There are times people may be in between addresses. They are out of a location but haven’t yet moved to a new place. And there are people who don’t have anywhere to call home. Some may actually sleep in vehicles. Those people need coverage for their automobiles too. So, is it easy to get car insurance for homeless even it is a temporary situation?
How Important Home Address Is for Auto Insurance?
Zip code is statistically significant because it tells carriers about the past accidents, crime, congestion, weather conditions and general welfare of the neighborhood. All these factors affect quotes that it becomes a problem when you cannot be pinned down to a geographic location. Also, carriers want to pin you down to a particular door number and street to know where the car will be parked most nights, does it have a garage or driveway, who else living in it and so on.
Furthermore, credit history is mostly tied to your past residences. If you are living off the grid there is a chance the history isn’t complete and this increases already high risks of insuring such driver and the vehicle. Besides, companies cannot actually confirm that the information you have given is correct if you don’t have a stable home. Therefore, most providers consider vehicle insurance without permanent address as too much risk to accept. It is easier and safer to decline the applicant.
Temporary addresses like hotels or other halfway houses increases the unknown risks to an unacceptable level for most automobile insurers. There is nothing keeping you there long enough if you don’t have a rental contract or lease. You can easily pack up and move to somewhere else that creates a transient risk. If they are aware of the situation they will probably decline. And if you hide such material fact you will be giving them cause to decline a claim in the future.
Auto Insurance When You Are Relocating
If you are out of your residence and waiting to move into another one you may have a good chance to find acceptable coverage as long as you know where you are moving into and it is happening soon. There can be many reasons as to why this would happen. You just sold your house and had to get out but the purchase of the new one hasn’t yet completed. Or you may be waiting for the current tenant to vacate the new apartment.
Then, most of them would accept the new location. However, you need to explain the circumstances clearly by giving them your old one, where you live currently and where you will be next and when. Usually, around 30 days in a temporary lodging wouldn’t cause a problem.
Also, as long as you live somewhere fixed it may not matter that it is not the place you will be throughout the policy term. All you need to do is to let them know your new zip code when you are there. Then, they will adjust the premium accordingly and you pay the difference or even get a refund.
If you are living in a hotel currently it may still be acceptable if you are there until you move to a more permanent place of residence. However, checking in and out of motels isn’t really considered stable and most providers would decline to quote if they know it.
The best thing to do is to explain the position as best as you can and check with another source if the first one declines. You may find a non-standard carrier to accept it even if it means higher premium for you. You can switch to a traditional name when you move permanently.
Homeless Automobile Insurance
If you are currently homeless and have been for a while it is bordering hopelessness in terms of finding coverage. Most companies will not be happy to cover someone who cannot give them an address. It is simply too much transient risk since they don’t know where you will be tomorrow.
If you are staying in a certain area and have connections you may talk to a friend or family member and see if you can use theirs. But this can create a serious risk of denial of future claims, especially if you don’t stay there at all or enough. If you cannot call a place home you shouldn’t tell the company that it is.
Every vehicle owner needs insurance to drive legally and you need an address to buy it. Probably the best thing is to talk to the state department or an experienced broker to see if they can help. State department is the first call for uninsurable drivers because they arrange policies for risks that falls outside the accepted norms.
Which state you live in is important as each has its own rules and regulation. That is why it is important to look at each situation within the context. The circumstances may seem extra difficult but you should try to find an acceptable solution before you cause an accident or get caught. Therefore, at least you should try to buy liability only policy. Besides, local DMV, where the car is registered, probably knows all along that it is not covered.