Car Insurance.. Any ideas?

[unstrung 0]

Hello all, with my interview date (Jan 12.. yay me!) fast approaching, i'm starting to give thought to all those little things i need to take care of before i leave Canada to settle in the states.

First on my mind was my car insurance. The insurance i had was provided by Belair Direct which doesn't offer protection in the states, so i've just cancelled that for the end of january, but i find myself with a bit of a problem, as i'm planning to drive down to the states i would be doing so without insurance, not the best of ideas. I contacted Visa about the possibility of patching up insurance with them while i wait to get an american one down in texas but they only offer insurance on rentals.. and i'm already fresh out of ideas.

Any ideas who could offer me protection for the trip? Can i just find some random insurer in Texas and get protection with them right away, or does my car need to be plated in Texas before they'll be of any help?

A world without lawyers is still so far away..

[wowswift 3]

Progressive will cover you. Just start it on your moving date and print out the temp insurance cards. Doesn't have to be plated yet or have a DL for the state yet (since you have to show TX insurance before you can get your car inspected, registered and plated). Progressive also recognizes Canadian DLs, so you just put in that in your VIN number.

Edited December 19, 2008 by wowswift

[Saddle Bronc 124]

www.insweb.com (only unfortunate coincidence that it matches initials of former name of USCIS)

Edited December 19, 2008 by CherryXS

[MrsCat 6]

You can get coverage through Geico, they insured my car when I moved. My husband just added my car to his existing policy and that was it. They just needed my AB driver's license # and the the VIN of the car. It was really simple actually.

It may mean that you have to switch providers, or have your SO start a new policy if your current provider doesn't insure vehicles outside of the USA.

[JillA 2]

RBC insurance insured me for up to 90 days here in the U.S. after my move... same rate I was paying in Canada

[Krikit 1,165]

My Canadian insurer covered me until I moved down here and then my husband's insurer (Geico) took over using my Ontario driver's license and VIN and plate #.

[trailmix 77]

My Canadian insurer covered me until I moved down here and then my husband's insurer (Geico) took over using my Ontario driver's license and VIN and plate #.

We just used our Canadian insurance until we decided not to. Anyway, I called Geico - hey, I like the lizard. The premium they wanted was about 1.5 times what Allstate wanted (for identical coverage).

One other thing, you may want to get a letter of experience from your current insurer and/or a print out of your driver's abstract from a registry office. While you may not need it, if they ask for it or you decide to change companies - they may well ask for it and you can avoid the hassle of getting it later (especially the letter of experience, before you cancel your current policy)

Edited December 20, 2008 by trailmix

[Holliday 4]

Aw #######, Belair Direct doesn't offer protection in the U.S.?!? I just canceled my policy with a different company and started one with Belair a week ago, but I haven't received the paperwork for it yet, so I haven't had a chance to review the specifics of the policy. That is a question I didn't even think about asking when I was applying for it. I guess I'll have to do some research on whether or not I'm allowed to drive my fiance's car while I'm down there to visit, and be covered by his insurance. I have a feeling it probably doesn't work that way though, which is fine, because I don't really like driving his car anyway. Heh.

[Texanadian 10]

Geico wouldn't count my Canadian driving record. So I'm paying a surcharge for lack of experience (based on the length of having a US driver's license). However, they were still cheaper than anybody else I tried. I got at least a dozen quotes. Probably more.

Word to new residents in the US. Don't take people's word for one insurer being cheaper than the next. It's random. trailmix found that Geico cost 1.5 times as much as Allstate. Yet Allstate costs more than double what Geico costs for me. My wife was with Farmers for 20 years. Switched to Geico and got a cheaper rate.

Another oddity. Even though multi-vehicle discounts exist and they show up right on your quote or policy with a discount dollar amount shown, it was still cheaper for me to get my own policy separate from my wife. (Same identical coverage choices with the same company)....Be sure to run the numbers both ways.

[JillA 2]

I just signed up with Geico, they were super cheap for 2 vehicles.... by far the cheapest quote received, even though they wouldn't take into account my Canadian driving record!!