Do I Need Auto Insurance To Test Drive A Car?
Q: I’m going to buy a new car and I don’t have auto insurance. I want to know if I need to have auto insurance before I test drive a vehicle.
AIS Answer: Most of the time you do need to have a current and active auto insurance policy when test driving or purchasing a vehicle. Although dealerships have their vehicles under their own insurance plan, the liability will often be passed on to the person test driving the vehicle (this keeps the dealership’s insurance rates lower on vehicles where the actual driver has their own automobile policy) and they will want you to have your own policy before driving.
If all this sounds complicated, it really isn’t. Most dealerships will require that you carry auto insurance before you drive, period. Also, if you’re not going to an actual dealership and you’re going to drive a used car from a private party it’s a bad idea not to have and carry your own auto insurance policy card.
If you don’t have a vehicle (and subsequently any insurance) at all it’s a little more complicated to get insurance, but not impossible by any means. Make sure you talk to the dealership where you’re buying the car and mention you don’t have insurance, they may be able to let you test drive on their policy. If not, call an insurance company and explain the situation and the vehicle(s) you’re looking at they may have a few suggestions for you regarding starting a new insurance plan.
As always, you need to speak with a licensed insurance agent before you make any decisions regarding your insurance policy.
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I always had auto insurance so it was easy when I test drove a car.
get your insurance company to send you an insurance card so you have something to show the dealership when you test drive their car.
I’ve test driven a vehicle without car insurance. I don’t see why you need it except when you purchase the vehicle you have to show proof of insurance and promise to carry insurance on the vehicle as long as you own it.
The dealers have insurance why would you need to carry your own. A lot of people don’t have car insurance when they test drive cars.
When I buy a vehicle from a dealership Im allways asked to provide my automobile insurance policy number and show them a card.