Question: I’m going away for a few months and won’t be driving my car. I’d like to keep insurance on it, but it seems silly to pay when I’m not even driving. Can you suspend your car insurance with GEICO?
Answer:
When you need to put your car in storage and it won’t be driven for an extended period, you may think about suspending your car insurance to save money. However, with companies like GEICO, suspending your insurance isn’t an option, unless you’re deployed on military service.
But if you are a college student leaving cars at home during the semester, or you are looking to store an old car while transitioning to a new one — there are still options to reduce insurance costs without full coverage.
Sign up for GEICO DriveEasy App
One alternative is using the GEICO DriveEasy App. This telematics-based program monitors your driving behavior and promotes safe driving habits. For those who aren’t actively driving their vehicle and it remains parked, GEICO could potentially offer a significant discount, possibly up to 25%. This is not available in AK, CA, DE, HI, KS, ME, MT, NH, ND, RI, SD, VT, WY.
Reduce to comp-only coverage
Another option is to adjust your existing policy to include only comprehensive coverage. This type of coverage is usually less expensive than full coverage policies because it only covers damages to your car that are not collision-related, such as weather damage, theft, or vandalism.
Some states have specific coverage requirements in order to renew your annual registration or to store your vehicle on public roads. For example, in Connecticut, the DMV states that you must have minimum liability insurance until you cancel the registration or license plates.
You may also be required to have some level of protection if your stored vehicle still has an outstanding auto loan.
You can call GEICO at (800) 841-1587 to modify your coverage.
Raise deductibles
Increasing your deductible is another strategy to decrease your monthly premiums. The deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance starts to cover costs. By choosing a higher deductible, your overall insurance cost decreases.
Cancel your insurance
Canceling your insurance will save you the costs of insuring a parked car. GEICO states that you can cancel with no cancellation fee, except in North Carolina where you might be subject to a Short Rate premium calculation. However, some states require registered cars to have some insurance and a lapse in insurance has implications.
You can cancel by calling (800) 841-1587. When prompted, say “cancel insurance policy” and then “auto.” You will need to say your GEICO policy number, so make sure you have that ready.
GEICO Military Storage Protection
Military members heading out for deployment can contact GEICO’s Military Center at 1-800-MILITARY (645-4827) for more information on the Storage Protection Plan.
GEICO can suspend or reduce your insurance coverage to help you save money if your military duties require you to store your vehicle for 30 days or more.
Xuyun Zeng is a content strategist with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.
Kevin Berry is the Senior Director of Content at Jerry and has been working in the digital content space since 2011 across the car insurance/repair, personal finance, travel and sports industries. Prior to Jerry, Kevin was a content team lead at NerdWallet overseeing the Multimedia Production and Travel Rewards teams. Previously, he worked for NBC Sports, Comcast Cable and Nike. He has a Master`s Degree from Arkansas State and a Bachelor`s from Oregon State University.
