My brother and I were discussing insuring a couple cars that aren't driveable but are stored where they could be damaged and how much of a pain it would be; this morning I read this article that the EU is trying to implement mandatory insurance on EVERY motor vehicle. An interesting concept that I think would be wholly unmanageable. Your thoughts?
State farm lets me put storage insurance on stuff, which covers damage from nature or from structural happenings. Basically tree falls on building/car, building falls, fire, theft are covered. Take it on street and no coverage
I don't see how they could possibly mandate coverage on every vehicle. It sounds feasible to a normie(thats what i call non car people) but we all know about parts cars and long term projects.
My car is stored for 6 months of the year with dead plates. costs me 8 bucks a month for storage insurance with donegal.
I've never stopped the insurance on my TDI, despite the fact it's been 4 feet off the ground for the past 3 years. I'm not too bright sometimes... 
The UK already has something called SORN (Statutory Off Road Notice) if you have a car off the road for storage, repair, restoration etc. If you just stop insuring and keeping road fund licence (Tax) on the car without a SORN notice you better be scrapping it or breaking it as you'll have a bitch of a time and a lot of $$"s to get it back on the road otherwise.
I don't think this country will ever have something like your mention above. The general reaction to a new/increased tax or loophole being closed in Europe is to bitch about it for 5 mins then say 'Well it's only $xx. That's not too bad' over there. Over here it causes recall elections, threats and change of party in power. This country was built on hating taxes of any kind.
Funny aside. Insuring a car that wasnt' driven paid off for me. twenty od years ago I used to insure my race car, jsut so I could drive it up and down the road to test it before races. The only working lights were the brake lights and rear turn signals so it was super obvious in race colors, tape, stickers roll bar etc. Hence the desire for legality. But 99% of the time I kept it on storage insurance. One year our idiot governor decided the state rainy day fund was too big and wasn't needed (which it wasn't....right up until it was needed but it was too late by then) so gave a rebate to every insured car. I got a rebate for the race car that was on storage insurance for more than the storage insurance cost on the car!
No wonder they wanted out of the EU...
When I took the Poncho off the road, I created a new comprehensive-only policy for it with State Farm. It cost under $10 per year, and had full coverage but no liability or collision. It made zero sense not to cover it, since it wouldn't be covered by Homeowners, even if parked in the garage.
In reply to MadScientistMatt:
The SORN is a U.K. Thing indipendant of the EU. It will stay. This is by far the most car and car mod friendly country there is.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
In the US, it generally depends on state and local rules.
In PA, if you drop your insurance, they send a letter to PennDOT stating coverage has been dropped who will give you some amount of time to either get insurance or invalidate your registration. But they don't care if you go the other way. For example, my previously mentioned TDI still has insurance, but I never bothered (I forgot) to renew the registration for 2016. But since I never drove it, nobody really cares.
Most local townships in suburban areas also have "derelict car" ordinances that frown on expired or unregistered vehicles, although enforcement varies.
Adrian_Thompson wrote: This is by far the most car and car mod friendly country there is.
I can believe that. Edd China posted a video the other day of him driving a motorized couch with road plates.
Ian F wrote: I can believe that. Edd China posted a video the other day of him driving a motorized couch with road plates.
Err, by 'this country' I mean the USA, not the UK. If you look at that Sofa it's got covered wheels, lights, seat belts etc. You can register many things in the UK, but if they don't have a stock chassis using the stock pick up points you are supposed to get a costly vehicle inspection by the government and it has to meet all road traffic laws for lights, brakes, seatbelt angles etc. It can easily cost $1,000usd to register a kit car or radically modified hot rod for the first time and emissions are tied to either the age of the engine or sometimes the chassis depending on the order in which you went about modifying the vehicle. It get's complicated in a hurry. While it varies state by state you can drive almost anything here.
I've seen hundreds of T buckets and the like running around in this country that you could never ever register for road use in the UK. Hell, I've seen a mid 90's genuine BigFoot driving on the road in Michigan. That's a one way ticket to an impounded vehicle and at least loss of licence over there.
Bitch all you like, but here we have it easy for cars. Further down the rabbit hole. I'd take a $100 bet that major European Cities will be outlawing internal combustion engines and self driven vehicles by 2050.
Ohio already has this. Anything with current registration requires insurance. They "randomly" send letters to people asking for proof of insurance on their cars.
