Best Parked Car Insurance in 2024

When you aren’t planning to drive your vehicle for a long time, it can be tempting to cancel your auto insurance coverage. You may wonder, “Is it possible to pause car insurance?”

What happens if your car is damaged or stolen while it’s stored? Whether you’re going on an extended vacation, living abroad, or being deployed by the military to a location where you can’t take your vehicle, knowing how to properly insure your stored car or truck is important. By understanding the risks of storing your vehicle and ensuring you have the right coverage to protect it, you can protect yourself financially — and make sure you have a car to drive when you get back into town.

Read on to learn more about insuring a stored vehicle, including whether your parked vehicle needs to be insured, whether you can suspend your car insurance, and how much you should expect to pay for car storage insurance.

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How Car Storage Insurance Works

Technically, “car storage insurance” isn’t insurance coverage offered by insurance providers. Instead, the term refers to removing non-essential insurance coverage on a vehicle that will remain undriven and parked or stored for an extended period.

Even if you’re planning to park your undriven vehicle away from public roads in a garage or other private location, carrying a minimum amount of insurance on your stored vehicle is advisable. By maintaining minimum essential insurance — sometimes called “comprehensive-only coverage” — you can protect yourself financially if your stored vehicle is damaged by fire, theft, vandalism, natural disasters, or other events outside of your control.

It’s important to remember that reducing your insurance coverage can be risky. Before making changes to your policy, talk to your insurance agent about which types of auto insurance coverage you should maintain for a vehicle you aren’t using to limit potential liabilities. If you decide to remove some coverage from your vehicle’s existing insurance policy after putting it in storage, remember to revert to your previous policy’s coverage before driving it.

What is comprehensive-only insurance coverage?

Although legally required insurance minimums vary by location, insurers often refer to the minimum coverage for a stored vehicle as “comprehensive-only coverage.” This type of coverage, also called “parked car insurance” or “car storage insurance,” covers repair or replacement costs while your car is stored or parked for a minimum amount of time, such as 30 days or more.

Although comprehensive auto insurance benefits vary by insurer, examples of damages typically covered by comprehensive-only insurance (after deductible) include the following:

• Your stored vehicle is stolen in the middle of the night.
• A natural disaster, such as an earthquake, damages your vehicle while in storage.
• The garage your vehicle is being stored in for the winter catches fire and damages the car.
• The exterior of a vehicle stored in your backyard is damaged by large hail.
• A tree falls on your vehicle while it’s parked in storage.

Although comprehensive-only coverage has benefits like lower premiums and preventing gaps in insurance coverage, there can be challenges associated with obtaining it, depending on your situation. For example, many states don’t allow drivers to carry comprehensive-only coverage on their vehicles. And if your vehicle is financed, your lender might also require you to carry full coverage insurance until your loan is paid off.

It’s also important to remember that you should avoid driving your vehicle while it’s insured with comprehensive-only coverage, even if you’re only traveling a short distance. This is because comprehensive-only coverage doesn’t include liability insurance, collision insurance, or uninsured motorist coverage, so you won’t be insured if you’re in an accident or cause damage to someone’s property while driving.

What happens if someone hits your parked car?

When an unstored and fully-insured car is hit by another driver while parked, the owner will handle it like a normal insurance claim. Comprehensive-only coverage, however, might not cover repair costs if your stored vehicle is hit while parked.

Because keeping your stored vehicle off the road is usually a stipulation of car storage insurance, comprehensive-only coverage doesn’t include liability, collision, or uninsured motorist coverage. Since drivers aren’t legally permitted to park their vehicles on public roads without liability insurance, comprehensive-only coverage likely wouldn’t pay for the damages caused by another driver hitting your parked vehicle. However, if the other driver is insured, it might be possible to file a claim for damages under their liability property damage coverage.

Read more: Hitting a Parked Car, Auto Insurance Implications

How to Get Insurance for a Stored Car

Most insurance companies allow policyholders to change their auto insurance policies at any time during their coverage period, except when a natural disaster is anticipated. Because reducing your insurance coverage can involve financial and other risks, check with your insurance agent to learn about coverage options for insuring a stored vehicle before making any changes to your policy. 

