As consumer inflation compounds with constant rate increases, car insurance has become increasingly burdensome for many Americans. In fact, the average full coverage policy reached $2,678 per year in 2025– a 12% increase from the year before.
With the cost of auto insurance eating up more of drivers’ budgets, it’s important to find savings opportunities. If you’re planning to store your vehicle for an extended period, paying full coverage makes little financial sense. This is where car storage insurance comes in.
Note: These tips should not be considered official insurance guidance. Please consult an insurance professional or broker when making decisions regarding insurance.
What Is Car Storage Insurance?
Whether you’re embarking on an extended trip, deploying for military service, or trying to protect a classic car you’re storing away, you may be looking for ways to reduce your insurance premium while your vehicle is off the road.
Car storage insurance, also known as parked car insurance, provides protection for your vehicle when it’s not being driven and is securely stored. Unlike traditional auto insurance policies that include liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, storage insurance typically consists of comprehensive coverage only.
Comprehensive coverage protects your vehicle against non-collision-related incidents such as:
- Fire damage
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Falling objects (like tree branches)
- Natural disasters
- Animal damage
Since your car won’t be on the road, you don’t need liability or collision coverage. This exclusion can significantly reduce your premium compared to a full coverage policy.
Why Do You Need Car Insurance for a Car in Storage?
You might wonder why insurance coverage is necessary for a vehicle that’s sitting idle in a garage. The reality is that even when parked, your car remains vulnerable to various risks.
Potential Risks to Stored Vehicles
While your car is safely tucked away in storage, it could still fall victim to potential perils, including a fire in the storage facility, theft from an intruder, or water damage from leaks or flooding in the garage.
Without any coverage, the financial burden of repairing or replacing your vehicle in these situations falls squarely on your shoulders. Car storage insurance provides crucial peace of mind and financial protection for your asset, even when it’s not in active use.
Moreover, if you have an auto loan or lease, your lender will almost certainly require you to maintain comprehensive coverage on the vehicle until the loan is paid off, regardless of whether you’re driving it.
When You May Qualify for Car Storage Insurance
It’s never a good idea to reduce your insurance protection just to save money. As they say, if you think you can’t afford insurance, you probably can’t afford not to have it.
However, opting for a reduced coverage plan like car storage insurance is suitable for various situations where your vehicle will be unused for an extended period, typically 30 days or more.
Common Scenarios
- Extended travel: If you’re planning a long vacation or temporarily relocating overseas
- Military deployment: Service members deployed abroad often store vehicles for months or years
- Seasonal vehicles: Cars that are only driven during certain seasons (convertibles, classic cars)
- Vehicles undergoing restoration: Project cars that aren’t roadworthy for extended periods
- Medical issues: When health conditions prevent driving for an extended period of time
- College students: When a vehicle remains at home while the driver attends school elsewhere
Requirements for Storage Insurance
Furthermore, insurers often have specific requirements you must meet to qualify for or maintain this type of coverage. These can vary by provider but may include:
- Secure storage location: Most insurers require the vehicle to be stored in a locked garage, carport, or professional storage facility.
- Vehicle preparation: Some companies may require you to disconnect the battery, drain fluids, or take other precautionary measures.
- Vehicle registration status: Some states or insurers might have rules about the car’s registration. You might need to file an affidavit of non-use with your state’s DMV.
- Duration: Many insurers have minimum storage periods (often 30 days or more).
Cancellation vs. Storage Insurance: Understanding the Difference
When temporarily sidelining your vehicle, you might consider simply canceling your insurance policy altogether. However, this approach comes with significant disadvantages compared to switching to storage coverage.
The Pitfalls of Policy Cancellation
Most insurers won’t allow you to simply pause or suspend your coverage. If you want to stop payments completely, you’ll need to cancel your policy, which creates several problems:
- Coverage gaps: Canceling your policy creates a “lapse” or “gap” in your insurance history. When you eventually seek new coverage, insurers often view this gap as a higher risk factor. This can lead to substantially higher premiums than you were paying before, effectively negating any savings from the cancellation period.
- No protection: If you cancel your policy, your car has zero protection. If it’s stolen, vandalized, or damaged in a fire or flood while in storage, you’ll absorb the entire financial loss yourself.
- Lender requirements: If you have a loan or lease on the vehicle, your financing agreement almost certainly mandates continuous comprehensive (and often collision) coverage. Canceling could put you in default of your loan terms, leading to serious consequences like forced-placed (and very expensive) insurance or even repossession.
- State DMV issues: In many states, if you cancel insurance on a registered vehicle, the insurer is required to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The DMV may then suspend your registration and/or license, and you could face fines or reinstatement fees. You’d typically need to surrender your license plates if you fully cancel insurance on a registered vehicle you intend to keep.
With either cancellation or storage insurance, remember that your vehicle must remain completely off public roads. Driving without proper liability coverage is illegal and could result in severe financial and legal consequences.
How to Get Car Storage Insurance
Despite its catchy name, “car storage insurance” isn’t a standard policy type offered by most carriers. For that reason, securing coverage for a stored car often requires a more hands-on approach:
Step-by-Step Process
- Contact your current insurer: This should be your first step. Call your insurance agent or the company’s customer service line. Explain your situation – that you’ll be storing your vehicle long-term and won’t be driving it. Ask specifically if they offer a “comprehensive-only” policy, “parked car insurance,” or “vehicle storage insurance.”
- Discuss requirements: If they offer it, inquire about their specific requirements. Ask about minimum storage periods, approved storage units or locations, and any documentation they might need (like a sworn statement of non-operation or proof of storage).
- Understand the cost and coverage: Get a clear quote for the storage insurance premium. Confirm exactly what is and isn’t covered. Understand the deductible for comprehensive claims.
- Clarify the reinstatement process: Ask about the procedure for reinstating your full liability and collision coverage when you’re ready to drive the car again. Will your previous rates be honored? Are there any waiting periods?
- Follow state protocols: Your insurer should guide you, but also be aware of your state’s DMV requirements. You may need to file specific forms to declare your vehicle as non-operational or stored to avoid penalties for not carrying liability insurance.
- Shop around (if necessary): While it’s often easiest to work with your current provider, if they don’t offer a suitable storage option, or if their terms aren’t favorable, you may need to get quotes from other insurance companies that specialize in or are flexible with such coverage. However, switching insurers solely for storage might be complicated if you plan to return to your original insurer later.
When discussing this with your insurer, be sure to have all relevant information on hand. This includes your policy number, vehicle information (VIN, make, model, year), and details about where and how long the vehicle will be stored.
Is Car Storage Insurance Right for You?
Car storage insurance offers a prudent middle ground between maintaining expensive full coverage and completely canceling your policy. It provides essential protection for your vehicle during periods of non-use while saving you money and preserving your insurance history.
Before making a decision, consider:
- How long will your vehicle be stored?
- What are the storage conditions?
- Does your state have specific requirements for stored vehicles?
- What does your lender require if you’re still financing?
By carefully evaluating these factors and working with a knowledgeable insurance agent, you can protect your vehicle at an affordable price.
When you’re ready to hit the road again, simply contact your insurer or find another carrier in your area to reinstate full coverage, and you’ll be back on the road without the penalties and complications that come with an insurance gap.
