CO car insurance on a CA registered vehicle? (Denver: rental, credit report)

[PatanjaliTwist]

Here’s my ‘what am I supposed to do’ question:

Bought a car in CA 2-mos ago. CA plates, registration, 6-mo Geico insurance policy.

Just moved to CO last wk.

Received an automated phone call twice today from Geico. They have received notification from the P.O. that my address has changed & ask me to call to update my policy asap.

From all the info I’ve read on the CO motor vehicle’s site, I’m not a resident for 3-mos, so have to wait ‘til mid-June to apply for a license & register my car. I have 4-mos left on the policy… I was just going to let it near running out before I visit the DMV & call the insurance company to do the whole shebang.

This state is filled with people from other states, so to you folks who must have run across this recently… will Geico or any insurance company give me CO insurance on a car with CA title/plates/registration given I’m not yet a legal resident?

Thanks very much!

[hammertime33]

Just give them your new address. You insure the car where it is - no matter where it is registered. For instance, I'm from Denver but went to college in Portland OR. As a student, I maintained my Colorado residency and Colorado driver's license, but I had the car insured in OR for 4 years.

[PatanjaliTwist]

Hammer... Thanks, but isn't it because you were in college & your parents' home was your perm address? It's not quite the same scenario... I'm not maintaining CA residency... I have no home there & won't be returning. I just can't claim CO residency for 3-mos... technically, I'm in a black hole.

My question was prompted by trying to figure out how to call Geico for info without outing myself & having another project to work on. I suppose I can call them anonymously, if that's possible these days.

If I'm missing your point, please let me know. I haven't owned a car in a long time, so am a bit green with the registration/title/insurance/licensing issues. Thanks for your reply.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by PatanjaliTwist

I just can't claim CO residency for 3-mos...

Incorrect. You can get a Colorado drivers license and plates immediately if you want. There is no proof of residency required-- all you need is a CO address.

[hammertime33]

Originally Posted by PatanjaliTwist

Hammer... Thanks, but isn't it because you were in college & your parents' home was your perm address? It's not quite the same scenario... I'm not maintaining CA residency... I have no home there & won't be returning. I just can't claim CO residency for 3-mos... technically, I'm in a black hole.

My question was prompted by trying to figure out how to call Geico for info without outing myself & having another project to work on. I suppose I can call them anonymously, if that's possible these days.

If I'm missing your point, please let me know. I haven't owned a car in a long time, so am a bit green with the registration/title/insurance/licensing issues. Thanks for your reply.

Your insurance company doesn't care what your residency is or where the car is registered. They just want to know where the car is and that you're adhering to the minimum insurance requirements of the state where you are primarily driving. Part of your rate is determined by accident statistics and average repair costs in the area where the car is parked and driven. Moving to a new state will most likely change your rate a few bucks a month.

Anytime you move your car somewhere for more than a month or so, you should inform your insurance company. Most companies let you do it online in less than a minute.

[PatanjaliTwist]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Incorrect. You can get a Colorado drivers license and plates immediately if you want. There is no proof of residency required-- all you need is a CO address.

That's not what the CO DMV site says... it says 3-mos for my situation. I'll find that portion of their rules & post later as it may help someone else in the same position. Have you done this recently?

For the heck of it, I asked the women in my rental office today... one said 4-mos, one said 3-mos to become a resident & the other 2 hashed it out for 15-min... I left before they came to a win, draw or defeat. None of it sounds right. This is part of the problem... people who've done it so long ago give advice & don't recall, had a different situation or perhaps state laws have changed. I'm sticking with the DMV site's info, but will call them to clarify.

Back to my main issue at hand, insurance.

[PatanjaliTwist]

Originally Posted by hammertime33

Your insurance company doesn't care what your residency is or where the car is registered. They just want to know where the car is and that you're adhering to the minimum insurance requirements of the state where you are primarily driving. Part of your rate is determined by accident statistics and average repair costs in the area where the car is parked and driven. Moving to a new state will most likely change your rate a few bucks a month.

Anytime you move your car somewhere for more than a month or so, you should inform your insurance company. Most companies let you do it online in less than a minute.

Thanks for clarifying, Hammer. Received another VM then email this am from Geico. They're relentless. I'll go online to see if I can update.

I'll check into residency issues Vegas brought up above. I have the time now to straighten it all out, so I guess I should utilize the time well. Thanks again.

[PatanjaliTwist]

For new residents like me, from the DMV site:

Department of Revenue - Division of Motor Vehicles:New Residents



Colorado Requirements for Residency:

• Own or operate a business in Colorado.
• Are gainfully employed in Colorado.
• Reside in Colorado for 90 consecutive days.

After becoming a Colorado resident, you have 30 days to qualify for a Colorado driver license and 90 days to register your vehicle


I currently don't fit any criteria yet, so I have time on registration/licensing. I guess the office was partially right... 3-mos to become a legal resident (providing one doesn't fit any of the criteria above), then another month (not wait, but deadline) to get a driver's license. If one moves to a job or finds one quickly, then applying for registration right away is allowed, so hopefully I'll be doing this all in a matter of weeks.

