Car Insurance for the Summer
Almost like a temporary car insurance policy, the idea of car insurance for the summer only is nice but takes some creative maneuvering. Let’s explore what having an insurance policy for the summer only might look like.
Exploring the idea of summer car insurance
- Why would anyone need summer car insurance?
- What options do I have for temporary car insurance?
- Temporary car insurance for students
- Additional resources
What is car insurance just for the summer?
There are some legitimate reasons a person might only want an insurance policy for the warmer months.
- You’re a student and only need a car during the summer when you’re away from campus
- You’re interning or working temporarily without your vehicle and are unsure of what to do with your insurance
- You live in a location where driving during the winter is difficult, even dangerous
With keeping these possibilities in mind, let’s explore your summer car insurance options.
Finding temporary car insurance
While it seems like a straightforward idea, most insurance companies will not advertise based on a temporary policy. There are a couple reasons for this. One; insurance companies see individuals who are looking for temporary insurance to be risky clients.
These clients, in their eyes, are just looking to avoid registration and legal penalties. The second reason is because of the way insurance and vehicle registration work. In order to legally drive your vehicle, you’ll need to do two things: you need to register and insure it. So, by “pausing” your insurance, you run the risk of having your registration be suspended — which can result in a fine.
Despite this, we have some options for you.
Consider storage coverage
Some insurance companies offer instead what’s called storage coverage. Simply put, this type of insurance policy allows you to drop all your coverage except your comprehensive coverage. Now, with great insurance power come great responsibility. By agreeing to storage coverage, you are no longer legally able to drive your vehicle.
Because you technically don’t have the correct insurance coverage for your registration, you run the risk of having your registration flagged and suspended. Don’t freak out, we have some tips for this. If your state allows, you can submit what’s called an Affidavit of Non-Use through your state’s DMV.
Fundamentally, this affidavit certifies that your car is not being operated or parked on a public roadway and your liability coverage has been dropped. This will help limit any issues your storage coverage might cause.
As insurance laws are governed at the state level, this option might not be available to you. If this is the case, you would need to check to see if registration is actively monitored where you live. Texas, for instance, actively monitors for vehicle registration. If they don’t, you would just want to make sure your registration isn’t going to be up for renewal when you have your vehicle “in storage.”
Because your vehicle only has comprehensive coverage, it only protects it from damage due to weather/animal-related events, theft, and vandalism. Meaning, it’s probably a good idea to keep the vehicle in a garage or driveway. Also, if you have a loan or lease on the vehicle, this might not a violation of your agreement.
Reduce Coverage
If you’re unable to use storage coverage, you could consider dropping your physical coverage (comprehensive and collision) and only having liability insurance. On average, your physical coverage costs about half of your liability insurance. Meaning, you could potentially half your monthly bill. With this option, however, you want to make sure your vehicle is in a secured area. Again, you won’t be able to do this if you have a loan or lease on your vehicle.
Average Annual Premium by Coverage Level
| Coverage Level | Average Annual Premium | Monthly Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liability Only | $672 | $56 | |
| $500 Deductible | $1,427 | $119 | |
| $1,000 Deductible | $1,268 | $106 |
As you can see, the monthly difference between full coverage and dropping your coverage to liablity insurance only is about 50% or $56 dollars.
Temporary car insurance for students
The nature of college can create some unique circumstances for your car insurance. Although the same concept of temporary car insurance not really being a thing remains the same, we have some suggestions that are specific to young drivers and college-aged students.
Students away from home
If you’re going to be returning home for the summer only and want to use your parent’s vehicles while you’re there, your parents might not want to pay the remaining months of premium for you. What they can do, however, is ask their insurance company if they have what’s called a “student away from home” discount.
While you must be more than 100 miles away from the listed address on the insurance policy, your parents can receive a discount for the months you’re away. The benefit of this is that you, the student or young driver, won’t have a lapse in your insurance coverage. Having a lapse in coverage is a red-flag to insurance companies and it might make getting an insurance policy in the future more expensive.
Removing and adding you as a driver
While a student away from home discount will lower your parent’s premium, it won’t completely eliminate you from their premiums. So, if they’re not interested in insuring you, they might be able to remove you from their policy when you’re no longer in the residence. While your parents would save the most from this option, they would have to re-add you if you were to come return home or exclude you from the policy altogether. Also, because you would have a gap in your insurance, it might be more expensive if they were to re-add you again.
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Additional Resources
If you're looking for more information on summer car insurance, see our articles here
