Insurance Question

[playafly187]

I'm looking to buy my first ever vehicle (possibly tomorrow) but I'm running into an issue with getting insurance coverage. I will be the owner of the vehicle and the person that makes the insurance payment, but I won't be driving. I'm getting the vehicle simply so I can take my power chair with me when I go out with friends, etc. There's no physical way for me to drive the vehicle.

I called a few of the big name companies tonight and was pretty much told that the insurance would have to be put in the primary driver's name. The problem with that is A) nobody is really going to volunteer to put insurance in their name and B) it wouldn't always be the same single person driving every time I go out (likely 2-3 different "regular" drivers).

Any ideas on how to make this happen? I can't imagine that this scenario has NEVER happened before and surely an insurance company has some sort of way to make it happen.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ex-Gooserider]

Might be helpful if you'd tell us where you are at Different jurisdictions will have different rules.... If you go into the User Control Panel, there is a place you can fill this info in, and it will show up in every message over in the little box with the message poster info. (I wish everyone would do this, as it can impact a lot of questions in different ways....)

Here in my state, the answer would depend on whether the possible drivers were "household members" or not, with a requirement that any household members be listed at least as "secondary drivers". Another problem area would be if you paid any of the other drivers, in which case you might need some sort of commercial policy to cover your "employees". Yet another possibility is if the other drivers were named as primary drivers on a different vehicle (i.e. their own car) in which case they might not need to be covered under your policy at all, as they would be considered "guest drivers" under their own coverage.... Lots of possibilities, which ones depend on the laws where you live.

ex-Gooserider

[playafly187]

Whoops, my fault. I'm in Mississippi, USA.

I've spent all night researching this further and some of the options you mentioned seem to be what we are onto also. The people that would be driving the vehicle for me are friends and thus don't live with me or aren't family members. One of my friends checked his current auto policy closely and it stated that he would be covered driving my vehicle on an irregular basis granted I gave him permission to do so. I think that might be the route I would take with the other couple of friends that might ever drive it as well - just make sure their current policy covers "guest" vehicles.

That aside, my only concern is some type of theft / natural disaster / liability coverage when nobody is driving (it sitting in the parking lot of the apartment complex I live in). I'm going to check with my renter's insurance company in the morning to see if something like that can be bundled under an umbrella type policy.

Hopefully things work out as this would be my first vehicle ever and I'm really excited that I found a very nice van at a great price

[Ashley G]

Whoops, my fault. I'm in Mississippi, USA.

I've spent all night researching this further and some of the options you mentioned seem to be what we are onto also. The people that would be driving the vehicle for me are friends and thus don't live with me or aren't family members. One of my friends checked his current auto policy closely and it stated that he would be covered driving my vehicle on an irregular basis granted I gave him permission to do so. I think that might be the route I would take with the other couple of friends that might ever drive it as well - just make sure their current policy covers "guest" vehicles.

That aside, my only concern is some type of theft / natural disaster / liability coverage when nobody is driving (it sitting in the parking lot of the apartment complex I live in). I'm going to check with my renter's insurance company in the morning to see if something like that can be bundled under an umbrella type policy.

Hopefully things work out as this would be my first vehicle ever and I'm really excited that I found a very nice van at a great price

I'm in the UK, and our insurance standards may differ from yours, but one thing jumped out at me from what you last wrote:

In the UK, that arrangement would probably mean that loss or damage sustained by your own vehicle would not be covered while your friends were driving it for you. In other words, their own policies probably allow them enough cover to drive your vehicle and indemnify third parties - but not your own losses if they have a bump.

I hope it works out for you. Good luck.

Ashley

[playafly187]

Hi, just an update on this. I was able to find an insurance provider that offered coverage on the van itself, regardless of driver, which is perfect for my situation. This means I was also able to buy the van with confidence and so far it's great! I am in the process of cleaning it up and taking care of a few basic maintenance items and will post some photos soon

[Burgerman]

Good! Hope you enjoy getting out and about!

[Martin O Refurbisher]

Just do make sure that you read the carrier's exclusions with care to ensure thta you receive what you expected.

When I lived i nFlorida, if you could produce a notarised statement that your free assets exceeded $20k, you could self-insure! Cost = Zero, but no one to run to if anything happens, like fire, theft, or own damage. However, your guest drivers would then remain liable for any mistakes they made, under their own coverage.

Best,

Martin