It’s also a good idea to check with your state’s motor vehicles department to find out about the minimum insurance requirements in your state before reducing your insurance coverage. Finally, if you financed your vehicle, remember to check with your lender about your auto loan insurance requirements before changing your existing policy or purchasing insurance for your stored vehicle.

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How much does parked car insurance cost?

Many factors affect car insurance rates, including age, credit score, location, driving history, vehicle make and model, and more. To ensure you’re getting the best rates, shop around and compare quotes before purchasing car storage insurance for your vehicle.

Do you need insurance for a parked car?

It’s recommended that all vehicles remain insured even if they’re not regularly driven. If your vehicle is registered with your state and parked on a public road, you must likely carry a minimum amount of insurance under state law. Beyond legal requirements, events like fire, vandalism, theft, bad weather, and natural disasters can occur anytime — leaving you on the hook to pay for losses and repairs out-of-pocket if your vehicle isn’t insured. 

Can you cancel your car insurance after storing your vehicle?

Drivers planning to store their car or truck probably wonder, “Can I have a car parked without insurance?” Although it might be tempting to cancel your car insurance if you know you won’t be driving it for an extended period, canceling your policy is not recommended. In addition to potentially violating state laws and having to pay out-of-pocket for repairs, canceling your car insurance while your vehicle is in storage can also create issues when it comes to buying insurance in the future, including:

• Insurance coverage gaps. Because insurance companies view lapses in your insurance coverage history as high-risk, your insurance premiums could increase if you cancel insurance coverage after storing your vehicle.
• Potential policy violations. Depending on your policy, canceling your insurance coverage might violate your insurer’s policies. If you financed your vehicle, your lender might also require that you continue to insure your vehicle until the loan is paid off fully.

While saving money on car insurance while your vehicle is in storage is possible, canceling your policy isn’t the smartest — or safest — way to do it. Instead, stored vehicle owners should consider carrying at least comprehensive-only coverage. By ensuring that the minimum essential coverage covers your stored car, you can protect yourself financially while avoiding gaps in your auto insurance history that can increase your future premiums.

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Can you put a hold on car insurance?

Suppose you’re planning to store your vehicle. In that case, you might be wondering if you can request that your insurance company issue a “car insurance hold” or “car insurance pause” for your stored vehicle instead of canceling your policy outright. Although suspending or “pausing” your auto insurance policy isn’t typically an option offered by insurers, some insurance companies will allow you to reduce your coverage to comprehensive-only insurance. Because policies vary by company, it’s best to speak with an insurance agent or insurer before making any changes to your current policy.

Who needs car storage insurance?

If you drive your vehicle frequently or leave it in the garage for the weekend, parked car insurance probably isn’t the best option for you. However, suppose you’re planning to store your vehicle for an extended period without driving it. In that case, car storage insurance could save money while ensuring that your parked vehicle remains protected. A few examples of vehicle owners that might benefit from car storage insurance include:

• People living abroad for extended durations who intend to leave their vehicles at home in the U.S.
• Members of the military who will be deployed to locations where they cannot bring their vehicles.
• Someone who inherited a vehicle they don’t plan to drive but aren’t ready to sell.
• A driver with a hobby vehicle or summer car that will be stored for the winter.
• Any car owner planning to store their undriven vehicle for extended durations of time.

Because reducing your car insurance coverage can have risks, it’s important to weigh the benefits and disadvantages of car storage insurance. Before making any changes to your current policy, speak with an insurance agent to understand your options.

Car Storage Insurance: The Lowdown

If you’re planning to park your vehicle for an extended period, you might be able to save money with car storage insurance. By maintaining at least comprehensive-only coverage on your stored vehicle, you can reduce your monthly insurance payments while protecting yourself financially and remaining compliant with state laws and your insurer’s coverage policies. However, reducing your car insurance to comprehensive-only coverage can have risks, so it’s important to speak with your insurance agent or provider before making any changes to your existing policy.

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