Lenient Insurance Groups

[evansste]

I currently have a car that doesn't work. I plan on fixing it, but right now I don't have the money. Rather than pay storage fees by storing it at a storage place, my sister was kind enough to let me keep it at her house. She lives in a rural area, and she let me park the car on her property. Recently, she received a letter from her homeowners insurance company, telling her that the car is some sort of problem, and that it must be removed. She is open to switching to a different insurance company, who would allow the car to remain on the property, as long as she can get a comperable rate.

I have recently learned that most insurance companies won't allow an inactive car to exist on property. So, I'm trying to find that smaller group of insurance companies that would allow such a thing.

There are so many insurance companies in existence, and I'm sure that there are some who would allow a car to be parked on a property. My challenge now is finding them. Rather than call every insurance company in the nation, I'm trying to find some way to narrow the search. Is there some sort of database that separates companies based on such policies as this? Does anyone have any ideas on a practical approach to finding these companies?

Thanks for reading my post. If anyone has any ideas on ways to search for such companies, I'd love to hear those ideas.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Theinsuranceguys]

Where are you located?

 

[evansste]

My sister, and I, both live in Michigan.

 

[TylerP]

I currently have a car that doesn't work. I plan on fixing it, but right now I don't have the money. Rather than pay storage fees by storing it at a storage place, my sister was kind enough to let me keep it at her house. She lives in a rural area, and she let me park the car on her property. Recently, she received a letter from her homeowners insurance company, telling her that the car is some sort of problem, and that it must be removed. She is open to switching to a different insurance company, who would allow the car to remain on the property, as long as she can get a comperable rate.

I have recently learned that most insurance companies won't allow an inactive car to exist on property. So, I'm trying to find that smaller group of insurance companies that would allow such a thing.

There are so many insurance companies in existence, and I'm sure that there are some who would allow a car to be parked on a property. My challenge now is finding them. Rather than call every insurance company in the nation, I'm trying to find some way to narrow the search. Is there some sort of database that separates companies based on such policies as this? Does anyone have any ideas on a practical approach to finding these companies?

Thanks for reading my post. If anyone has any ideas on ways to search for such companies, I'd love to hear those ideas.

Thanks for your time.

I am real confused as to why the company would care, at least from a homeowners insurance perspective, if a non-owned car was parked there. I can actually see the company who has her auto insurance (is her auto packaged with her home?) possibly worried about a household driver not being listed on the policies, therefore being a liability when it comes to driving the cars that are currently insured under her auto policies but I do not see how a random car parked at the house has any impact on the HO policy itself.

What company is it?

Just to clarify, companies require all drivers to be listed because if a driver is living at a household that isn't listed and has a driving record that isn't necessarily wanted or even eligible by the company, it adds a risk that wasn't accounted for at the time the policies were written. I understand you are not living there but they might think otherwise and force the issue.

I know with State Farm, if a driver is thrown into a household and has violations such as DUI, it can actually result in cancellation of the policies if the MVR and loss history report (claims and tickets; other violations) comes back as a risk they would not insure in the first place.

Hope that brings some clarity and makes sense.

 

[djs]

Is the car in reasonable condition? Doors locked? Not on cinder blocks?

If it is a true project car, then it needs to be in a garage, not in the open. Your homeowners policy will always care about a car that kids may start playing in and may get injured because of.

If its not a project car but rather just a non-operational car, asking the current agent what the problem is and what can be done to fix it.

Dan

 

[evansste]

Thanks for all of your responses.

My car isn't on cinder blocks, or anything. It just doesn't work. I tried contacting a different insurance company in order to see what their policies are, and they had the same policy. When I asked why the parked car would be a problem, he gave the following response:

"Parking cars in your yard shows a tendency toward poor property maintenance. First it's a car, then it's two, then it's an old snow blower, then it's a pile of old tires. We only get one chance to inspect Proper maintenance of the house and grounds minimizes the risk of loss from a number of factors.
It's a liability hazard. From people tripping and falling to kids playing on and in and around the car with and without permission."

I have to believe that not all insurance companies operate this way. I just need to find one who will allow a parked car on the property.

My sister has a policy with AAA, and she also has her car insured by them.

 

[TylerP]

Thanks for all of your responses.

My car isn't on cinder blocks, or anything. It just doesn't work. I tried contacting a different insurance company in order to see what their policies are, and they had the same policy. When I asked why the parked car would be a problem, he gave the following response:

"Parking cars in your yard shows a tendency toward poor property maintenance. First it's a car, then it's two, then it's an old snow blower, then it's a pile of old tires. We only get one chance to inspect Proper maintenance of the house and grounds minimizes the risk of loss from a number of factors.
It's a liability hazard. From people tripping and falling to kids playing on and in and around the car with and without permission."

I have to believe that not all insurance companies operate this way. I just need to find one who will allow a parked car on the property.

My sister has a policy with AAA, and she also has her car insured by them.

So the car is actually in the grass?

That, I guess can be seen as a liability. DJs called it right


Good luck with your search.

 

[evansste]

But where do I search? That's the real question that I have.

Policy is just a person's choice of what is, and isn't, acceptable. If I owned a dog, and were looking for a place to live, and most apartment complexes told me that no dogs are allowed, I could go to a sub-group of landlords that allow dogs. The "policy" of no dogs is simply one person's (a person in authority) choice on that particular rule. There's a whole group of landlords that do allow pets for tenants. So how do I find the group of insurance companies that allow parked cars on property?

The car isn't parked on the lawn, but it's not parked in the driveway either. Because my sister uses her driveway, we decided that I'd park it in an area that's out of the way. She lives in a rural area, and has a decent amount of land surrounding her yard. So the car is parked near the wooded area, but not on the lawn.

Either way, I need a person in the insurance industry who may know of companies that would allow this. As is the case with landlords allowing pets, I realize that they may be in the minority, but are still out there. Any ideas of where I may find this sub-community?

Once again, I appreciate all of your responses.

 

[djs]

Now that you describe where it is parked, it is a huge liability. I don't know of any carriers that will take it.

A car like this is what is called an attractive nuisance. Because it is off to the side, not monitored, etc, kids can play in it, homeless can move in, whatever. Insurance companies over the years have lost claims on this stuff so they don't cover them.

Your best bet is to put the car in a storage facility. Or get a storage shed large enough to enclose the car and lock it up. In essence, mitigate the risk rather than ignore the risk.

Dan

 

[evansste]

It seems to me that there would, at least, be some sort of option to sign a release form that would excuse the insurance company of any liability on this issue. I plan on fixing the car in the near future, but I could imagine that car sitting there for an entire lifetime without anyone getting hurt, or there being any sort of problem. Anything could be considered a liability if one is willing to be creative enough.

As I said before (in a response that hasn't posted yet), if I were seeking to rent a home, and also owned a pet, I could find a landlord who allows pets. It's less common than the typical landlord, but such landlords do exist. If I could find a sub-community of home-insurance providers that would allow vehicles to be parked on the property, we could do business with them. Since the terms of any policy is merely a meeting of the minds between two parties, I have to believe they're out there. But where's the best place to find them? That's the million-dollar question.