Busting Auto insurance myths

Is this car registered? If so it needs insurance!

I did the first set of insurance myths a few months back and I thought it was fun. I’m not sure if anyone else did but since this is my blog I thought I’d shatter another four insurance myths. Maybe I should call them more insurance questions or misunderstandings. But, myths is easier to write.
Myth #1 If you aren’t using a car you can just remove it from your auto insurance policy
I’ve been doing insurance long enough that this actually used to be true. Six or seven years ago I would have plenty of customers that would call and add their motorhomes when they wanted to take a road trip. The rest of the year they would park the motorhome and drop their coverage to just comprehensive coverage. The comprehensive coverage would cover the motorhome if it was stolen, burned up in a fire or a tree fell on it. It made sense and was a way to save a few bucks. Then along came the state. They were trying to cut down on uninsured drivers.  They came up with the idea that the insurance companies would be required to report to the state any cars that didn’t have auto insurance. The state would compare the insured cars with those registered in the state. If they found a car that didn’t have insured they would suspend the registrations making them illegal to be on the road. So, all those motorhomes or secondary vehicles now would risk having the registrations suspended if they were removed from their policies. The end result is that if you register a car, you must keep it insured.
Myth #2 You get a non smoker discount.
I’m not sure where this one came from but I suspect people sometimes confuse home and auto insurance.  There were a few home insurance carriers that would give their policy holders discounts for not smoking. But, on auto insurance there aren’t any companies that offer non smoking discounts. That still doesn’t stop a few people a year from asking me about it.
Myth #3 You need to buy insurance to drive in Canada
When you drive into Mexico you need to buy special insurance. But, good news here is that Canada recognizes your American auto insurance. Back when I first started doing insurance some companies were not approved by the Canadian government. When you planned on taking a road trip you needed to call your auto insurance company and request a special insurance card. I used to type these cards up for my customers and then would use them on their trips. Now, you can just use your standard insurance card and when you get to the border they will let you through.
Myth #4 If you rent a U-Haul you don’t need to buy the insurance
While many policies will cover you if you rent a car. Renting a truck is a different story. Many insurance companies don’t consider trucks to be a standard vehicle. And because your auto insurance is designed to cover personal vehicles not commercial vehicles you may not have coverage if you rent a truck. My advice is to buy the insurance from U-Haul or whatever company you are renting the truck from. You don’t want to hit a tree limb and dent the truck and then have your auto insurance company deny the claim. If you don’t want to buy the coverage from the rental company call your auto insurance companies claims department and ask how they would handle an accident in a truck. They will be able to tell you if you will be covered or not.
That wraps up another exciting episode of busting insurance myths. I hope you enjoyed them.  If you have any insurance questions feel free to contact me at 951-395-0754