A question many insurance agents and brokers hear repeatedly is, “If You Have Multiple Cars, Do You Need Insurance on All of Them?” With very few exceptions, the answer is yes.
Some people mistakenly believe that a person insures himself or herself, but in reality, car insurance follows the car “not the driver. In other words, you buy a policy to cover any liability or damage occurring around a vehicle. If you let someone else drive your car, for example, it is not his or her indemnity that covers it, but is rather the coverage you have on your own car (which is one reason many people do not allow others to ever drive their cars). That being said, if you have multiple cars do you need insurance on all of them all the time?
The answer to this question depends on how you use your cars. Most governments require a minimum of liability coverage on any operable car. If the car is not drivable, however, or will be in storage for a long period of time (such as a show car that just sits in a garage, or a car owned by someone who will be traveling overseas for six months), there may be no need to have liability coverage on that car.
Even with these cars that have no need for liability coverage, however, it is possible to get comprehensive coverage, which pays for property damage from natural disasters, theft, vandalism, weather, and similar occurrences. This insurance is usually extremely inexpensive for cars that are left in storage.
If a car is going to be driven at all, it is usually legally required to have liability coverage. Your liability coverage does not follow you, but rather stays with each car. That means it is not enough to just have liability coverage on one car. Even if you only drive one of your vehicles once every few months, you still need to have a basic liability package on that car. Depending on your agent and carrier, however, it may be possible to get a very low level of liability and a low rate if you can somehow prove how little you drive the car.
As with any legal issue, it is always important to discuss your specific needs and questions in detail with a trained local expert. Some local governments have special laws or exceptions, and they can vary widely by district. Ask your own agent, if you have multiple cars do you need insurance on all of them, and be sure to ask if there are any discounts for having multiple cars as well. You may be surprised at how affordable it can be.