Good afternoon, SF. I've got a question (as usual).

Short version: my car is in the shop, likely to be there for a while. The manufacturer is providing a loaner, for the duration of the repair time. I'm cool with that. Yesterday's mail brought me a note from DMV telling me it's time to renew my registration, which led to the question: can I cut back the insurance coverage on my car while the dealer's shop has it? Again, it's likely to be there for a while -- it's been there for a couple of months already, and at least one in the repair queue has been there for a year already (supply chain issues).

Thinking about it, I figure the answer is no, because there's a loan on it and the bank will still want it fully covered. That makes sense. But the opportunity to get it into a crash is pretty much zero -- it's not moving until repair parts arrive.

Thinking a notch further, I wondered: if I could cut back the coverage on my own car while it's stored at the VW shop (intent: save a buck or two), would my insurance company want to increase my premium in return because I'll have this (much newer) loaner for a good while?

I don't want to bring myself extra costs as a result of inquiring about a cost reduction, y'know? I figured I'd ask here before contacting my agent. Thanks, all!

Insurance is for the driver. You will still be driving.

Your insurance covers you in rental cars and dealer loaners, unless you get specific coverage through the rental/loaner provider. I always refuse all rental/loaner insurance and use my own because I don't wreck my own car often on a general basis so the odds that I will wreck a rental/loaner are pretty low.

Your insurance cost is based on your car, and the value of rentals/loaners will vary, but cutting the insurance on your own car will result in commensurate cuts on coverage for rentals/loaners. I will assume the insurance companies consider this washing out because rentals/loaners are use for a short amount of time, and people typically get one that is similar to their normal car.

Short answer, don't change anything, and don't wreck the loaner.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Short answer, don't change anything, and don't wreck the loaner.

Sounds like the perfect summary.

In addition to the foregoing, cutting your insurance coverage would be an event of default under your financing agreement.

My carrier lets me have different coverages on different cars. I would cut the liability back to the legal minimum while car is in shop. If you have a loan you still need comp and collision. If you have no loan you could cut that back to the minimum as well. Difference in premium may not be that noticeable.

I have a teen approaching learners permit age and a driver handbook marketer at teens from the dmv magically appeared in my mailbox. Legal minimum liability coverage in Florida is only 10k. I about fell over. I keep substantially more. One parking lot bump and that 10k would be about gone

quote:

Originally posted by tgajak:

In addition to the foregoing, cutting your insurance coverage would be an event of default under your financing agreement.

Not sure how it works with cars, but when my airplane was going to be out of service for an extended period, waiting for parts, the insurance was modified to only cover "not in motion." Coverage was maintained for all risks, as long as the airplane was not moving under its own power. This saved quite a bit on the premium.

There might be something similar available for cars. Check with your agent.

Others have pretty much said it but the answer is essentially no. Since you have a loan you need to keep comp and collision on it.

And you don't want to decrease your liability coverage because this extends to the loaner. You could increase your comp and collision deductibles but these extend to the loaner as well.

And since you don't usually sign up for an insurance plan on a loaner car, there's likely no chance of any other insurance coming in to cover you in the event of an accident.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
when my airplane was going to be out of service for an extended period, waiting for parts, the insurance was modified to only cover "not in motion." [snip] There might be something similar available for cars.

My motorcycle plan is set up this way... I think they call it a "winter layup" or something like that.

Thanks, all for the input. I'll not pester my agent this week (though he's a friend and probably deserves a good pestering).

As mentioned above in several variations, you can still maintain full coverage on a car (what the bank requires) while lowering your premium due to limited use.

This happens with airplanes, motorcycles, collector cars, and motorhomes regularly.

We had a car that was stored in a garage and only driven occasionally. We had a full coverage policy with a limited mileage requirement. It was no different than any other policy I had on every other vehicle, but for the fact that they wanted to know the mileage every year.

In my case I had other primary vehicles. If this is your only car I do not know how that would work, especially as it pertains to you still needing that coverage on your loaner.

My youngest son had a pickup truck that he had a front end collision in. It was at the dealership for repairs for over a month. While there, they managed to roll it up against a haydite wall you could easily see the grit from the wall in the considerable scrape along the side of the truck (remember front end collision). The dealership denied causing the damage. The insurance company stepped in and forced the issue. Since they had pictures of the truck prior to the dealership getting it, they and their lawyers made quiet a good case. The dealership lost that round. I’d say there are moments when insurance can be very useful, even if you’re not driving the car.

I think you could get away with maybe reducing some coverage to save money but it probably wouldn't be smart to drop all coverage on your vehicle. Best to speak with your insurance agent and see what they say before making a decision. Insurance laws vary from state to state and rules/regulations from insurance company to insurance company.