can i drive a car without insurance if i just bought it? (car insurance, vehicles)
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i was on a group plan before the purchase i made today, and wanted to see if i could get a better deal on my own before signing up, so i didnt go ahead and go with the group plan.
since i just bought the car can i drive it without insurance? thanks.
Yes you can.
Your current policy automatically covers you for the new car for next 30 days.
You can actually think this through for yourself...
Let's say you pull out of the dealer's lot with the new car you just borrowed mucho bucks for, and at the first intersection you cause a terrible accident in which both your car and another's car are totally demolished and people are seriously injured.
Who is going to pay for all the damages? Sorta looks like it might hit $500,000 in damages and YOU are legally responsible for every penny of it. So who will wind up paying the bill?
Your theoretical "I hope they still cover it" former insurance company? Or the agent you specifically arranged for coverage with, who actually bound a policy for you?
Not hard, is it?
I have a friend that something similar happened to, although not to that extreme.
He had gotten out of the Army, and had saved up to buy a used Honda CRX Si (this was the early 90's). At that time, the internet really wasn't there to do insurance, so, you had to go to or call your local insurance agent.
Well, he goes and picks the car up and drives away to the insurance agent. Pulls up at a stop sign and can't see... Pulls up a little bit further, too far, unfortunately, and someone coming down the street hits him.
Cost him 6K to repair the car, lost his license, and then had to carry high risk insurance for years after.
Moral of the story... If you have a question on it... call your insurance company!
Yeah but does just having current valid insurance cover the just newly purchased car?
Yes. In the state of Minnesota, the laws were (this was 2010 or so) such that you had a grace period, during which you're newly purchased car was covered, that you were supposed to call your insurance agent and notify him. I think the grace period was two weeks but am uncertain on that point.
I thought the OP said he was not currently covered under an insurance policy. If so it isn't a matter of being covered under his current insurance HE DOESN"T HAVE ANY!!!!
I'm not sure what he means by previously being under a 'group plan' vs 'individual plan' but if he cancelled his previous coverage I don't see what grace period or automatic coverage there would be.
Years ago I was buying a car from my sister on the front end of a two-week vacation, so I had a lot of scrambling to do before I left town--finishing up the loan paperwork, packing, all the stuff at my office--the works. I was tempted to let my insurance company slide, but I was glad I didn't because on my way home, late at night, I hit a deer on the highway. It didn't total the car but it would have been very expensive if I hadn't had the insurance already.
Might I have been covered already? Maybe, but I'm glad I didn't find out the hard way.
Yeah but does just having current valid insurance cover the just newly purchased car?
You are NOT going to get a plate...either permanent, or temporary, without insurance. So, then the question becomes who will let you drive off the lot without a registration of some sort?
Nobody.
It could be that a call to your insurance agent with the new vehicle particulars, usually by the dealer, will have the insurance transferred to the new vehicle. The agent will then issue the ID cards--and sort out the financials (bill) at a later date.
Yes, your existing insurance covers you for a while on a new purchase (doesn't matter, I call State Farm and give them the VIN before I even leave the lot) - but the op said he's not on any plan.
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