Many drivers ask our team at Freedom National about out of state car insurance. Their biggest question— will they be covered in another state than where their policy originated? Generally, your existing insurance will cover you when you travel to another state— this is the beauty of out of state car insurance. However, there are often many other questions that come up when it comes to assessing out of state car insurance and whether you’ll need to look at additional help.
This is a question that comes up often, particularly as people become more comfortable with going on long road trips and crossing state lines with their vehicles. These long-haul trips are frequent causes of car accidents, and everyone wants to ensure that they’ll be properly covered in the event of an accident that takes place away from their home state.
Meanwhile, others wonder what happens if they move to a new state without changing their car insurance. Are they no longer covered? Will their coverage automatically follow them to the new state? These questions represent real concerns, ones with no clear-cut answers that you’re likely to intuitively know without a background in car insurance expertise.
With that in mind, we wanted to clear up any and all questions we receive relating to out of state car insurance and what it means for drivers and travelers everywhere. In this piece, we’ll answer the following questions:
- Does My Insurance Cover Me When I’m Traveling Out of State
- Am I Insured If I Travel Internationally?
- Does My Car Insurance Cover Me If I Move to a New State?
By the end, we hope you’ll be more informed about the key factors that affect out of state car insurance and what you need to do before your next big trip.
Does My Insurance Cover Me When I’m Traveling Out of State
A lot of the details of your car insurance policy, including your premiums and minimum required coverage levels, depends on the city and state where you live. Your insurance policy is specific to your address, and this address will determine a great deal about your policy.
But what about when you travel out of your state, away from your home address? Will this affect your policy’s ability to cover you as out of state car insurance in the event that you’re in some kind of accident or incident?
Let’s clear up some of these myths right now, so that you can have the peace of mind you need to simply enjoy your next major road trip.
No matter where in the country you may drive out of state, your existing car insurance policy will cover you as out of state car insurance. In fact, even if your existing out of state car insurance policy wouldn’t meet state minimums in the state where you’re traveling, you’ll generally be okay when traveling within that state. Just to clarify, you don’t have to meet the state-required minimums for every state you visit. You simply have to meet the minimums for the state where you reside.
For example, if you purchased $15,000 of bodily liability coverage, and another state where you travel requires $25,000 at minimum, and you get in an accident in that state, your insurer will often cover the difference in order to keep you financially protected.
This is known as a ‘broadening clause,’ and it’s designed to close the gap between multiple states so that drivers aren’t left financially liable due to out of state car insurance that doesn’t cover the minimum in a state they visit.
In fact, some states require personal injury protection while others don’t. If you have insurance in a state that doesn’t require PIP, and you opt not to include in, but are then in an accident in another state that does require PIP, your insurer will usually extend coverage to cover the PIP liability from your accident.
Am I Insured If I Travel Internationally?
Let’s talk about driving and insurance coverage in other countries. You might expect that when we talk about out of state car insurance, we’re not including so far out of state that you’re out of the country!
While many insurance policies will cover you if you travel to Canada, Mexico is a different story. If you visit Mexico, even the best out of state car insurance policy won’t cover you. You’ll almost always need to buy a temporary insurance policy meant specifically for those visiting Mexico. These policies are temporary and relatively inexpensive, and are designed to be easy to sign up for so that it doesn’t cause a hang-up in your travels.
Most other countries have similar policies, meaning that you won’t automatically be covered by your policy if you drive a vehicle in another nation. Many of these countries have their own versions of \ car insurance for international visitors.
Does My Car Insurance Cover Me If I Move to a New State?
Everything we’ve discussed so far about out of state car insurance only applies to you if you are temporarily visiting a different state. But can your out of state insurance continue to protect you if you move to another state permanently?
The answer is no. If you move to a new state, meaning your official and legal residence moves to a new state, you’ll need to update your insurance policy to reflect that. This may come with a change in required minimum coverages, which can cause your premium to increase.
It’s also worth noting that many states have a grace period that gives you some time to update your insurance after moving— usually between one week and one month. Make sure you’re informed about the specific rules for the state you’re moving to (and any specific requirements on your current policy) so that you know what to expect before moving day! That way, you won’t be caught off guard when your out of state insurance changes to your new state insurance and your premiums experience a significant change.
You should also be aware of other regulatory changes from state to state when it comes to insurance. For example, some states are at-fault states that assign blame and financial responsibility for damages from crashes based on who is at fault. Other states are no-fault states, in which each person’s insurance covers their own costs regardless of who is at fault.
Want to Learn More About Car Insurance?
At Freedom National, we want to do more than just provide cheap car insurance. We want to help keep road’s safer throughout the nation and help drivers be more informed about things like out of state insurance, getting car insurance in another state, and other insurance facts. Want to learn more? You can check out our blog for more facts, tips, and information about car insurance and safe driving.
Looking to access cheap car insurance in California? You can find it here at Freedom National, where we offer the best cheap car insurance California has to offer.
