What Is Parked Car Insurance?

If you are wondering about parked car insurance, learning about the types of coverage for parked cars, or spending some time reading about parked car insurance on Reddit, we are here to help.

The seasoned, licensed auto insurance agents at Einsurance.com are ready to answer your most frequent questions about car insurance. As always, we provide this non-biased information at no cost to consumers to educate and entertain. Our goal is to make consumers insurance-savvy, so they have the tools to choose the right coverage at the best prices.

Remember, if you need a quote for parked car insurance, try our handy online insurance quote tool. And keep in mind that you should only accept advice about insurance from genuine, licensed professionals. Online forums, like Reddit, may not be the best place to learn about parked car insurance.

Keep reading to discover:

• Should I learn about parked car insurance on Reddit?
• What is parked car insurance?
• Do you need parked car insurance?
• Parked car insurance costs
• Types of coverage available for parked cars

Let’s dive in!

Should I Learn About Parked Car Insurance on Reddit?

As genuine licensed insurance agents, we appreciate your enthusiasm to learn about parked car insurance via Reddit. However, many Reddit users are not qualified to give advice on the topic. Unless they are a trusted licensed insurance agent in your specific neighborhood, dealing with parked car insurance for individuals in your unique risk pool, some random internet users cannot offer sound advice.

Searches like “parked car insurance reddit” might not provide accurate results. Parked car insurance policy prices and coverages vary from state to state, insurer to insurer, and even among neighborhoods in a city. Also, know that insurance companies change their rates and underwriting guidelines all the time.

Furthermore, consumers trying to learn about auto insurance may find themselves answered by AI programs, which are known to “hallucinate” incorrect information. Ultimately, the best way to learn about “parked car insurance reddit” is to speak to an actual licensed agent and read peer-reviewed pieces written by real professionals, like this one.

What is Parked Car Insurance?

Parked car insurance is sometimes called “stored car insurance,” or a “stored auto policy.” If you retain anything from research on parked car insurance here, or on Reddit, it should be these key points:

• Parked car insurance protects a vehicle only while it is stored.
• It is not appropriate for cars driven on public roads.
• It does not include liability coverage.
• You may need to prove to insurers that the car will be stored for 30+ days.

Liability coverage — not included on a parked car insurance policy — on a standard auto policy, would help pay for damages a driver causes with the car. Auto accidents, damage to public or private property, injuries to other people, and so on, are not covered by parked car insurance.

Therefore, if you get pulled over while driving a vehicle which only has parked car insurance coverage, you will probably get a ticket for driving without insurance. (Driving without liability insurance is illegal in all states.)

And should you get into an accident, you might be financially responsible for all damages and all injuries caused to everyone else involved, because you are breaking the law while driving without adequate liability coverage. The name says it all, parked car insurance is only for parked cars!

Do You Need Parked Car Insurance?

Anyone planning to store a vehicle for a long time should consider buying parked car insurance. By “long time,” we mean 30 days or more. You don’t need to buy parked car insurance if you are heading on vacation for two weeks or going out of town for a short business trip.

Travel plans are NOT something consumers should share on platforms like Reddit or social media. While you may be excited about your plans, the internet — especially public forums and Q&A pages like Reddit — is full of lurkers, scammers, spammers, and bad characters. Keep your travel plans private if you plan to store a car, to reduce the risk of theft or mischief.

Who Should Buy Parked Car Insurance?

If you will not drive a car for 30 days or more, parked car insurance is one way to minimize your risk of economic loss associated with theft, damage done by animals, and certain weather events.

Our licensed insurance agents frequently sell stored car policies to:

Military Members & Their Families Appreciate Parked Car Insurance

Active-duty service members leaving for deployment often purchase parked car insurance. This allows them to focus strictly on their tasks overseas without worrying about a potential loss, should their car be stolen, abused, or damaged by an animal while it is stored.

Individuals Facing Incarceration

Sometimes, individuals facing incarceration choose to store their cars while they go away. Whether they do so at a family member’s garage or a public storage facility, a parked car policy is helpful. However, we advise people in this situation that a public storage facility may be a safer option, because family might find themselves in an emergency, needing a car, and driving yours without lawful liability insurance.

Students Leaving for College

College can be costly! If you are headed away to school in a distant city or another state, you might choose to store your auto and buy parked car insurance for it. This may be the best and most inexpensive way to keep a car safe while you expand your education. (Keep reading to learn more about parked car insurance costs, we address those below.)

