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Old 04-11-2018, 07:44   #16
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

I am real sure it’s just like Ga, turn in the tag first, then stop Insurence.
There are many antique cars, and show cars etc that have no tags for example.
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Old 04-11-2018, 07:45   #17
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

Lived in Florida all my life & I can tell you that after you sell your car you have to turn in the tag to DMV,they give you a receipt for that for you to show to your insurance company. If the insurance company thinks that you still have your license plate you must pay insurance. If you don't pay insurance and you keep your license plate or just throw it in the garbage then the insurance company will turn over your information to DMV and you will lose your license. but as long as the tag gets turned into DMV it will not be a problem. but if you do cancel your insurance don't be surprised if your rates go up the next time you try to get insurance. As crazy as that is
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Old 04-11-2018, 07:48   #18
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

If an insurance agent told me I had to maintain insurance with no car, I would call a different company.
I have in the past had State Farm until I had an issue. I have had better experiences with Geico and now Amica. I parked a car for 10 months with State Farm and when I started driving it again they raised my rates. Some other companies let you go dormant when you are away and not using the car.

I doubt any state requires you to keep insurance or lose your DL.
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Old 04-11-2018, 07:49   #19
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

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Originally Posted by Eyeback View Post
For the past few years I have stored my car in Florida while cruising and this year I have taken the plunge and sold it. I followed the instructions on the FHSMV website and sent them in the correct form filled out and now they have my car listed in their database as being sold. So now I am a non owner and figure I will get by renting cars when I need them. So the problem is this and I would like to hear from anyone in Florida who knows the answer. I rang up my State Farm insurance agent and she told me that in no uncertain terms, that if I cancel my car insurance my drivers license will be revoked. So I told her not to cancel it. I then looked online and read all sorts of conflicting information. There is an insurance product called "non owner car insurance" that I rang her back and asked about but according to her, she could not offer this with personal liability, a requirement of the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle Department. She said the only way I could keep my drivers license was to keep on paying the car insurance on my old car that I no longer own. I then rang the FHSMV department and they told me that I had to turn in my old tag into the Clay County Tax Collector's office and get a receipt from them. Then I am supposed to take this receipt along to the insurance company and show them it so that they can cancel my insurance. I asked the lady at the FHSMV department several times if my license would be revoked if I did this and she said no. Despite this I am not convinced.

Anyway long story short, has any Florida cruiser tried to cancel their car insurance?
This is nonsense. How about youngsters who drive parent's cars? It is a stupidity invented by the insurers to frighten you (as the want your premiums).
Your ability to drive a car (as reflected by your DL) has nothing to do with your material possessions (reflected by ownership or non ownership of a car).
Just cancel the insurance and keep your DL card.
If you want to be sure ask the gov. authority that issues DL to the public, not an ins. company!
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Old 04-11-2018, 08:25   #20
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

One issue is that if you cancel your insurance and try to renew it in later years your rates will go up like crazy.....experience of a friend....in Canada
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Old 04-11-2018, 08:36   #21
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

It always amazes me how government employees can tell totally different stories on different days of the week. Anyway, the second version sounds correct and that is how it is done in New York. To prove that the car is no longer on the road, you need to turn in the plates and get a piece of paper that you then provide to your insurance company, who are then in compliance to cancel your insurance. If you don’t follow this process of turning in your plates and getting the magic slip of paper, then all DMV can do is assume that the car is still being driven around somewhere. So then they revoke your license as payback.

To clear up one major misconception (not that you raised it, but while we’re on the subject!) your credit card does NOT give you liability insurance if you are renting a car. Read your particular credit card language carefully to see what it DOES afford you - and be sure to check the length of time that they will insure you for - very often it is not longer than 15 consecutive days of rental.

As far as liability insurance goes, you have two choices. One - pay the daily rate through the rental company. Usually about $20 a day, which can add up fast. Two - get a Non-Owners’ Liability Policy. Very few insurance companies offer this, but GEICO does. You can buy it 6 months at a time, and my last six month premium was a total of $160.00. But note that it is only good in the US (it might be valid in Canada, but I didn’t ask - I asked about the Bahamas and it was a definite no). So we buy a policy from May 1 to November 1, which covers the majority of our stay in the US.

Hope that helps! Melanie
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Old 04-11-2018, 10:06   #22
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

I was overseas for most of my life.

On returning stateside, having let my DL lapse for decades, I had to sit the tests etc as if I'd never had one.

NBD.

I registered a car worth $12K and got max liability + full collision coverage.

The annual premium cost was much lower with no record at all, than my always-stateside sister for liability only on her old beater.

Depends not only on driving record, but also on your demographic profile, location, miles driven per month, etc.
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Old 04-11-2018, 11:22   #23
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

As a Florident resident, I can tell you from experience not to cancel Insurance before getting rid of the car. They cancel your license if you drop your insurance
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Old 04-11-2018, 11:47   #24
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

So, turn in the vehicle tags and cancel the registration at the same time as cancelling the insurance.

Looks like there is some time gap involved, they send out a request / warning info letter.
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Old 04-11-2018, 11:48   #25
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

No need to continue paying the insurance once the state knows you are no longer the owner.

Obviously.
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Old 04-11-2018, 11:51   #26
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

I kept my car during the entire 16 years I was out cruising. When I left I first stored the car I called State Farm and they reduced the coverage to minimal for non-usage (very inexpensive) and when I returned I just called first and had them turn it back on and fax or email me a new insurance card. They allow this for one roundtrip a year IIRC. That part worked great. In Oregon there is no tax on cars, and only a minimal registration fee so that wasn't a problem either. I rented a secure storage spot outdoors. Before leaving I would fill the tank with the best gas available and a stabilizer, drive it through a car wash, then put a sturdy cover on it in the storage area. Only once did the car fail to start, and that was self-inflicted: I had put a small 5W "self-regulating" solar panel on the battery and it fried it. This all worked in my situation, in large part because the car had already been mostly depreciated. Financially it was probably close to a wash compared to annual rentals. And it made coming back at the end easier, with a car ready to use and insurance with a clean history and discounts active.


If I hadn't kept the car I would have definitely chased down a non-owner liability insurance, for at least $1M. Otherwise the potential for financial destruction in the event of an accident is just too great.


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Old 04-11-2018, 12:17   #27
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

That is a good idea about the email Thanks, I will do that. As far as being fraud, I can shed some light on that. I am actually out of the country and will not be back for several months. When I told the Florida FHSMV official this she said there was no problem keeping paying my old car insurance in the meantime. According to her they will not bill me for the car registration which will be coming up soon.
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Old 04-11-2018, 15:23   #28
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

You just need to turn in your plate to the dmv
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Old 04-11-2018, 18:56   #29
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

So to take this a step further, if you didn’t own a car, but wanted to rent one, you’d have to get a DL, rent the car, then turn it in after returning the car. Also an Allstate survival (albeit some time ago) when Uncle Sam transferred me to Italy for two years. Had a car and (Italian) insurance, but when I returned to the US, they stuck me in high risk for two years. Funniest part was US driving was a thousand times less stressful than European!
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Old 04-11-2018, 19:03   #30
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Re: Owning a car while cruising

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So to take this a step further, if you didn’t own a car, but wanted to rent one, you’d have to get a DL, rent the car, then turn it in after returning the car.
No. You are able to get a DL without owning any car.

But once you own and register an insured car, as stated above, you are supposed to terminate the registration and turn in the plates, at the time or before you terminate your insurance.

For those who don't, DMV sends out a notice asking what's going on long before taking any action.
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