Liability insurance question? OT

If you have several automobiles, why do you need a seperate liability policy for each one, if you are the only driver of the vehicles? It appears to me that this is unfair. You should pay for the vehicle with the most coverage and have the others added as needed for about $10.00 or so, because you only are going to get paid for one in an accident (if you are lucky).

My company gives a multi car discount. Because they know you can't drive them all at once.

Not enough to get to excited about but it is something.

Gary

I had this conservation with my agent years back. I had five vehicles at the time and only me as the driver. Per the agent, even though I am covered for any vehicle I drive, the coverage is sold on the vehicle. That way if someone steals it, your covered, loan it, out your covered, pop's out of gear and rolls down the hill, your covered. If they sold the policy on the driver (you), there would be no coverage if "you" were not driving it.

Errin OH is correct. The insurance policy follows the vehicle and not the person. So if you loan someone your vehicle, you are essentially loaning them your insurance as well. Each separate vehicle is required to have liability insurance on it.

(quoted from post at 12:42:55 06/11/12) Errin OH is correct. The insurance policy follows the vehicle and not the person. So if you loan someone your vehicle, you are essentially loaning them your insurance as well. Each separate vehicle is required to have liability insurance on it.

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Not exactly. If I loan my vehicle to someone who is not insured with the same company as I am, my insurance will not cover liability or anything else.

Not exactly. If I loan my vehicle to someone who is not insured with the same company as I am, my insurance will not cover liability or anything else.

Rusty, I guess I should not have made a blanket statement like that. That's how the insurance company I work for and all the other Bigger companies I deal with on a daily basis operate, but I suppose that may not be true for all of them.

While in Florida one winter, I was discussing this with a Canadian. Apparently, in P.E.I. insurance is done just as you suggest. Liability insurance is purchased by and for the driver and covers whatever he/she drives.

Yaers ago they used to sell what was referred to as "a policy and a half". Insured two vehicles with large discount on the second with the understanding that only one vehicle would be on the road at once. This was in Wis. It was popular with farmers that only drove their cars on sunday and trucks during the week.

Areo

I had an insurance company try that "he s not insured on that car crap once" They did pay after one call from the state insurance board in Missouri. Here, they insure cars not people.

When I was in the Marine Corps in North Carolina back in the 1950's, I had an insurance policy that covered me as a driver, with no vehicle mentioned. It covered me for liability for whatever I was driving.

The down side was, if anyone else drove my car, it was not insured unless the other driver had a form of insurance that covered it. The up side was, if I borrowed someone else's car, I was covered.

I don't know if those policies still exist.

Can't you declair a primary vehicle and have the others (if true) be rated at maybe less than 2500mile/yr.

I know there is some break for lower mileage driving...or maybe this is ancient history nowadays...

We have ours on a fleet policy but I am not sure its much cheaper.

Do a search for
"Broad Form" insurance
Sounds like what you might need .

If they insure cars, not people, then why does it cost so much for my under 25 son to drive the car that is insured?? I think you will see that they do insure people or else I'm getting ripped off.

Can't say in your case but for us we had to declair a driver. I was listed on all vehicles untill my first child started driving. When they went to get their license they had to produce a insurance document (DEC page) with their name on it. To do this I had to list them as the driver of a vehicle. The rate on that vehicle went through the roof. I always list them on the cheapest one in the bunch.

Insurance laws vary from state to state so what you get in one state may not match up with whats available in other states. That makes a forum like this a poor place to ask for insurance advice. Plus all insurance companies are not created equal. Some companies have very good reputations while others may take a lawyer to get them to settle a claim. You have to remember that having car insurance isn't so you can drive, it's to protect you should be be involved in an accident by paying for at least medical care. I think all 50 states require you to have insurance but that is state law not insurance company policy.

You need to read your policy and ask questions if you don't understand it. Your agent may not know everything about insurance. I'm with a major carrier and my agent isn't familiar with most of MN state insurance law. Depended on the state someone can become an agent with as little as 6 weeks of training.They learn the different types of policies (there are a bunch) business, life, renters, different levels of home owners, medical, farm, auto and others. Just how much are they going to know with 6 weeks training? So understanding your policy may take a lawyer who is knowledgeable in insurance law. Another sorce may be an independant adjuster. Most states require them to really know state insurnce laws.

A couple of good examples: Guy I know has homeowners insurance that is rolled into his house payment and purchased by the mortgage company. When he had a fire they cut holes in his roof to put the fire. Company refused to fix the roof because it was not directly damage by the fire. My insurance company pays any damage resulting from a fire. Big hint here: You can buy supplemental insurance is your policey is provided as part of your mortgage!

Teen here wrecked his uncles truck while test driving it. Uncle failed to tell him it wasn't insured. Kid was on his mothers policy and was covered because some states have laws requiring that the insurance follows both the car and those listed on the policy. Here again you can buy supplemental insurance to cover yourself is driving a vehicle not owned by you.

In both cases the insured had know idea what was in thier policy or any idea of state law. Both required a lawyer to get things done because both companies were in violation of MN law.

For those on here who buy insurance by price I urge you to get off this page and look up your company and see how they rate! You may be getting what you didn't pay for and that is extra headaches when you really don't need them. You don't need to wait 6 weeks for a new roof after a storm becuse you went cut rate or have a policy purchased by the cheapest bidder by a 3rd party that only cares if the payment is on time.

Rick

listing them on the cheapest one in the bunch may not be the cheapest way to go. My wife drives a 97 Lesabre, myself an 03 Passat. When I had full coverage on both, the Passat was considerabvly cheaper, even with my tickets, because it's a "safer" car. It has more gadgets and gizmos that make it safer if I were to get in a crash, therefore I have to pay less insurance for the same full coverage policy.

I have since dropped the buick to liability only because lets face it, it's a 97' buick. It's not worth it because the deductable would be atleast 1/3 the value.

Donovan from Wisconsin