Instant Insurance: How Long to Get Car Coverage?

Questions answered:

• When do you need car insurance on a used car?

• Can you get car insurance on the same day?

• How long does it take to get proof of car insurance?

Have you ever pulled out a recipe you wanted to make for dinner, and then realized you were supposed to marinate the steak three hours earlier? Then you know the value of planning ahead.

Even so, in all the excitement of car shopping, you may have overlooked one, fairly important detail: getting car insurance. And it’s no wonder. Arranging for car insurance is the least interesting and most tedious part of buying a car. But still, it must be done. All 50 states in the U.S. require you to carry some form of car insurance, such as liability to cover damages in an accident you caused and, possibly, uninsured motorist coverage, too.

Whether you’re buying the car from a dealer or a private party, you should have the insurance in place before you drive away. The timing here is tricky. You don’t want to pay for the insurance before you’ve decided on the car. But then you decide to buy the car, and you can’t drive anywhere until it’s insured. There are two ways to manage this:

Two options: Insurance before or after car purchase

1. If you already own an insured vehicle, check with your insurer on how new car purchases are handled. Your insurance company may temporarily extend coverage automatically to any new cars you purchase. This is a convenient perk that allows you to drive home while covered, so you don’t have to shop for insurance while you’re trying to close the deal. If your insurer offers this grace period, it lasts for a few days, at most. Ideally, you’d head home and then immediately arrange for the insurance on your new car.

2. You could also buy the insurance online or over the phone after you purchase the car, but before you drive it away. This is easiest if you’re buying the car from a dealer — at least there’s a place for you to sit while you arrange for the insurance. It’s less convenient when you’re buying from a private party. You probably don’t love the idea of shopping for car insurance while standing in a stranger’s driveway. The good news is, in this digital age, you can actually get car insurance pretty fast. If you are organized, the whole process of buying car insurance can take as little as 15 minutes.

Ready to get organized? Step 1 is to collect the information and documents you’ll need.

How to best get car insurance quickly and efficiently:

1. Gather the information you need to get car insurance.

Let’s start with the information the insurer will ask about you and the other drivers in your household. Be prepared to provide:

• Your Social Security number

• Birthday, gender, and marital status

• Your occupation

• Address, and whether you rent or own your home

• All information about any existing car insurance you have

• Whether you’ve received any tickets and been involved in any accidents

• How far do you drive each week

• The names, Social Security numbers, and driving information of all other drivers in your household

The insurer also needs to know the specifics about your car:

• Year, make, and model

• VIN — not needed to get a car insurance quote, but the VIN is needed to buy the insurance

• Any safety features, such as antilock brakes and anti-theft devices

• Current odometer reading — not needed to get a car insurance quote; most insurers will ask for this when you buy the insurance or shortly thereafter

And, finally, some information usually needs to be shared in document form, including:

• A copy of your driver’s license

• Voided check — Some insurers offer a discount if you set up automatic payments from your checking account, but you won’t need the voided check for a quote.

• The declarations page of your current auto insurance policy if you have one

• Proof of ownership of the vehicle — not needed for a quote, but required to buy the insurance

• Proof that you qualify for any discounts available — a report card, for example, to qualify for the good student discount

2. Know your coverage options and caveats.

Next, you’ll choose your coverage levels. Start by verifying the minimum car insurance requirements in your state. Your insurer will not sell or quote coverage that does not meet those minimum legal requirements. But, in some states, the insurer is legally required to offer you coverages that you can decline. If you know the required minimums, you won’t inadvertently end up with the coverage you don’t want.

The main types of car insurance coverage are:

• Property damage liability — helps pays for property damage caused by you, up to the stated coverage limits

• Bodily injury liability — helps pays for someone else’s medical and related expenses resulting from an accident you caused, up to the stated coverage limits

• Personal injury protection — helps pay for the medical expenses of you and your passengers, no matter who caused the accident

• Collision — helps pay for damage to your car resulting from an accident with another vehicle or an object

• Comprehensive — helps pay for damage to your car resulting from weather, vandalism, and theft

• Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage — helps pay for damages resulting from a hit-and-run accident, or an accident caused by someone else who wasn’t carrying enough insurance to cover those costs

Some states have other options, too. For example, in California, an insurer might offer you a collision deductible waiver — a feature that eliminates your deductible if you’re hit by an uninsured motorist.

3. Choose ideal coverage and deductible limits.

You might be inclined to stick with the state-imposed minimum coverage limits and the highest deductibles possible. That combination will certainly get you the lowest insurance premiums. But carrying too little insurance or too high of a deductible can be problematic later. If the damage exceeds your policy’s coverage limits, you must pay for the overage out of your pocket — and that can drain your savings pretty fast. If you have cash savings or other assets, you can protect them by raising your coverage limits above the state-imposed minimums.

Deductibles present a similar problem. Higher deductibles keep your premium costs low, but they can also strain your cash flow. Experts recommend setting your deductibles based on the size of your cash emergency fund. If you have a few thousand dollars in a cash savings account, you can get by with a $1,000 deductible. But if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, a much lower deductible is the better choice. You can also consider other ways to save on insurance.

4. Shop around for optimal options.

When you’re worried about how long it takes to get car insurance, start gathering quotes as soon as possible. Assuming you know what type of car you’ll buy, shopping around early streamlines the process of actually purchasing the coverage. You can get most of the form-filling completed and the insurer can start verifying your driving record and contact information.

Once you have auto insurance quotes in hand, the remaining steps of securing coverage are straightforward. All you have to do is accept the terms, confirm the coverage start date, and provide a form of payment.

5. Make your first premium payment

Payment is the most important step in the insurance-buying process because that’s when the insurer initiates your coverage. If you buy car insurance online, you should immediately receive temporary proof of coverage, in the form of a car insurance binder. If you pay your premium over the phone, your insurance agent should email you that binder. The binder acts as temporary coverage until the insurer issues your full policy.

6. Receive binder or policy issuance

There’s always a delay between paying for coverage and receiving your auto policy. During this time, the insurer is verifying your information and documenting your coverage internally. Once that administrative work is done, the insurer issues the policy along with your official proof of insurance. Keep this new proof of insurance on hand, because it replaces the binder you received initially.

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