Gap in Insurance Coverage

[Maybelater]

Had a company vehicle, left that job. Working out of town now and hardly have time to myself outside of work, don't even really see a need to buy a car right away.

I was warned that it can be really hard on my insurance to have a gap in my coverage. I'm going on about three months.

Can someone fill me in on what happens when I have extended gaps in insurance coverage?

[D'z Nutz]

Yeah this happened/is happening to me.

In 2004 I sold my car cause I just wasn't driving it enough to justify keeping it since I was taking transit to and from school, work and anywhere I needed to go. In 2006 I got my sister to put me as a part time driver under her just cause I was borrowing her car on weekends and evenings, until I became a car owner again in 2008.

Anyways, about a year and a half ago I was trying to get an insurance quote from Masked Bandit and he could've saved me over $400/year from what I was paying had it not been for that 2 year gap where there was no record of me driving. Now that I've waited it out, Bill is gonna be getting a call from me when my insurance is up for renewal this May :D

I'm sure he can chime in with more details, but if you're going to go carless, you should at least have some sort of continuous driving record somewhere even if it's something as simple as a part time driver under a parent, sibling, or spouse. Your current 3 month gap probably isn't that big of a deal yet.

[Maybelater]

Interesting, maybe I'll see if I can put myself on my mothers insurance for awhile and pay her insurance in return. Would that jump up her rates though?

[D'z Nutz]

I think that's something only your mom's insurance company can answer with certainty. In my sister's case, it didn't.

[guessboi]

Originally posted by Maybelater
Had a company vehicle, left that job. Working out of town now and hardly have time to myself outside of work, don't even really see a need to buy a car right away.

I was warned that it can be really hard on my insurance to have a gap in my coverage. I'm going on about three months.

Can someone fill me in on what happens when I have extended gaps in insurance coverage?

3 months is nothing. You would be held at the star rating that you qualified for prior to the lapse starting. Just don't go beyond 3 full yrs, otherwise you would lose a year of driving record.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by Maybelater
Had a company vehicle, left that job. Working out of town now and hardly have time to myself outside of work, don't even really see a need to buy a car right away.

I was warned that it can be really hard on my insurance to have a gap in my coverage. I'm going on about three months.

Can someone fill me in on what happens when I have extended gaps in insurance coverage?

As long as your gap in coverage doesn't exceed TWO (2) years, you're fine. Keep in mind that your driving record isn't progressing during this time but just sitting neutral. Depending on your current driving record & such you may want to get yourself listed as a driver on someone else's policy if you think you're going to run into a 2 year stretch of no insurance.

One other thing you may want to look into is that time with a company vehicle. Some companies list their employees as drivers, some don't (depends on how the company policy is set up). If you were never listed as a driver on the company policy you may be out that time as well. If you're still on reasonable terms with your former employer I would contact them, find out who the company insurance was with and contact that insurance company for a "claims experience letter". It's a document that verifies how long you were on the company policy and what your driving record was (clean, accidents, etc.).