No, Non, Yes: Auto Insurance Options If You Don't Own A Car

Car ownership is something that's considered necessary in most of the country. However, more areas are improving public transit and car-sharing options, allowing people who live in more central areas to ditch their personal cars. One issue that then confronts these people is whether or not to keep their car insurance. On the face of it, it seems like the insurance is not necessary. But there are reasons, other than convenience, that make having insurance still attractive.

Keeping Your Insurance

If you want, you can keep your current insurance without really making any changes. There might be some minor administrative adjustments since the number of miles you drive per year will plummet, but overall, your policy would continue as normal. The advantages to this are:

  • Less paperwork for you
  • You have insurance already intact should you get another car
  • You know you have adequate coverage if you drive another person's vehicle that has limited coverage

The one disadvantage is that you're spending money on a policy you rarely use. However, if you are still new to the world of not owning a car, this is money well spent because it's one less thing you have to worry about changing, and one less thing you have to worry about getting used to.

Non-Owner Car Insurance

Another option is non-owner car insurance, which is a policy meant to provide some basic protection should you rent a car or drive someone else's car with bare-bones coverage. This can be a good deal depending on your area. However, if your main goal is to save money by modifying your insurance, you might find that non-owner policies aren't that much cheaper than owner policies. The real savings come from not having to get full rental car insurance per day if you rent a car.

Dropping Your Insurance

Finally, you can technically drop your insurance. That would save you money if you aren't planning to drive. But keep in mind that you'd have to buy full insurance per day if you were to rent a car, and you'd be at the mercy of limited coverage through car-sharing services. Only drop your car insurance completely if you are desperate to save money. Plus, if you were to get another car later on, you'd have to reapply for insurance and hope that nothing had happened in the meantime to make it harder to get a new policy.

It really would be a good idea to keep some form of auto insurance active. If you're selling your car, contact your agent to discuss your options. Contact a company like LA Insurance to learn more.


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