Very strange issue with Car Insurance - What do I do?

[Pat2021 43]

So recently moved to the US on IR1 Visa, situation is as follows:

Spouse and I live with her parents, who own 2 cars and have an insurance with AAA on them for years and years and years.

Did my driver's license, passed, received the temporary permit (Still waiting for the plastic one), went to AAA  to put me on the policy.
They took a copy of my permit and my foreign license as well as a no-claims-discount from my previous insurance of 5 years in the UK.

 

AAA took it, then a week later we receive a letter that if I'm not excluded they're going to drop the whole policy.

Went to them to find out what happened, they said they have a policy that a foreign driver has to hold a license for a minimum of 18 months before they can be insured via AAA or provide a clean driving record from the issuing foreign authority (in my case Austria).

 

Now the latter is not something Austria does as far as I'm aware, but my family at home will call around to find out. The first one, being excluded for 18 months, is untenable as I need to go to job interviews, run errands, etc.

 

They said another option is to take out a different insurance and that I can drive the 2 cars in the household then - even if I'm not insured against them - as the "insurance follows the person not the car" - but that doesn't sound right, if I have to be specifically excluded from the 2 cars in the household?

What is the opinion of VJ, what do I do next? Any recommendations for other insurances that might take me?

State is CA, I got my CA permit on the 30th of January (no plastic one yet), my Austrian one I've held for just over 10 years, 5 of those I drove in Austria, 5 I drove in the UK, with a no-claims-discount from the UK available for those 5 years.

 

Thank you!

[Cathi 5,746]

Find a new insurance company that doesn't have that requirement. There are hundreds of insurance companies in this country, best thing to do is go online and use Google, call around and start comparing prices and coverage. Google is your friend. I literally just changed my car insurance and homeowners insurance last Thursday, if you can bundle insurance (sign up for more than one policy ie:car and homeowners or renters) you will save lots of money. I found all the info I needed on Google. I switched from Liberty Mutual to Progressive and saved a few thousands dollars combined between my two policies for the same, exact coverage. It took me a few days and hours and hours on the phone to find the right fit.

[Pat2021 43]

2 minutes ago, Cathi said:

Find a new insurance company that doesn't have that requirement. There are hundreds of insurance companies in this country, best thing to do is go online and use Google, call around and start comparing prices and coverage. Google is your friend. I literally just changed my car insurance and homeowners insurance last Thursday, if you can bundle insurance (sign up for more than one policy ie:car and homeowners or renters) you will save lots of money. I found all the info I needed on Google. I switched from Liberty Mutual to Progressive and saved a few thousands dollars combined between my two policies for the same, exact coverage. It took me a few days and hours and hours on the phone to find the right fit.

Thank you, but if I do, what car do I insurance myself against? Can a car have 2 insurance policies against it? As I need to drive the two cars in the household. Or does the insurance just insure "me" and then I can drive the car which is insured with their AAA insurance?

Due to personal reasons, they can not switch away from AAA on those cars for now.

[TBoneTX 45,259]

11 minutes ago, Pat2021 said:

does the insurance just insure "me"

I go for this.  For example, when I travel and get a rental car, I decline the insurance that the rental company offers in favor of my own policy.  The analogy may not be exact, but that's my conclusion.

 

I fully agree with Cathi that you should shop around.  Insurance agents everywhere are motivated to sell policies and get renewals, so find an honest and experienced one who will help you.

[top_secret 2,410]

23 minutes ago, Pat2021 said:

Thank you, but if I do, what car do I insurance myself against? Can a car have 2 insurance policies against it? As I need to drive the two cars in the household. Or does the insurance just insure "me" and then I can drive the car which is insured with their AAA insurance?

Due to personal reasons, they can not switch away from AAA on those cars for now.

 

For a while my wife and I had what is called "Named Non-Owner" insurance since we were just renting cars for a few months.  It essentially names both of us on the policy and provided full coverage for us driving any car that we do not own ourselves.  We got it through Geico but I'm pretty sure you can get it from any insurance company.  It was not particularly expensive either.  

[Wuozopo 4,293]

53 minutes ago, Pat2021 said:

Went to them to find out what happened, they said they have a policy that a foreign driver has to hold a license for a minimum of 18 months before they can be insured via AAA or provide a clean driving record from the issuing foreign authority (in my case Austria).

Maybe you need to talk to them again about meaning of  foreign driver. You are a permanent resident of the US now. Wondering if that makes a difference. Try calling the general AAA customer service number and see if they give you the same info. Maybe skip the Austria stuff because you are a resident of the US and licensed to drive in CA. The person you talked to might not understand the nuances of immigration and pegged you as an Austrian driver/resident. I would get a second opinion in case the clerk got it wrong.

 

1 hour ago, Pat2021 said:

They said another option is to take out a different insurance and that I can drive the 2 cars in the household then - even if I'm not insured against them - as the "insurance follows the person not the car" - but that doesn't sound right, if I have to be specifically excluded from the 2 cars in the household?

I wonder if that is a California thing. State Farm in Texas told us the opposite…the car is insured, not the person. So if I allow somebody to drive my car, it is insured. 

