My husband is being deployed to the Middle East in a few days and we just sold his Corvette, which was our only car. Should we drop our auto insurance entirely while he's gone, or is there a good reason to keep some coverage?
Your best bet would be to switch to a non-owner policy, which will still provide you with liability coverage if you borrow someone else's car or drive a rental car. It can also make it much less expensive to get more coverage when you buy your next car. A lot of insurers look for continuous coverage and dropping your insurance for an extended period of time could raise a red flag.
The price of a non-owner policy is significantly less expensive than full coverage. USAA, an insurance company that caters to military families, would charge a 35-year-old couple in Washington, D.C., just $130 every six months for a non-owner policy that provides liability coverage of $300,000 per person, $500,000 per accident and $100,000 for property damage. That's a giant decrease from the more than $1,000 they'd pay every six months for a 2003 Corvette.
It also helps you avoid paying for expensive insurance if you rent a car, which could easily cost more than your entire non-owner insurance premium after just a few days. If you are renting a car, though, keep in mind that your non-owner policy only covers liability -- you may still want to get some collision coverage from the rental company or see if it's covered by your credit-card company.
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My husband is being deployed to the Middle East in a few days and we just sold his Corvette, which was our only car. Should we drop our auto insurance entirely while he's gone, or is there a good reason to keep some coverage?