so whats the cheapest "Named non-owner" policy out there?

If its really just $60 or $150 per year, might be some strategies there. I was always under the impression it cost even more than regular owned insurance

mmy613 said:You pay the additional 200 for the next 6 months and in 6 months you renew with a different company without any lapses insurance

Everyone I've dealt with goes back at least two years of consecutive coverage.

Thanks for the heads up.

I'd try shopping around other insurers than Progressive. No two insurers have the same premium tables so you may find one with low or no penalty for having no prior insurance.

I'm also in OH too, and Erie Insurance had both a better customer rating and lower cost than Progressive by a bunch (excellent credit, clean record). Anyway, considering how Progressive is treating you now, I wouldn't feel any loyalty going back to them. Shop around and see what quotes you get.

Aside from that, it's really a pretty screwy system to have to keep some kind of auto insurance even if you don't drive one for extended periods.

lp244 said:Geico has been friendly to drivers returning from extended stays out of the country. Their online quote engine even includes "No, I was on deployment or overseas" as an answer to the question "Currently Insured?".

Thanks for this piece of info. My quote got instantly better!

I'm returning too. When I left, Amica told me that I should cancel my insurance, even though I said I'd like to stay on. I'm hoping that having auto insurance overseas will be enough for American insurers to consider, and a letter from overseas saying I've had no claims.

I would have done the named non-owner though if I had known about it. Hopefully it will save someone else. I haven't done any quotes yet, so I don't know if I'm screwed or not.

I recently asked USAA about non-owner insurance for me and my wife and they quoted it at $501/year (most of which is for liability insurance). We have never owned a car, have perfect driving records, and have not been on any auto insurance policy for a few years. Both of us are in our mid-20's. We live in the Boston area. I'm not sure what information is relevant to pricing non-owner insurance.

Time to shop around auto insurance.

Try calling around. I had the same problem when I went carless for a number of months. After calling a bunch of places I finally got someone who gave me a break and understood that since I had no car, I had no need for car insurance.

binasv said:Last year I sold my car, cancelled my progressive insurance and left the country for 10 months for a research trip.

Now I am back and buying a new car and I have just learnt that I made a big mistake in allowing my insurance to lapse. (I though that it would be common sense to assume that if I have no car, I should have no insurance. Boy, was I wrong!).

Now "Progressive" quotes me premiums which may be even $200-per-6-months more than if I did not have an insurance lapse.

Lesson learned - consult an an agent when you do things which appear commonsense. I did not allow my health insurence to lapse, but this...

Any fatwalleter has any good ideas what, if anything, could be done?

I am in Ohio and have clean record, good credit and all. I complained and complained to "Progressive" that the issue of lapsed insurance was not addressed whan I was cancelling the policy last year. Any agent would mention that. Why not a CSR? They say I will have to wait 2 year to get the premiums back down and could possibly see some discounts in 1/2 year.

let's play with hypotheticals though... what if you went to europe for 5 years. would you want to pay insurance for 5 years (and not even having a car) just so you could save 200 a month for the first 6 months (after you get your car)?

i'm using this as an example because you probably weren't sure where you were gonna be 1 year after selling your car and moving to europe.