Changed my auto insurance and really messed up

[Geeznowwhat]

Florida, Colorado.

I have an RV registered in Florida. For 2 years I was the sole caregiver for my elderly parents. (In Colorado) I never gave up my condo, etc in Florida during that time. We always believed that we would move to Florida ...but health issues overcame them too fast. After my parents died, I set out to see all of the lower 48 States. Last summer I was back in Florida, and decided then that the heat combined with humidity and insects was just too much.

During the past winter, while I as in Arizona, I decided to rent a place from a friend in Colorado and make that my new home. It was pretty easy to get friends in Florida to ship the last of my things to the new address.

So..in January I get this bright idea that it would be really convenient for me to have everything all done and set for me when I get to Colorado in May. So..just before departing to spend the Winter in Mexico (Baja peninsula) I call my insurance company and make all the changes. That way the paper work will be waiting for me and I can get to the DMV the first day I get up there.

I returned from Mexico a couple days ago. Called the mail service in Florida to cancel the service and send my mail to the RV Park I am at in New Mexico. I figure I can wait here a few days for my mail...it isnt a bad park. I don’t usually stay in parks at all, my rig is complete self sufficient for boondocking in the desert.

So..mail arrived.

Florida suspended both my license and registration way back in February. Oh sh*t

Honestly, never occurred to me that this would cancel insurance as far as Florida was concerned. Nor did the insurance agency point that out to me ...I would not have done it. So much for convenience.

So..finally...my question. I have to wait a week to be sure I can drive through the mountain passes up by Cortez....then I am going straight into Colorado. I know I can get the RV registered there...insurance is already taken care of (,,,). But, my license. Ugh.

Let’s say I get pulled over between here and there....what happens? This is my house .. complete with pet cat....

Yeah...whole thing was pretty dumb..so much for being too smart for my own good. Now what happens?
How do I get myself extracted from my mess? I realize there will be some sort of fines, etc I have to pay to Florida...but their letter indicates I cannot do this by phone.

 

[Zigner]

You MUST deal with your license and registration matters in Florida before you will be able to register your vehicle or transfer your license to Colorado.

 

[xylene]

Park you car/home at a lot and fly to FL if need be.

 

[xylene]

Get a lawyer to help is also an idea.

ALSO - you KNOW your driving privilege is suspended. DO NOT DRIVE until you resolve it.

 

[FlyingRon]

He needs to clear his drivers license in Florida before anybody else will issue. There's no national registry for vehicles. Unless it's reported stolen, he's likely free to register it elsewhere if he meets the requirements in Colorado.

You can guarantee that almost every state will take action of some sort if you cancel the insurance on the vehicle. What did you expect would happen. Why do you think your insurer should have told you otherwise. You told them you moved to Colorado with the vehicle, they assumed that meant you were going to be compliant with the law and register it there. Car insurance policy locations aren't just because that's where you want to have your mail sent, the insurance requirements vary state by state (and so does the risk for that matter).

 

[HighwayMan]

Looks like you'll probably be spending some money on air and cab fare.

 

[adjusterjack]

Or risk getting pulled over, getting a ton of citations, maybe even having the vehicle impounded.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Let’s say I get pulled over between here and there....what happens? This is my house .. complete with pet cat....

If you are stopped in Colorado on that trip and the cop discovers that your Florida license and registration are suspended you'll be cited for driving without a license and without registration. You may find that the RV also gets towed since it cannot be legally driven in Colorado without proper registration. That's in addition to whatever traffic violation the cop might charge that got you pulled over in the first place. So you take a risk in driving until you resolve the license and registration issues. Registration of the RV in Colorado should not be difficult. But the license issue has to be resolved in Florida before Colorado will give you a license, and once you are a resident of Colorado for 90 days you must have a Colorado license.

 

[xylene]

Why do you think your insurer should have told you otherwise.

I actually think that is very terrible customer service and strikes me as terribly odd as well. In new york ar least my insurer would not let me cancel insurance on a vehicle I had sold without me faxing in a very very clear disclaimer.

The legality of all that? IDK, but I know terrible customer service is when an insurer allows me to get jammed up

Insurance is supposed to be continous. Allwoing it to be canceled in anticipation of registration in another state doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Allwoing it to be canceled in anticipation of registration in another state doesn't make a lot of sense.

