What Is Parked Car Insurance?
You may be able to get parked car insurance by signing up for a comprehensive-only policy, as long as you don’t drive your car and it’s stored away.
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If you’re storing your car for at least 30 days, you can get parked car insurance from many major providers. So what is parked car insurance, exactly? In this article, we’ll go over what type of coverage it is and when you’d want to use it.
We’ve reviewed the best car insurance companies and many of them offer coverage for stored or parked cars. Compare rates from multiple companies to find the best option.
Key Points:
- Comprehensive-only policies cover parked cars for vandalism, environmental damage, and theft.
- To get a parked vehicle policy, you need to park or store your car for at least 30 days.
- No one else can drive your vehicle while it has parked car insurance.
What Is Parked Car Insurance?
While parked car insurance isn’t technically a plan from insurance companies, you can get comprehensive-only insurance to cover a parked or stored vehicle. Comprehensive-only insurance is cheaper than full-coverage insurance, which includes these three types:
- Liability insurance: Covers the property damages and bodily injuries of other people involved in an accident you’ve caused
- Collision insurance: Repairs your car after an accident with a moving vehicle
- Comprehensive insurance: Covers theft and repairs your car after environmental damage, accident damage while your car is parked, and vandalism
If your car is sitting in the same spot for an extended period of time, all you need is comprehensive insurance to cover it.
Parked Car Insurance Restrictions
Be aware that a comprehensive-only policy only covers your car if it’s stored privately away from other vehicles. Insurance companies won’t give you this type of policy if you park your car on a public road, because there’s a higher risk that it could be hit. You also can’t park your car on a public road without liability insurance according to state law insurance requirements.
Can You Drive a Car With Parked Car Insurance?
No, you can’t drive a car with parked car insurance. The main reason why parked car insurance is cheaper is because you don’t have liability or collision coverage.
Liability insurance is required by law in nearly every state, so you can’t drive your car without it. No one else can drive your car, either. A parked car insurance policy is only a good idea if you absolutely won’t drive your car for a period of time.
Where Can You Get Parked Car Insurance?
You might think that parking car insurance fits your situation and is a great idea. However, not all companies offer it. In fact, most major providers don’t provide it as a standalone option. You may be able to suspend your liability and collision coverage with your current provider for a short term or a specific timeframe, so reach out when you know you’ll need car storage insurance.
You’re more likely to find car storage insurance if you’re leaving for military deployment. Geico and USAA both offer lower insurance costs for this situation, for example.
Otherwise, you’ll need to contact your provider. If it doesn’t offer parked car insurance, call around and see if other companies in your state offer comprehensive-only coverage.
Alternatives To Parked Car Insurance
Perhaps you drive your car often enough to be ineligible for a parked car insurance policy. Luckily, there are other things you can do to save money on insurance.
Usage-Based Insurance
A usage-based insurance program tracks your driving in real time and awards discounts based on your driving habits. The reason you might be interested in a program like this is because most of them count mileage as a big factor in the discount. So, if you only drive a few hundred miles each month, you could save a good chunk of money on a standard insurance policy. Examples are Progressive Snapshot® and State Farm Drive Safe & Save™.
Pay-Per-Mile Insurance
Driving infrequently also makes pay-per-mile insurance a good option. These programs charge a low base rate each month plus a rate per mile. If you don’t drive at all for one month, you just pay the base rate. Pay-per-mile insurance usually comes with a cap on the daily mile charge so you can take a road trip without getting a huge bill. Options include Metromile, Nationwide SmartMiles®, and Allstate Milewise®.
Classic Car Insurance
If your car is at least 25 or 30 years old and you don’t use it as a daily driver, you might be able to get a classic car insurance policy and save money. Classic car insurance policies cover recreational driving. This means you use the vehicle for fun on occasion and have another car for daily driving.
Some policies come with annual mileage caps, too. Since a classic car policy covers you for less time on the road, it can be cheaper than a standard policy if your car qualifies.
Liability Plus Comprehensive
Another option is to keep minimum liability coverage and comprehensive insurance on your car. This will be cheaper than full-coverage insurance, and it will cover your car while it’s in storage. It might be the next-best option if your company won’t let you drop liability insurance.
What If Someone Hits My Parked Car?
If someone hits your car while it’s parked on a public street, their liability insurance should pay for the damage. You can file an insurance claim with your company and it will seek compensation from the at-fault driver’s company.
That applies if they stick around to give you their insurance information. However, if you’re the victim of a hit-and-run accident, you have to contact your own car insurance policy. You should also file a police report because a hit-and-run is a crime.
Your comprehensive insurance will cover damage to your vehicle in a hit-and-run scenario if your car is on a public street. Your uninsured motorist property damage insurance can also cover this situation. But, car storage insurance doesn’t apply here. That’s because storage insurance usually requires your car to actually be stored in a private location away from moving vehicles.