I got one of these letters, about 4 months after I got my driver's license reinstated for driving uninsured. I thought it was a little silly, because part of getting reinstated is getting a policy rider that links your insurance policy's status with the state, so they know as soon as it lapses/is cancelled.
5 years without being able to drive sucked, too.
Knurled wrote: Ohio already has this. Anything with current registration requires insurance. They "randomly" send letters to people asking for proof of insurance on their cars. I got one of these letters, about 4 months after I got my driver's license reinstated for driving uninsured. I thought it was a little silly, because part of getting reinstated is getting a policy rider that links your insurance policy's status with the state, so they know as soon as it lapses/is cancelled. 5 years without being able to drive sucked, too.
Meh, i drove on a suspended license for 2 years. Had no idea until i got a letter about a court appearance. Then i drove to court, in my loud nasty impala ss just so i could hear the exhaust reverberate off all the huge buildings downtown .
Adrian_Thompson wrote: While it varies state by state you can drive almost anything here.
The US is generally pretty good about grandfathering stuff, most people agree that it's unfair to take something that was legal at one point and make it illegal. OTOH, regulations on new stuff are open season.
So you can register and drive an 80 year old Ford here, but in the UK you can drive a Radical on the street.
In CA you have to tell the state that you're not going to be using a car (pay a $10 feet to register it as "planned non-operation"), at which point you can legally drop the insurance on it. That's for a year at a time, though, you can't do it just over the winter.
Knurled wrote: Ohio already has this. Anything with current registration requires insurance. They "randomly" send letters to people asking for proof of insurance on their cars. I got one of these letters, about 4 months after I got my driver's license reinstated for driving uninsured. I thought it was a little silly, because part of getting reinstated is getting a policy rider that links your insurance policy's status with the state, so they know as soon as it lapses/is cancelled. 5 years without being able to drive sucked, too.
A bit off subject, but don't get me started about how infuriating Ohio is when it comes to getting a " self-assembled " vehicle thru the State Patrol inspection bs. Long story short, I have to design and fabricate a legally acceptable bumper system to get my Exocet registered and a VIN plate issued. This is not a requirement in any other state that Inam aware of. Yea ... Ohio is NOT a car friendly state !!
In reply to patgizz:
It's difficult to do that when your career requires a driver's license and your employment potential partly depends on your driving record.
The place where I worked at the time I lost my license, they ran your driver's license record every six months. I don't think he does that where I am now, but my ability to work there definitely involves the status of my driver's license and points thereof.
einy wrote:Knurled wrote: Ohio already has this. Anything with current registration requires insurance. They "randomly" send letters to people asking for proof of insurance on their cars. I got one of these letters, about 4 months after I got my driver's license reinstated for driving uninsured. I thought it was a little silly, because part of getting reinstated is getting a policy rider that links your insurance policy's status with the state, so they know as soon as it lapses/is cancelled. 5 years without being able to drive sucked, too.A bit off subject, but don't get me started about how infuriating Ohio is when it comes to getting a " self-assembled " vehicle thru the State Patrol inspection bs. Long story short, I have to design and fabricate a legally acceptable bumper system to get my Exocet registered and a VIN plate issued. This is not a requirement in any other state that Inam aware of. Yea ... Ohio is NOT a car friendly state !!
I wonder if you're mssing a loophole. I've worked on assigned-VIN customs that definitely did not have bumpers of any sort. Or windshields, or doors...
Knurled wrote: Ohio already has this. Anything with current registration requires insurance. They "randomly" send letters to people asking for proof of insurance on their cars. I got one of these letters, about 4 months after I got my driver's license reinstated for driving uninsured. I thought it was a little silly, because part of getting reinstated is getting a policy rider that links your insurance policy's status with the state, so they know as soon as it lapses/is cancelled. 5 years without being able to drive sucked, too.
i got one of those when i was 19, by the time i found out about it i would of had to drive to columbus for a hearing and still pay my reinstatement fee. i just ate the 90 day suspension for random non compliance and carried the sr22 bond for the required 2 years
einy wrote:Knurled wrote: Ohio already has this. Anything with current registration requires insurance. They "randomly" send letters to people asking for proof of insurance on their cars. I got one of these letters, about 4 months after I got my driver's license reinstated for driving uninsured. I thought it was a little silly, because part of getting reinstated is getting a policy rider that links your insurance policy's status with the state, so they know as soon as it lapses/is cancelled. 5 years without being able to drive sucked, too.A bit off subject, but don't get me started about how infuriating Ohio is when it comes to getting a " self-assembled " vehicle thru the State Patrol inspection bs. Long story short, I have to design and fabricate a legally acceptable bumper system to get my Exocet registered and a VIN plate issued. This is not a requirement in any other state that Inam aware of. Yea ... Ohio is NOT a car friendly state !!
