Auto insurance in Minnesota?
January 25, 2012 9:08 AM Subscribe
Cost guesstimate of minimum legal insurance to drive in Minnesota, and will it be a hassle considering the situation?
My daughter is unemployed, about to get a car, and needs insurance. We need to figure out how to pay for this.
Complicating factors: her license is currently under suspension for driving without insurance. We are in the process of paying off the fine, but her license will be suspended for 30 days after it is paid off. Because she doesn’t have a license apparently no insurance company will give her any kind of an estimate.
The car is in Ohio, and is not in her name yet. Once she has her license back, we need to go to Ohio, the car will be put in her name, and she will have to drive it back to Minnesota. So she will need to have insurance by the time we are ready to drive back. We can only stay in Ohio for a few days to take care of the title transfer.
She’s 24 years old. The car will be parked on the street in Duluth once she has it. In the past three years she has gotten a ticket for a seatbelt violation, and driving without insurance. She also thinks there may have been a citation for running a stop sign, but she’s not sure, she doesn’t remember having to pay a fine so it may have been just a warning.
So my first question is, can anybody give me a rough idea of what it will cost to get her the minimum amount of insurance required by Minnesota? We can't move forward on making arrangements to go get the car until I have some idea of how much the insurance is going to cost.
Also, will they be able to insure her before she gets the car put in her name? If not, how difficult is it going to be to get her insured so she can drive back from Ohio?
My daughter is unemployed, about to get a car, and needs insurance. We need to figure out how to pay for this.
Complicating factors: her license is currently under suspension for driving without insurance. We are in the process of paying off the fine, but her license will be suspended for 30 days after it is paid off. Because she doesn’t have a license apparently no insurance company will give her any kind of an estimate.
The car is in Ohio, and is not in her name yet. Once she has her license back, we need to go to Ohio, the car will be put in her name, and she will have to drive it back to Minnesota. So she will need to have insurance by the time we are ready to drive back. We can only stay in Ohio for a few days to take care of the title transfer.
She’s 24 years old. The car will be parked on the street in Duluth once she has it. In the past three years she has gotten a ticket for a seatbelt violation, and driving without insurance. She also thinks there may have been a citation for running a stop sign, but she’s not sure, she doesn’t remember having to pay a fine so it may have been just a warning.
So my first question is, can anybody give me a rough idea of what it will cost to get her the minimum amount of insurance required by Minnesota? We can't move forward on making arrangements to go get the car until I have some idea of how much the insurance is going to cost.
Also, will they be able to insure her before she gets the car put in her name? If not, how difficult is it going to be to get her insured so she can drive back from Ohio?
Yes, check online insurance companies to get a quote. Or, better yet, have your daughter do all the leg work on this. Seeing what a hassle it can be to get thing back in order after an infraction like driving without insurance might be enough motivation to be more conscientious in the future.
And for what it's worth, I don't think my insurance company looked into any tickets when I got insurance, although a suspended license is probably another matter.
posted by Nightman at 10:01 AM on January 25, 2012
And for what it's worth, I don't think my insurance company looked into any tickets when I got insurance, although a suspended license is probably another matter.
posted by Nightman at 10:01 AM on January 25, 2012
Something to consider: there can be some wiggle room in getting these things taken care of, timing wise. For example, most states don't really require to title and register a car the day you take possession of it. You've usually got twenty or thirty days to make that happen. Similarly, most insurance companies provide coverage for newly acquired cars for thirty days before you're required to schedule them. Some commercial policies actually don't specify covered vehicles at all and are just insured on an "owned vehicles" basis. Personal policies generally don't work that way, but you've still potentially got at least a little time.
My suggestion? Insure the car yourself for the drive back to Ohio. Put the thing nominally in both your names, but don't title or register it until you're back in MN. That way, if there's an accident on the way home, your policy will probably provide coverage. Once it's home, get the thing titled and registered, in Minnesota, in your daughter's name. She can then get her own policy.
Of course, you're going to want to talk to your insurance agent about this. He might have a helpful suggestion about how to make this work a little more easily.
posted by valkyryn at 10:10 AM on January 25, 2012
My suggestion? Insure the car yourself for the drive back to Ohio. Put the thing nominally in both your names, but don't title or register it until you're back in MN. That way, if there's an accident on the way home, your policy will probably provide coverage. Once it's home, get the thing titled and registered, in Minnesota, in your daughter's name. She can then get her own policy.
Of course, you're going to want to talk to your insurance agent about this. He might have a helpful suggestion about how to make this work a little more easily.
posted by valkyryn at 10:10 AM on January 25, 2012
Due to her history, she may have to go onto the state's assigned risk pool, which will be quite a bit more expensive than normal insurance. I agree with valkyryn, you should contact an actual insurance agent on this one.
posted by crankylex at 10:33 AM on January 25, 2012
posted by crankylex at 10:33 AM on January 25, 2012
I live in MN. When I bought a car, with zero driving experience, the very cheapest insurance was $900 per 6 months. That included comprehensive on a $15k car with a $1000 deductible. I don't know if yours will be higher (due to previous uninsured driving) or lower (due to less comprehensive, and having some experience driving).
It is often much much MUCH cheaper for a child to be on his or her parents' insurance policy.
posted by miyabo at 10:40 AM on January 25, 2012
It is often much much MUCH cheaper for a child to be on his or her parents' insurance policy.
posted by miyabo at 10:40 AM on January 25, 2012
The minimum insurance required in Minnesota is liability, which covers only the other guy in the event of an accident. Damage to your car in not covered. If there's a loan on the car, you'll have to add collision and comprehensive and such that cover damage to the car, but there is no legal requirement for this coverage.
The best thing for her to do would be to call an insurance agent [or a few of them] in Minnesota and ask them. They can quote rates and give you more details.
My dad is an American Family agent in central Minnesota, and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to give you the general information you need. Memail me if you want his contact information.
posted by chazlarson at 11:04 AM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
The best thing for her to do would be to call an insurance agent [or a few of them] in Minnesota and ask them. They can quote rates and give you more details.
My dad is an American Family agent in central Minnesota, and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to give you the general information you need. Memail me if you want his contact information.
posted by chazlarson at 11:04 AM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Around your daughter's age, and I think with a speeding ticket on my record, I was looking at premiums of around $1k/6 months. That was the lowest I could get no matter where I looked.
posted by kavasa at 11:21 AM on January 25, 2012
posted by kavasa at 11:21 AM on January 25, 2012
I should point out, just to be completely clear, that dad is near retirement, and I'm in no way trying to drum up business for him. I'm sure he'd tell you to find an agent close to home.
posted by chazlarson at 6:43 PM on January 25, 2012
posted by chazlarson at 6:43 PM on January 25, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by brainmouse at 9:18 AM on January 25, 2012