Short Term Car insurance When Traveling

Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 9:12 am

Almost all fifty states have laws in place that state how much is a minimum amount of insurance to be allowed to drive on their highways. However, these minimum limits are not the same in all of the states. What happens if one travels to a different state that has higher minimum limits on car insurance and has an accident? One way to avoid potential legal repercussions as well as financial hardship while traveling is to take out short term car insurance.

A short term car insurance policy is different from a regular policy in that the term of the policy is measured in days or weeks as opposed to months. The rates are considerably higher when compared to a standard policy. However, the benefit of taking out this extra coverage can outweigh the difference in the per month rates.

One good point about short term car insurance is that it is not necessary to take this policy out in an amount that equals or exceeds the minimum legally allowed where one is traveling to. One can simply take it out as a supplement to the original insurance that is already in force and bring the amount up to the minimum at one’s destination.

Another valid reason to consider temporary insurance when traveling away from home is that many policies are rated based on who the insurance company is told will be driving the car. If one is away from home, visiting family, and someone not on that list drives the car and has an accident, that person may not be covered. Taking out a temporary policy that states members of the extended family may have access to the car will eliminate this worry.

There are also those who choose to travel in a rented car rather than taking one of their own. While most car rental agencies offer option insurance coverage, one may find that it is cheaper or provides better coverage to take out a temporary policy from a company of his/her choosing rather than taking the coverage provided by the rental agency.

Or, one may find that the coverage provided with the car is insufficient and need to take out an additional temporary coverage plan to be certain of meeting the minimum coverage limits wherever one is traveling.

One thing is certain. A lot of research will need to go into finding and choosing the right temporary coverage to fit one’s particular needs and situation. Many people will try to talk one into taking out more coverage than is necessary because they draw higher commissions. For that reason, using the internet for research and making a purchase may be considerably cheaper as it eliminates the commissioned agents.

The need for car insurance is universal. Whether one lives in a state with a high, low, or median liability limit, traveling away from home could entail driving in areas that require more coverage than one has with his/her permanent policy. Short term car insurance taken out for the duration of the trip may be the best way to avoid legal and financial repercussions in the event of accident away from home.