<p>DD has a job that takes her out of state for four to six months at a time. Her job flies her to her assigned area and supplies her with a rental car while there. Because it’s a new job, we don’t really know how things will work in terms of coming home for a few days before her next assignment. She has a car that she bought new (cash) in 2007 and it’s still pretty nice, so she’d like to keep it. We’ve offered to let her keep it parked in our drive while she’s gone as we have only a two car garage in which DH and I both park. My main concern is damage from hail as we’ve had more than our fair share this year. Hubby’s new car had $5,100+ in hail damage two or three months ago that was completely covered by insurance, so we don’t want her to discontinue her comprehensive plan. </p>
<p>DH and DD have suggested that I sell my car (2002 Mazda Tribute with only 90K miles) and drive DD’s car when she’s away. I’m trying to just process all of it. I like my car. Sure, it’s 10 years old, but I keep it very nice and I’ve never had a problem with it. If the job doesn’t work out, I’d have to buy a new car and it’s been many years since we’ve had car payments and I don’t want to start with that again. </p>
<p>We’d like to give her the best possible advice. Have any of you ever minimized insurance on a car that isn’t being driven? I’m just not sure what the right thing is to do.</p>
<p>Some insurance companies may have a “low mileage option” to the policy on the car. In such cases, they may ask you to report odometer mileage every so often.</p>
<p>We pay less because D1 is not driving 8 months of the year when she is in college (and as long a she maintained a 3.3 GPA). We also pay less because I drive <10,000 miles on one of our cars now that I am retired. I’ve never asked my insurance company (Amica) but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a low mileage option for a case like this. I’d suggest your D talk to the agent or rep at her insurance company.</p>
<p>PS – I know how you feel about your Mazda. I’ve got a 2003 but with 150,000 miles. I’m probably 2 or 3 years away from buying a replacement and not looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Why don’t you sideline the Mazda and reduce the coverage (maybe just liability and drop collision if you still carry it) and drive D’s car while she is gone?</p>
<p>I used to drop most coverage in the winter when I did not drive the classics in the winter salt and muck. Then call in Spring and put it back. But you can’t do that every other month.</p>
<p>1) Your D may need the driver insurance portion in order for her to drive the rental car provided by her employer for her rental car. Or she may not. She should find out if she needs personal insurance for any of her use of the rental car while on her 4-6 month business trip. (i.e., personal side trips). If not, you can save money by not having her as an insured driver.</p>
<p>She doesn’t really qualify for low mileage driver since she does drive a lot, but not that particular vehicle. She is still a liability for the insurance company because her use of the rental car could result in a claim.</p>
<p>2) She probably doesn’t need collision insurance on the vehicle at home. She probably won’t need collision insurance in order to be protect while driving the company-provided rental car.</p>
<p>3) She will need comphrensive insurance, and how much she drives really isn’t related to the exposure (hail, theft, vandalism) to the vehicle, so I don’t see much discount.</p>
<p>The big problem with trying to qualify for a low mileage discount is the driver still drives a lot, it’s the vehicle that isn’t driven. So from the insurance company standpoint, there still is a big risk there.</p>
<p>We are in a similar situation with our daughter and the insurance companies have not been helpful. My daughter is in London for 6 months after living in DC for the past 3 years. Her car is titled in her name and registered in DC, but is now sitting in our driveway in another state for the 6 months she is away.</p>
<p>Her current insurance company will no longer cover the car while it is in our state, and our insurance company won’t cover it unless it is titled and registered here. We will drive the car enough to keep it running well, but will not drive it daily; we already have my 13 year old SUV with 250K miles sitting around for a spare! I insisted with our agent that there had to be a way to insure this car while at our home; as she is out of town this week I have not heard back yet.</p>
<p>As I said to the agent, we are not the first parents to have an adult child’s car sitting for a while; what about all the military families; surely we are not trying to reinvent the wheel. I did speak to a different agent at our company who said she didn’t believe my daughter’s current company could drop her until the end of her policy period. I haven’t verified that yet as both companies tell me the other should cover the car. It is not worth us retitling the car back to me for the 6 months; that will cost more than the actual insurance.</p>
<p>For now the car is here as if my daughter were home visiting, meaning it will be driven as needed. Hopefully all can get straightened out soon.</p>
<p>Snowball, we ran into that when my parents were moving, we actually changed their insurance company so the car registered in one state was allowed to be garaged in the other state. It seems to be company by company policy</p>
<p>Hadn’t thought about this. D’s car is now sitting in our driveway for 6 months while she works out of the country. We have it sitting under a canopy car cover and it is also covered by a cloth cover. We don’t have any extreme weather conditions. Her car is titled in her name and insured in another state. She has Geico and has been able to switch her policy in the two states she has lived in. When she bought her own car and took title in her name we were no longer able to cover it on our insurance in our state.</p>
<p>Whatever you do, do not let insurance coverage elapse.It will be in her record and her rates will be higher if she wants to get a quote from another insurance company in the future. To qualify for the best rate, she should have continuous coverage on her car within the last 2 or 3 years.</p>
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<li><p>Check with the insurance company and see if they have a ‘reduced mileage’ rate. Many do including State Farm. It’s based on the mileage on the odometer of the car so it doesn’t really matter that she’s driving a rental car. This will reduce the rates somewhat.</p></li>
<li><p>You keep your car.</p></li>
<li><p>You or H drive the D’s car once every other week or so to keep the fluids and grease moving and the battery exercised and charged. This frequency should be adequate. Keep in mind that if you drive her car every day and something happens to it whether it’s your fault or not, you’ll feel lousy about it so reduce the amount of time you’re driving it to reduce the odds of a problem. Don’t drive it on rainy/snowy days.</p></li>
<li><p>Get a car cover made of thicker type of material (not those thin reflective ones) and keep the cover on the car all the time except when it’s being driven. This should cost less than $100 (don’t get a super custom one - get a more generic one). This will protect the car from the sun, dirt, bird droppings (which if left on the car can etch into the paint), sap, etc. It also will provide some level of protection from hail although it depends on how big the hail is of course. If you know a storm is coming you could put an old blanket between the cover and the car which should protect it - just removed it afterwards so you don’t trap moisture.</p></li>
<li><p>Since the job supplies her with the rental car they also should be providing any insurance coverage for it either through the rental company or through themselves. This should have no impact on your D’s insurance. However, she should check on what coverage the company provides for it so she knows. If for some reason she’s relying on her own insurance for the rental, she needs to realize they don’t typically cover a rental for more than around 15-30 days in a row and anything over that requires a special rider. However, that rider is pretty inexpensive.</p></li>
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<p>Thanks, all, for some really great suggestions! DH talked to our agent today at State Farm and, by going to the state minimum, removing the collision and rental car portion , and keeping the minimum uninsured driver/no fault, comprehensive and towing, DD can reduce her premium by half. The grocery store is half a mile from home and my work is three miles from home, so I’ll drive her car at least once a week to keep the parts moving. She is totally covered by her job for the rental car so she won’t have to worry about that part of the insurance. I always know I can get great advice here. </p>
<p>I hope you get your situation worked out soon, snowball. I’m sorry it’s a mess.</p>
<p>^^ Don’t forget the car cover - the single best thing you can do for protection from the elements short of parking under a covered spot and it makes it more of a pain for car thieves as well so they’re more likely to move on to an easier car to steal (maybe your other one in the driveway). A cover takes less than 1 minute to put on or take off.</p>