How to get car insurance before buying a car
In the excitement of picking out a new car, insurance sometimes gets forgotten. That slip of paper that usually hides in the glove box, and hopefully never needs to be removed, is easily forgotten, but it’s definitely needed when acquiring and registering an automobile. We’ll walk you through what you need to know to get car insurance before buying a new vehicle.
Do the research
Ideally, this process should start well before you’re making any final decisions. You’ll want to factor in the cost of insurance when determining what you can pay for your next vehicle. Some models carry very high premiums, and if that’s the case you may want to reconsider your choice. Getting a quote or two before setting your heart on your dream car is just good insurance on insurance.
You can do this research without knowing the exact vehicle you’ll be buying. If you have an existing policy with an insurance company you like, give them a call or visit their website to get the ballpark cost of adding this new potential car to your policy or replacing your existing car if it’s being retired. There are some sites that will search across multiple companies for you, allowing you to compare. It’s possible that one insurer charges a lot for a certain model or submodel while another calculates the risk differently and offers a better rate.
As with any auto insurance, your age, sex, yearly mileage, and parking location all factor in to the price. If this car is joining your fleet as an addition, you may also be eligible for a multi-car discount. Because of this, it may make sense to move an existing policy to another carrier that offers a better overall rate for all of your cars.
Buy the policy, even if it’s temporary
Once you settle on the specific car you intend to buy, the insurance company will need the vehicle identification number, or VIN. This will allow them to give you a precise quote and issue a policy. If you’re sure that you’ll be signing on the dotted line, you can go ahead and pay that first premium and get proof of insurance emailed to you.
That may not be necessary, as most insurers will let you call up any time and add a vehicle to your policy. So keep that in mind if you’re going to see a car you may or may not end up bringing home.
The easiest route is to call up your existing auto insurance provider and have them add this new vehicle to the policy. The nice thing is that there’s nothing locking you into one insurer or another. You can always add the car to an existing policy immediately and then shop around later to make sure you’re getting the best deal. Any remaining coverage on the policy at that point will be refunded to you in a pro-rated amount.
Bring all the paperwork
When the big day comes and you go to pick up the car, don’t forget your proof of insurance. In the case where you call and add the car to your policy on the spot, the insurance company should be able to email this document to you immediately.
The same documentation needs apply to your trip to the local vehicle-registration office, be it a department of motor vehicles or something similar with a different name. They’ll need the title and proof of insurance to be able to process your registration, transfer the title, and issue you a license plate. From there, stash the insurance document in the glove box and hope you never have to pull it out for anything.