 

I hope you get it worked out soon.

[P055UM 281]

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

Maybe skip the Austria stuff because you are a resident of the US and licensed to drive in CA.

I would second this. Do they just not insure any new drivers til 18 months post licensing? Doesn’t seem to add up. 

[Pat2021 43]

25 minutes ago, AW1704 said:

I would second this. Do they just not insure any new drivers til 18 months post licensing? Doesn’t seem to add up. 

Yeah, we quadruple checked with them. They expect new drivers to be under 25, and then they can be added as "permissible driver" for a year and then be added as a permanent driver.

 

Over 25, they don't insure unless you've had your license for over 12 months, or 18 if you're a foreigner. Which seems ridiculous to me but that's what they said over and over and even a supervisor concurred.

 

So probably I'm going to "buy" one of the two cars and just take out an insurance in my name. I already found Progressive for example has no issue with my foreign license or how long I've held my CA license. AAA just seems incompetent.

[P055UM 281]

4 minutes ago, Pat2021 said:

Yeah, we quadruple checked with them. They expect new drivers to be under 25, and then they can be added as "permissible driver" for a year and then be added as a permanent driver.

 

Over 25, they don't insure unless you've had your license for over 12 months, or 18 if you're a foreigner. Which seems ridiculous to me but that's what they said over and over and even a supervisor concurred.

 

So probably I'm going to "buy" one of the two cars and just take out an insurance in my name. I already found Progressive for example has no issue with my foreign license or how long I've held my CA license. AAA just seems incompetent.

Woof. That just seems silly. I’m sure they think they have statistics and stuff to support the policy but on the face of it I just don’t get it. You have so much more experience than a new driver. I also don’t know how it can be legal to discriminate against you based on your nationality, but I am no lawyer. 

 

In any case, good luck getting it sorted. Rest assured there are a million insurance companies in the US who would be only too happy to have you as a customer!  

[Pat2021 43]

1 minute ago, AW1704 said:

Woof. That just seems silly. I’m sure they think they have statistics and stuff to support the policy but on the face of it I just don’t get it. You have so much more experience than a new driver. I also don’t know how it can be legal to discriminate against you based on your nationality, but I am no lawyer. 

 

In any case, good luck getting it sorted. Rest assured there are a million insurance companies in the US who would be only too happy to have you as a customer!  

Thank you, yeah it seemed dumb. Even the insurance agent stated he'd rather me drive with ten years experience rather than some of the people he insured previously.

 

But then again, he also stated that I should just drive the car if I need to go somewhere, as its a "legal grey area and there are plenty of uninsured drivers anyway"...

[top_secret 2,410]

2 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

I wonder if that is a California thing. State Farm in Texas told us the opposite…the car is insured, not the person. So if I allow somebody to drive my car, it is insured. 

It may very well be a California thing (???) as we are in California too.  But "Named Non Owner" Insurance is definitely a thing here.

 

Going back to the original post and the whole grey area thing.  Yea, if you are a temporary guest and someone loaned you their car you should be covered even if you aren't on the policy.

 

AAA is notorious for excluding drivers for silly reasons that other insurance companies would not.  Obviously to some extent you have to abide by your host's preferences.  But, as many others here have expressed, if AAA doesn't want to cover you, there are many other insurance companies that would.  Like, practically ALL other insurance companies except apparently AAA.  Shopping around would be my first choice too.

[Bob in Boston 698]

In Massachusetts if you dont live with me I can lend you my car, no problem. If you live with me as a household member you must be on my policy in case of an accident. Otherwise no one would know. We also dont have under 25 insurance here its under 3 years experience I believe. 

[carmel34 3,620]

My husband came to the US in 2019 on a CR-1 visa and very soon after arrival he got a learner's permit and it was simple to add him to my California insurance for our two cars, I think it was Progressive.  He was also over 25.  Call Progressive and Geico and ask for quotes, explain the situation about multiple drivers too, and you may be able to get your own policy, separate from AAA.  They may charge a higher premium for recent arrivals in the US.  I hope you can figure out a solution.

Edited February 7, 2023 by carmel34

[flicks1998 1,044]

14 hours ago, Pat2021 said:

So recently moved to the US on IR1 Visa, situation is as follows:

Spouse and I live with her parents, who own 2 cars and have an insurance with AAA on them for years and years and years.

Did my driver's license, passed, received the temporary permit (Still waiting for the plastic one), went to AAA  to put me on the policy.
They took a copy of my permit and my foreign license as well as a no-claims-discount from my previous insurance of 5 years in the UK.

 

 

We bring in thousands of medical professionals every year to work at our facilities with the majority of them brought in on immigrant visas.  We refer most of them to Progressive as the process is very easy for them with no driving record in the US.  As a 3rd party agent told us, Progressive doesnt care that you have no driving record in the US, they just want your premium.  Second on the list, may be Geico.

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

Since a few people already recommended this, I am going to chime in and say we also use Geico. My LPR husband just got his license last year at 30 years old (for the first time). There was no issue adding him to my Geico policy. In fact, my premium went down $5??