The thing is that insurance can be canceled for a whole lot of reasons and its really not the insurance company's responsibility to ensure that the policy holder will have proper insurance with someone else when the policy holder drops the policy. I've canceled auto insurance or declined to renew without telling my insurer anything and the insurer in turn didn't give me any dire warnings about it or disclaimers. The insurer of course notified the state as it is required to do. But it should not have to tell me that will result in suspension of my license if I don't keep insurance on the car with some other insurer. Pretty much every driver knows that insurance is required. In every state I've lived in the driver's license manual makes that very clear. So if you yourself cancel insurance and don't get a new policy to replace it before you go out on the road, that's on you.

The thing that is unclear here is what specifically the OP told the insurer and what the insurer told the OP in reply. If the OP simply told the insurance company he was moving as of a certain date then I agree that the insurance company should have told the OP that the move out of state would result in cancellation of the policy and that the OP would need to contact an agent in the new state for a policy. That's what happened to me when I moved last year.

 

[LdiJ]

The thing is that insurance can be canceled for a whole lot of reasons and its really not the insurance company's responsibility to ensure that the policy holder will have proper insurance with someone else when the policy holder drops the policy. I've canceled auto insurance or declined to renew without telling my insurer anything and the insurer in turn didn't give me any dire warnings about it or disclaimers. The insurer of course notified the state as it is required to do. But it should not have to tell me that will result in suspension of my license if I don't keep insurance on the car with some other insurer. Pretty much every driver knows that insurance is required. In every state I've lived in the driver's license manual makes that very clear. So if you yourself cancel insurance and don't get a new policy to replace it before you go out on the road, that's on you.

The thing that is unclear here is what specifically the OP told the insurer and what the insurer told the OP in reply. If the OP simply told the insurance company he was moving as of a certain date then I agree that the insurance company should have told the OP that the move out of state would result in cancellation of the policy and that the OP would need to contact an agent in the new state for a policy. That's what happened to me when I moved last year.

I think perhaps is that the basic rule of thumb is that the old insurance does not get cancelled until the new insurance is firmly in place.

However, my dad was an insurance agent and I know for a fact that if you stay with the same company, that its not necessary to "cancel" a policy at all. You just transfer the policy from one state to another.

 

[Taxing Matters]

However, my dad was an insurance agent and I know for a fact that if you stay with the same company, that its not necessary to "cancel" a policy at all. You just transfer the policy from one state to another.

That depends on the company. In my case last year, the policy would have been canceled because of the move (and the premium paid prorated) unless I contacted an agent in the new state because the rates change and the new agent must input the rate changes and collect any additional premium required for the insurance to transfer.

 

[FlyingRon]

If I understood him, he told the insurer he moved to Colorado and had the Florida policy canceled and a Colorado one issued. I'm sure his insurer told him that the Florida policy was cancelled. I can't believe the insurer had any obligation or even inclination to warn him not to drive around for six months on Florida registration at t hat point.

 

[LdiJ]

That depends on the company. In my case last year, the policy would have been canceled because of the move (and the premium paid prorated) unless I contacted an agent in the new state because the rates change and the new agent must input the rate changes and collect any additional premium required for the insurance to transfer.

My dad would have contacted another agent in the new state on behalf of his client. Then the client would have had the option to change agents once the client got there.

 

[Geeznowwhat]

Well.....here is the end of the story.

First..yes, I know I should not drive without a valid license. After thinking thru all the options...only thing I could think to do was drive to Colorado. Be prepared to pick up tickets all the way. Hope I get close enough to have a friend come get the cat if it came to it.

With fingers crossed...I made it to Colorado. Parked at the mechanic’s secure yard and pulled the plates. Sent the plates, explanation, check to to reinstate my license to Florida DMV. Registered the RV in Colorado. Meanwhile, with the help of a friend I emptied the RV and took everything and my cat to the rental.

I’ve been waiting 3 weeks for Florida to clear my license...then I will get a new one in Colorado.

Yeah...I was never without insurance...just changed to from Fl to CO. Dumb. I even told the insurance agent that I was not in Colorado...would not be in Colorado until May...on my way to Mexico. Seems like the agent should have told me that I would likely lose my license for not having FL insurance. This was all done with progressive. Never changed insurance companies....never change policies either..just a change of address, and yes there were two months of premium adjustments.

Everyone I told this story to had the same reaction that I did...sounded like a good idea. Get everything taken care of in advance. Anyway. Live and learn. This could have been a MUCH more expensive lesson. I feel fortunate that it wasn’t so much worse.

PS...just parking it and leaving the rig was not an option. This has been my home for the last 2 years. Tens of thousands of dollars in electronics which would be the first things stolen for sure. And, I certainly was not going to leave my cat! Or put her through the trauma of a kennel. She has been my constant companion since birth. Just hoped that if I got impounded I would be a day drive or less so a friend would come and get the cat.