Vehicle insurance policies are flexible enough to provide coverage for travels in other states and even in Canada for shorter periods without needing any special arrangements. However, this changes when the stay becomes longer. There are circumstances that require special policy coverage arrangements to accommodate the need to stay in two different states for longer periods.
As a general rule, vehicles should be registered and insured in the state of legal residence. Often this is the state you live in more than six months of the year, although there are states requiring vehicle registration for people who stay in there less than this period. Motorists should check the requirements of the state they are considering staying longer than a month.
Also, it is illegal to live in one state and insure the vehicle in another state or address. This is to prevent motorists choosing the cheaper state for car insurance. So, policies should be arranged based on legal residence.
So, automobile insurance companies come up with alternative solutions for people who live in other states for longer periods of time. For example, snowbirds often spend their winters in warmer states and they even own a property there. In such cases, auto insurers offer special “snowbirds rider” to cover the car in another state for extended periods of time.
When there is a multi-state auto insurance coverage, the vehicle is insured according to their state’s minimum Liability requirements when they are home and according to the state they are temporarily living in when they are away. Motorists may need to inform their providers as to where and when they will be spending their time.
Thanks to this “snowbird exception”, motorists don’t have to cancel their policies at home when they are away and arrange a new coverage. They can keep their policy from where they normally live and it covers them in both locations by switching in between.
Normally, there isn’t another policy for another state for the same car. Buying two policies for one car can cause problems like both may be cancelled when there is a claim or when either company becomes aware of it.
Motorists needing out-of-state car insurance coverage should talk to their providers and make the necessary arrangements that keep them legal and fully covered. The requirements and arrangements change depending on the insurer and states.
Another group of people who may have to take up residence in multi-states and arrange car insurance are students. In their case, they may actually stay longer periods of time at colleges or universities than their hometowns. That is why the key consideration in case of students is where the car stays most of the time.
If they leave their vehicles behind when they go to university, they don’t need to change anything. They can actually ask for lower car insurance rates from their providers since they won’t be driving much when they are away. Most companies would offer better rates if the college is further than 100 miles away.
In the same way, they may actually have to arrange a new policy in their new state if they decide to take the car with them to the campus, simply because the vehicle will spend more time away and therefore cannot be kept under home state insurance.
Another situation is when motorists buy cars in other states and leave them there when they return home. This is totally different from taking it back when you return. In such cases, the vehicle should be registered and insured in the address it is kept in, even if it is not the legal residence of the owner.
This may be the case when two locations are too far apart to drive or people prefer to fly. Again, motorists could find cheaper insurance in such cases because they are going to be driving less if they live far away most of the time.
There are many flexible auto insurance solutions offered in the market today and motorists should make sure that they are fully covered and legal for their vehicle usage. They should first check with their current carriers if they need to make extra arrangements and this may be a good time to get a few quotes from other companies too to make sure they get a good deal for their updated circumstances.