sealed gasoline can. They routinely service 2-cycle engines that are gummed up because of old gas.

Yes, tires create heat, which lasts maybe an hour after the drive is done. So that's not going to keep air pressure in the long run. Besides, if your tires are low, just fill 'em up!

As to lubrication, no one ever talks about that with regard to unused cars. But gee, if you don't drive the car, there is no reason why you can't just start it up every week or so, even without insurance. Liability and collision risks are pretty low if it's not moving. Same with battery charging.