Originally Posted by
VenetianFryCook
As far as my insurance company is concerned, it is at home with the rest of my vehicles. If anything happens, I was on a road trip - let them try to prove otherwise!
They won't bother for a fender-bender, they'll pay. But if you get into a serious money claim (assuming you have a liability coverage) they will do a little work to verify the facts. They'll figure it out pretty quickly, and will use that as an excuse to deny coverage. The budget insurance companies are more likely to do this...that's how they offer the same insurance for lower cost...by working hard to get out paying big claims.
Originally Posted by
VenetianFryCook
The only hitch to this arrangement is if your home state requires a state inspection. NC does. I was able to solve this by calling NCDMV and telling them my car was "temporarily" (this is true) out of state. NC accepted a faxed inspection report from my domicile state (they have reciprocity with several other states that do safety and emissions inspections) and all was square.
Most states will do this, even CA. But they may want an address in the domicile state, I would just a local friend's or crashpad.
Originally Posted by
VenetianFryCook
I've talked to people that have handled the situation several different ways, and this seems to be the best method. I'd just tell my insurance company, "I drove my car to work." That's true, and it doesn't matter how long it was there. If I'm not using it, it is parked in the airport employee lot in my domicile - in other words, "at work".
Any attempt to prove insurance fraud here (especially since none is intended) would be exceedingly difficult.
If you got a lower premium at the claimed zip code versus the domicile zip code, the company could make a case for fraud and thus to deny coverage.
If you just have bare-bones insurance to satisfy DMV, feel free to play loose-and-free with their rules. If you're broke you can just BK most claims (but don't hurt somebody while DUI...they probably won't let you BK that!)
If you actually want (or need) liability coverage for peace-of-mind or because you have assets, play by the rules. And get an umbrella policy.