Thank you all for your help & especially Mike from Back East. I tore through old posts which he so graciously organized & compiled so it's been a nice, easy transition for me. <standing ovation> It's just this insurance issue I'm still confused on, but what the heck, honestly is the best policy & it sounds as if Hammer knows the issue, so I'll just call Geico like a big girl!

And, you are right about it being a lovely place to live, Mike (should you be reading this)... I'm further north but did stop in CO Springs on my drive from CA & liked it very much. People in CO are very friendly & I quite like them. After northeastern traffic (I lived in DC, Boston, NYC, too), boy this is a breath of fresh air, figuratively & literally. The dry climate & nosebleeds will take a bit of getting used to... never been in a dry climate before so hopefully the latter will soon stop & I'll find a thick enough moisturizer for my currently potato chip feeling skin! But, I do love that what's considered heavy traffic here is what we hope for in the northeast. (Not a diss, by the way... but if feels as if rush hour never ends in the 3 cities mentioned).

In fact, Vegas... I found an old post of yours from 2008 when you'd just moved & had posted some info about car insurance/registration/license... that was helpful, too. <big thumb's up... I lost my emoticons!>

The confusion here is the licensing offices & reg offices are in different bldgs. I've never seen that before & many others have commented on it's confusion, as well. I almost wish there were big bold letters on the DMV's New Residents page saying just that... it would help many of us.

Not sure how uncommon that is... maybe I've just been lucky enough to live in 7-8 states which have everything under one bldg, same office, just different windows. Nonetheless, I've only been here 1-wk & was just telling someone yesterday, it's the 1st place I've moved where I can easily find my way around & feel like I've found home. I've loved most of the cities/states I've lived before, but this is the first time I feel I found where I'd like to stay long term. I also love that people don't lay on their car horns the second the light turns green... in NYC, it's normally the 30th car in line which does so... haha

Thank you all for your help & very swift replies! <big thumbs up... darned emoticons>

[PatanjaliTwist]

Okay, Hammer, kudos to you, you're 100% spot on! I'm only updating as I'm sure someone in a similar situation will come along shortly & perhaps this will assist them.

Just spoke with Geico. This is the story I was told for my situation... They have insured my car in CO (good for me as the rate is slightly lower than CA) because they require the car be insured where the policy holder is living if longer than 30-days. She indicated that not all insurance companies have that as a requirement, but, I'll just stick with Geico info, since that's all I'm aware of at the moment.

Since I cannot become a legal resident of CO until I'm employed or 90-days have passed (no plans at the moment of beginning a biz... the 3rd criteria), my car will remain registered/titled in CA... therefore, Geico will not update my insurance card (the one kept in the glovebox) to reflect my CO address until my car becomes registered here. Your car is insured where you currently reside, but the insurance policy reflects where the car is registered, just as you said, Hammer. To make it more confusing, should I (knock wood) become involved in an accident, I will tell police/other driver I'm insured in CO, although the ins card shows CA.

I asked her to assure me this was all legal & since the first woman I spoke with at Geico (CA agent) transferred me to a CO agent, she's well aware of CO law (strange, as she's in TX... can't all of us stay in one place forever!) & said this happens all the time, we're now a very transient society.

Good to note, at least with Geico, she told me this means that should a policy holder take a 30+ day vacation/leave/attend university in another state, temporarily change your address with your insurance co so you have 100% coverage in that state... worth it especially if driving a newer or pricey car. Again, the disclaimer 'check with your personal agent/ins company' comes into play, since she said not all ins co's have the same requirements.

So, once I become employed, I will immediately register my car/change title to CO (at the DMV office which handles car reg's) then call Geico to update the address/policy/insurance card to CO. Then I have a 30-day deadline to get a CO driver's license (at the other DMV office which handles licensing).

Last tidbits:

* This was all necessitated by mail sent to me in CA from Geico, which was returned & not sent to my forwarding address. I thought black helicopters & agents were following me around 'cause I just bleedin' left CA 1-wk ago! Was going to suggest they work with the FBI to find missing Wall St honchos who absconded with clients' money... nope, it was that Return to Sender request on the envelope.

* My 6-mo policy originally covered Jan - July '11. Since my state address changed in April, they will re-write a new 6-mo CO policy (they require this, I didn't ask for it) which will show effective dates of April - Oct '11. I assumed it would still run out in July... not so, at least with Geico.

Hope this may help someone else. Thanks again Hammer for replying & having up-to-the-minute info!

[PatanjaliTwist]

Two last things I left out...

* Although my questions were regarding insurance, I have seen a fair amount of confusion in past posts asking for this info... if you come to CO with the 'express interest' of being a student, you are exempt from registering/plating your car here & getting a CO driver's license. Info is on the link I posted above. I have no idea if express interest factors in a minimum amount of hours worked at a PT job, since many students work PT, but it's something to check into further on the DMV site.

However... students must be insured in CO if staying beyond 30-days.

* Geico said they would pull a 'soft hit' credit report since my policy is being re-written. For those who don't know, like me, a soft hit means it won't reflect on the credit report as an inquiry, should I or anyone else pull my report. They did this when I first obtained coverage back in Jan... I was told then it was because I hadn't been licensed in 2-yrs as I hadn't owned a car... this time as it's a new state's policy. Just an FYI...

Okay, think I'm done now...