Can You Have Parked Car Insurance With An Auto Loan?
Your lender has an interest in keeping your car in good condition, so it will require you to have full coverage. In other words, you need liability, collision, and comprehensive insurance. Whether you drive your car or put it in storage, you’ll need full-coverage insurance to satisfy the lender’s requirements.
Avoid A Lapse In Coverage
What if you can’t find parked car insurance? Can you just cancel your auto insurance policy for a few months and pick it back up later? Unfortunately, you can’t.
You need to have some kind of insurance on any car registered in your name. When you cancel a policy, the insurance company will let your DMV know that it no longer covers the car, and if another company doesn’t pick up coverage right away, you’ll be uninsured. This applies even if you don’t drive the vehicle.
A lapse in coverage of any length makes you a risky driver in the eyes of insurance companies. The next time you go to get insurance, you’ll notice more expensive quotes than before.
The solution is to cancel your car’s registration and remove its license plates while the car is in storage. This tells the DMV the car is no longer on the road, and you don’t need insurance for it.
Insurance for Parked Cars: Conclusion
Parked car insurance is another name for a comprehensive-only insurance policy. Comprehensive car insurance covers damage to your vehicle from vandalism, theft, and other parts of the environment, like fallen tree branches, hail, floods, and fire.
You may or may not a find comprehensive-only policy from your insurer . Other options include pay-per-mile coverage and having liability plus comprehensive insurance.
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Our Recommended Car Insurance
Many companies customize coverage to accommodate car storage, but this isn’t advertised online. We recommend comparing multiple free quotes and calling insurance agents at each of these providers to see what each offers.
USAA: Best For Military Members
USAA has an AM Best financial strength rating of A++ and high levels of customer satisfaction. While it’s only available to military members and their families, USAA often the best choice if you can get it.
J.D. Power gives USAA high marks for insurance shopping and claims servicing. The insurer’s mobile app makes filing claims easy, and payout times are some of the fastest in the industry. USAA members can also get discounts of up to 60 percent for garaging a vehicle on base during deployment.
Read more: USAA insurance reviews
Geico: Best For Basic Coverage
Not everyone qualifies for USAA. Geico auto insurance is another great option. Geico sells comprehensive, collision, and uninsured motorist coverage at competitive prices. You can also purchase add-ons like rental car reimbursement, roadside assistance, and mechanical breakdown insurance.
AM Best gives Geico a financial strength rating of A++. This is the highest rating an insurance company on AM Best can get, meaning Geico’s financial situation is as strong as you could hope for. Geico uses a suite of apps to make customer service fast and simple. There’s an app for filing claims and one for requesting roadside assistance. Geico customers can also download the DriveEasy app, which tracks safe driving and saves you money by lowering premiums.
Parked Car Insurance: FAQ
Below are a few frequently asked questions on parked car insurance.
What is parked car insurance?
Parked car insurance is a type of policy that only has comprehensive insurance. This covers damage from the environment, vandalism, and theft. Not all providers offer parked car insurance coverage.
Does your insurance go up if your car was hit while parked?
If someone hits your parked car and admits fault, their insurance will cover the damages, and your premiums will not increase. If you’re forced to use your own comprehensive coverage, your insurance premiums could increase. It depends on your policy. Most insurers will not increase car insurance rates for claims where you are not at fault for the incident.
Do I need insurance if I am not driving my car?
If your car is registered with the state, you are required to have auto insurance coverage. If you aren’t driving your car and it’s not registered, you don’t need insurance. If your car is parked in the street long-term, it could be damaged by other vehicles, in which case you may want coverage that serves as parked car insurance.
What should I do when someone hits my parked car?
If someone hits your parked car, exchange insurance and contact information. Follow through and file a claim with the other driver’s insurance company. If you don’t know who hit your parked car, you should file an incident report with the police, document the damages, and notify your insurance carrier.
How We Rate Insurers
Our review process aims to deliver consistent and unbiased assessments of car insurance providers. While there are multiple qualities that make a car insurance company successful, our review team focuses on those we believe are the most important for consumers:
- Cost: Cost can be difficult to compare between insurers because so many factors impact annual premiums. The cheapest insurer for one driver may not be the cheapest for another. To determine our cost score, we look at insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services, discount opportunities, and consumer reports.
- Coverage: To determine our coverage score, we look at the number of coverage options available as well as coverage limits and deductible options. Our ratings also take into account additional services and benefits like roadside assistance.
- Reliability: It’s important that an auto insurer is able to meet its claims obligations. Companies with a strong financial strength rating from AM Best score best in this category. Established insurers with a long history of reliable service also receive positive marks.
- Service: We comb through customer reviews on sites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to learn about customer experiences. Insurers with a low volume of complaints score well in this area. We also consider the claims process, giving higher ratings to car insurance providers that offer easy-to-use claims apps.
*Data accurate at time of publication.