Yeah, I think you need a different inspector.
codrus wrote:Adrian_Thompson wrote: While it varies state by state you can drive almost anything here.The US is generally pretty good about grandfathering stuff, most people agree that it's unfair to take something that was legal at one point and make it illegal. OTOH, regulations on new stuff are open season. So you can register and drive an 80 year old Ford here, but in the UK you can drive a Radical on the street. In CA you have to tell the state that you're not going to be using a car (pay a $10 feet to register it as "planned non-operation"), at which point you can legally drop the insurance on it. That's for a year at a time, though, you can't do it just over the winter.
UK can register an 80 year old Ford in the UK as it met the rules as written when it was built. You can also register a Radical in the US. They have run the one lap before.
I think people get the perception that the UK is free as we see so many pics of Se7en's, Radicals and other radical kit cars over there, but not so much here. That's a cultural thing not a rules thing. The States grew up with hot rod culture, drag racing, muscle cars etc. So many of the extremely modified cars here are T buckets, old muscle cars etc. While the US was in the straight line craze of the 40's-70's UK and Europe was going buts for small light chuckable sports cars. Instead of building a gazzilion hp V8 hot rod, thousands, make that tens of thousands of Europeans were building sports cars. America sprouted drag strips, Europe sprouted race tracks and hillclimbs. The knock on has been the types of cars that are still popular today.
I am pretty sure the policy I have through Heacock on my Corrado more considers it a piece of "art" or another semi-valuable ornament than a vehicle. I keep it stored, goes on the trailer, gets unloaded, does something that they don't cover, then it goes back on the trailer and then home. Cheap to insure.
My experience was similar to those above. When the mustang was being fixed up to get back on the road I called my insurance guy and got it covered for theft, fire, and the garage falling on it. It was so cheap it would be crazy not to do it.
Insurance up here is tied to registration, so plates are $1000 or so per year. Luckily, as long as you have one regular vehicle, you can register anything 30 years old for $130 or so, but you need to add decent insurance coverage. So, two more boring pointless tales.
I have an 82 Z28 Camaro that I bought new. It costs about $640 per year for full coverage with a $700 deductible. I changed it over to classic plates, had it appraised, and I now register and insure the $11,000 stated value 82, my $18,000 stated value 67 Camaro project, and I have $2,000,000 liability coverage on my three main dd vehicles for less money.
Second- The 67 Camaro project was crashed a very long time ago- like the 80's. It spent a long time in a wrecking yard as the others all disappeared or got perfect, and in 2002 I bought it with no front sheet metal or powertrain, but a chassis that needed a drivers floor pan and some repair around the shock mounts to be a driver, and quarters to be really solid. The fact that it had been off the road for so long, and the vin plate was gone, made me check with every police and insurance agency I could think of to make sure it wasn't stolen, or that the tag wasn't on another car someplace. So two years ago, as I was thinking about getting to work on it, I registered it and let it sit for a year. No letters, no cops on the doorstep, so, cool. I got some dough tied up with it, and decided to add it to the insurance I spoke of above. When I told them it was a project, they made me cancel the plates. Not sure I follow the logic there.
Not sure whether this has much to do with the original topic.
I don't think many people are having much to do with the original topic
. There is a pretty big battle going on about that law it looks like by enthusiasts as well as the insurance companies who think that it's going to be a license to make big payouts for unseen vehicles.
One word
California!
I think the OP was discussing Physical Damage Coverage - comp & collision for vehicles "under restoration", which coverage is available for through specialty carriers like Haggerty or American Collectors. EU issue is dealing with Liability Coverage for the harm you cause others.
Seems to me it is a great tactic to push Usage-based insurance like Sn@pshOt. Ins companies are missing out on the money your info is worth...
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