BootsnAll Travel Community

In an earlier thread it was mentioned that canceling your car insurance would result in higher rates in the future since you will no longer be able to claim continuous coverage. Here's the thread:

http://boards.bootsnall.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/20909165...00391416#12500391416

Since I'm about to sell my car and go without insurance, I was curious how this would impact my rates in the future. So I decided to do a test, using Progressive and Geico's. For both companies, I filled out their information online twice, once saying I had continuous coverage for 20 years, the other saying I did not have continuous coverage. Here's what I found:

Progressive rates were about $10-$30 more per month when I said I haven't had continuous coverage. On the other hand, Geico's rates were the exact same either way. I'm guessing this is because Geico asks you why you were without coverage and one of the responses is "deployed or overseas".

Anyway, hardly a scientific study but I hope people find this information helpful.

Nice, thanks for the info...I always wondered about that

Sweet. Thanks!

For those traveling for less than a year, you should look into "pausing" your insurance. I did this when Studying abroad 5 years ago. I use AllState, and that might be special to them, but I think it probably looks better than cancelling. Just something else to look into.

Look into vehicle in storage insurance. It does not cover anything if someone takes it for a spin, but if the barn falls down on it you ought to be covered.

In North Carolina you can get in a tight spot with the state for a lapse in coverage on a licensed/registered vehicle. Do some reading on your states motor vehicles code, and see if it can come back to bite you.

Robin Marie and Rocknrod -

I don't disagree with what you're saying. My post, though, was intended to cover those situations where you've sold your car. If you don't have a car, you can't get insurance which will lead to a gap in coverage (unless a friend or parent is willing to add you to theirs while you're away).

Cheers!

I just canceled my Progressive car insurance of 15 years, and the agent said I shouldn't have a problem getting picked up again when I return. She said the bigger problem tends to be when people have held a car - uninsured, or driven around w/o insurance.

Then again, I didn't ask about the nuts and bolts of price increases, though she did say it wouldn't hurt to mention my previous brand loyalty when reapplying.