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Advice on switching insurance to replacement car after accident

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accidentadvice1

Junior Member
Oops... something went wrong when I posted original messsge. Here's the message I ment to post:


This is a bit embarrassing but I haven't switched insurance to my replacement car after the accident that was a little over a year ago. Very stressful situation and it's finally resolved but now I'm wondering how to approach my insurance company. I live in Washington state. I know getting pulled over by the police or getting into another accident would be a bad situation without proper insurance. My insurance policy still has my old car on it... the one totaled in the accident. What can I expect from my insurance company when I contact them? I'm going to contact them next week. Also my replacement car is not in the best condition. I'm looking around now for a car in better shape. So I will be switching cars again on my policy in the next month or so.

Thank you
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Oops... something went wrong when I posted original messsge. Here's the message I ment to post:


This is a bit embarrassing but I haven't switched insurance to my replacement car after the accident that was a little over a year ago. Very stressful situation and it's finally resolved but now I'm wondering how to approach my insurance company. I live in Washington state. I know getting pulled over by the police or getting into another accident would be a bad situation without proper insurance. My insurance policy still has my old car on it... the one totaled in the accident. What can I expect from my insurance company when I contact them? I'm going to contact them next week. Also my replacement car is not in the best condition. I'm looking around now for a car in better shape. So I will be switching cars again on my policy in the next month or so.

Thank you
How is this a legal question? Contact your insurance company to take care of business.
 

accidentadvice1

Junior Member
I don't know what to expect calling insursnce company. I'm coming out of a very stressful year and I'd like a heads up on what to expect when contacting insurance. Will the switch be seemless because I've had no trouble since the accident? Will insurance fine me or tag on extra fees because I've been driving a car that is not on the policy, but still have my totaled car on the policy. Just looking for how insurance might respond. I'm low on funds now and if there are extra expenses I would not be able to pay until a few weeks later. Also is this an issue just between me and my insurance or would I be reported for not having proper insurance?
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I don't know what to expect calling insursnce company. I'm coming out of a very stressful year and I'd like a heads up on what to expect when contacting insurance. Will the switch be seemless because I've had no trouble since the accident? Will insurance fine me or tag on extra fees because I've been driving a car that is not on the policy, but still have my totaled car on the policy. Just looking for how insurance might respond. I'm low on funds now and if there are extra expenses I would not be able to pay until a few weeks later. Also is this an issue just between me and my insurance or would I be reported for not having proper insurance?
You are currently driving without insurance, which is illegal. If you cannot afford insurance, then you should not be driving.

Your questions are not legal questions - talk to your insurance company.

ETA: It's just plain foolish to not have switched the insurance from your old vehicle to your new one.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
You are currently driving without insurance, which is illegal. If you cannot afford insurance, then you should not be driving.

Your questions are not legal questions - talk to your insurance company.

ETA: It's just plain foolish to not have switched the insurance from your old vehicle to your new one.
his questions may not be legal questions now but if he keeps this up he might have a few legal questions
 

accidentadvice1

Junior Member
The replies I have recieved so far have not answered my questions. It appears as though people are purposfully withholding information. I have aspergers syndrome. It is a form of autism. I function well but in situations like this there is a lot of confussion. I realize that situations that are confussing for me are completly obvious to others. This is one of those situations. Please help. Pretend you work for an insurance company... I call you and say that I want to update my policy. I want to take off the car that is currently on my policy and put a different car on. Is it as simple as that? From my perspective there are many things that could go wrong and I am posting to this forum so I can gather the necessary documents and information before I call my insurance. In my mind being unprepaired could lead to fees and fines that could be avoided with proper preperation. And also in my mind this is a legal question. Do insurance companies contact police if someone doesn't have proper insurance? Could my rates increase because I didn't switch policy to new car sooner. If there is a rate increase I may need to wait until next pay day to call insurance. I don't have the funds now. I could see that contacting my insurance now without the ability to pay for rate increase could result in more fees and penalties. Once again it should be noted that I realize these questions are probably very obvious to others. They are not obvious to me. Please help. Please respond and answer my questions.

If people replying don't know the answers please direct me to a section of this site where I can get answers.

Thank you
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
You may have some problems because you did not notify them in a timely fashion. If your insurance company handled the previous accident, however, they may know that the car was totalled. You shouldn't have been able to register your current vehicle without proof of insurance. Are you sure that your insurance company doesn't have the new car information?

In reality, as long as you don't have an accident before you talk to them, the worse case scenario is that the premium on the new car is more than the old car, and they will back charge you the difference.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
In reality, as long as you don't have an accident before you talk to them, the worse case scenario is that the premium on the new car is more than the old car, and they will back charge you the difference.
May or may not be true, depending on the state (which i didn't see posted). In my state, given op has not had insurance on his car over a year, he would have to purchase insurance from "the insurance pool". That means your typical insurance provider will not sell him insurance. The pool is where those that break the law and don't purchase insurance are required to purchase their insurance from.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Thanks,
These repsonses are helpful.

I live in washington state. Does that change anything?
Your insurance company is not going to backdate coverage.

Try this. Call your insurance company or agent Monday morning (or email) and say:

"Effective today, please add ________________ and delete ________________."

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR until you receive your documentation of the change.

One more time DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR.

I have lost count of the number of times I've read on these sites "I had an accident the day before I intended to get insurance" or "I had an accident the day after my insurance lapsed."

You are due.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
The insurance company never has any way of knowing when you procure a car. Most will give you temporary coverage for a few days if you have existing coverage. If the insurance company "totalled" the old car, they likely discontinued the insurance on it at that time. But again, DON'T DRIVE until you get this straight and the person who can set this straight is your insurer. They aren't going to penalize you for driving without insurance, just that they won't handle any claims obviously for things arising from when you weren't insured.

To others: Some states require you to submit proof of insurance when you register (for example NC here does) and some do not including the poster's state (Washington state). Of course, if you finance a car, the lender almost certainly wants to know it is insured (and likely will sell you an exhoribantly priced forced policy fi you don't).
 
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ecmst12

Senior Member
I was under the impression that he's had insurance the whole time, just the wrong car listed. That's different than not having insurance at all.
 

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