Do I really need to buy car insurance?

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: mugs
Why would you make this decision:

Originally posted by: Azndude51
Needless to say, we will be taking our business elsewhere from now on,

Without knowing the answer to this question:

but am I really supposed to have insurance in my situation

?

While the insurance agent might be in the right (regarding policy), it's a matter of customer service. The agent (if what the OP is saying is true) was abusive towards his parents. That reason alone would persuade me to check other avenues.

Or he may have just been stressing the urgent need to be in compliance with the insurance company's policies so that they can't deny a claim if there is an accident, and she took it the wrong way.

Absolutely true. That's why I had added the bolded section before posting that.

 

[MrWizzard]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Insurance covers the car, not the person. You do not need it, especially if you wont be driving any of the cars.

Usually true but not always, there are non-owner policies that people can get. They insure people for driving cars they do not own.

TO OP, each company has different rules, asking an insurance question here could get you wrong info. Not only does each company have different rules but also each state has different laws, there are a lot of variables, if you are NEVER going to drive a car and always be a passenger then you probably don't need insurance. If you might drive even if it is only 1x a year be careful you might be opening yourself up for a world of hurt, even if someone says you can drive their car because their insurance would cover it, I find most peoples knowledge of insurance and their policies to be lacking.

 

[novasatori]

whenever I go home for short periods I drive my parents cars without insurance, its covered under their policies

I do have a different permanent address though, so ymmv.

 

[kmalo]

Some insurance companies need to know who lives in the household (who has access to the vehicles, licensed or not) But if you're visiting, i know Allstate just wants to know when and how long you'll be home for. Under their policies, your mom's car is covered regardless of who drives it.

 

[Bryophyte]

Yes, if your permanent address is your parents' house, and you are a licensed driver, your parents' insurance company can, and usually WILL, require you to be insured. They usually state up front that ALL licensed drivers must be insured, whether or not they plan on driving.

 

[waggy]

Yes you need insurance and yes he wants to get richer.

 

[Azndude51]

Originally posted by: mugs
Why would you make this decision:

Originally posted by: Azndude51
Needless to say, we will be taking our business elsewhere from now on,

Without knowing the answer to this question:

but am I really supposed to have insurance in my situation

?

We are switching is because of the way the agent treated us and not the actual policy. He didn't even bother explaining it to my mom, he just raised his voice and said she had to. If he would've explained politely that I had to be added to the policy because my home address is still technically listed as my current address we would not be having this problem. Also, we want to switch anyway to find find a cheaper company since I will have to be paying for insurance too since I will be living at home and probably driving.

Originally posted by: mugs
While the insurance agent might be in the right (regarding policy), it's a matter of customer service. The agent (if what the OP is saying is true) was abusive towards his parents. That reason alone would persuade me to check other avenues.

I wasn't actually there but my mom NEVER complains about anyone and for her to complain about someone raising his voice to her is a big deal. I agree that he should stress it if it is policy, but he just did it in a bad way.

 

[wetcat007]

If u drive you need insurance, however you can have your license and no insurance as long as you don't drive. It may vary by state, but as far as I know that's how it goes.

 

[getbush]

Insurance laws vary by state.

 

[Zenmervolt]

If you're not insured, you can't drive it's as simple as that.

However, as long as you never drive their car, you are not required to be insured.

If you ever, at any time, drive their car, then you need to be either listed on their policy or to carry a policy of your own.

Your mother probably made it sound like you've been driving their car in the past which is why the insurance agent freaked out. If you ever, even once, drove their car without being on their policy, you were driving illegally. It's also possible that it's an insurance company policy even though it's not a law.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Insurance covers the car, not the person. You do not need it, especially if you wont be driving any of the cars.

Wrong.

Insurance covers the person, not the car. If I get into an accident while driving my friend's car, MY insurance pays for that, not my friend's.

ZV

 

[feelingshorter]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Insurance covers the car, not the person. You do not need it, especially if you wont be driving any of the cars.

Wrong.

Insurance covers the person, not the car. If I get into an accident while driving my friend's car, MY insurance pays for that, not my friend's.

ZV

AllState insurance covers who ever is driving the car(so if a friend gets in an accident driving your car, AllState covers it). So it depends on the insurance i guess.

 

[FoBoT]

if any uninsured licensed drivers live in the house , they are going to see it as a problem, since they know that in 99% of the cases that uninsured licensed driver will borrow the car "just this one time to run to the store 3 blocks away" and then BAM!!! you get wiped out by a semi truck

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Insurance covers the car, not the person. You do not need it, especially if you wont be driving any of the cars.

i'm just gonna quote this even though i've read through the other posts.

it depends on the insurance you have. my parents have insurance on themselves and their vehicles so anyone that drives their vehicles is covered. they had me as a driver with insurance (so if i drive someone's car, i'm covered) but they recently took me off because i usually only drive their cars and they have insurance on the car so i'm covered anyway

 

[paulee]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82


it depends on the insurance you have.

I work for an insurance carrier in CA. "It depends" is the correct answer.

Typically the liability for personal auto policies follows the individual. If you drive your buddy's car, your personal auto picks up the damage to a third party.

However I have seen other carriers offer policies where this is not the case. Read your policies carefully, instead of asking for advice on an Internet forum.

 

[HiTek21]

Guy I knew cancelled his insurance because he felt it was a waste of money. Two days after cancelling his insurance he rear ended a mercedes benz.