Other students choose to sell their vehicle, leave it with family, or bring their car to school. We have published a more thorough article about car insurance for college students, if you need help deciding what to do.

People Travelling for Missions or Charitable Service

If you are travelling abroad for a religious mission, or plan to donate some time to an organization like Doctors Without Borders or the Peace Corps, parked car insurance is ideal. Just gather your documents and get some quotes.

Collectors & Anyone “Non-Opping” a Vehicle for Repairs or Long-Term Storage

Sometimes, auto owners need to garage a vehicle for a long time, even if they are not travelling. Classic auto enthusiasts might garage a vehicle for months or years while they turn a barn-find into a road-worthy collectible.

Now, insurance topics for classic cars can be complicated. If this car does leave the garage a few times a year — for parades, car shows, etc. — you will be better off with a specialized classic auto policy, like those offered by Hagerty.

Now, let’s delve into the costs of parked car insurance policies.

Parked Car Insurance Costs

Regardless of what you may read on Reddit, parked car insurance costs anywhere from $15 to $250 per month, and no one can give you an accurate price without collecting a lot of information. We know that is a huge price range, and one reason individuals seeking parked car insurance information on Reddit might be easily misled into giving out too much personal information.

No matter what you read on Reddit, know it is vital that consumers shop around for a competitive price and quality coverage, because they can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars. (We will address coverages for parked car policies shortly, keep reading.)

Interestingly, “parked car insurance costs” is a trending topic online, especially on forums like Reddit. The only way to find out how much a parked car policy will cost is to approach some insurers and ask for quotes. (Don’t forget to try our online quoting tool at Einsurance.com.)

Why do Stored Auto Policy Prices Vary So Much?

Auto insurance underwriters — the people who calculate risks for insurance companies and put these risks into groups to determine premium prices — must consider many variables when determining your price for any auto policy, including parked car insurance.

When determining your cost for a parked car policy, insurers will consider:

• The claims history at the storage location
• The value of the vehicle and general repair costs
• Local weather issues in the area
• Auto theft statistics in the area
• The consumer’s insurance history and claims history
• Reasons this car is being stored
• And all the other points associated with auto insurance, like safe driving history

To illustrate these differences in parked car auto insurance costs, let’s imagine two individuals in different situations.

Parked Car Insurance Costs: A Tale of Two Travellers (You Won’t Read it on Reddit)

Let’s imagine two people who have never met, but they will soon. Don is 28 years old and recently completed his doctorate and medical training in his hometown, Las Vegas, NV. He is single, and his only asset in the world is his 1969 Chevy Corvette Stingray, which he inherited.

Don plans on spending six months abroad with Doctors Without Borders. He finds a high-quality storage facility in Vegas and starts calling around for parked car insurance prices. Now, Vegas is notorious in the auto insurance world for high auto theft rates, and Don’s Corvette is coveted by car thieves. Thanks to his proximity to the Mexican border and high theft rates, Don gets several quotes in the $250 – $300 per month range, chooses an insurer he trusts, and heads out to complete his service.

Meanwhile, over in West Virginia, a neurosurgeon named Nancy decides she’s had enough of working at her hospital, turns in her notice, and decides to spend some time with Doctors Without Borders, too. Nancy leases her vehicle, a base-model 2025 Mazda 3, and the lease agreement is only a few months old.

Nancy shops around for storage in her rural neighborhood, and her parked car insurance quotes are all in the $70 per month range. She notifies the lessor (her local Mazda dealer) of her plans, makes sure all her bills are set to autopay, and hops on a plane for adventure.

Don and Nancy meet aboard a plane to South Africa. It is love at first sight! They get married on a safari trip, and head back to the US when their service is complete.

No matter what, this story has a happy ending. If Don’s car somehow got stolen from storage in Las Vegas, he is covered. And if Nancy’s leased Mazda was in a garage that burned down, she is covered, and they live happily ever after.

Our little story leads us, finally, into the last bit of information consumers need to know: parked car insurance coverages.

About Parked Car Insurance Coverages

As we have mentioned, stored car policies never include liability. They exist to protect auto owners from a financial loss if a car is stolen or damaged while in storage.

Every insurer offers a different policy, and state laws vary slightly on the language used in insurance contracts.

However, most parked car insurance policies will cover:

• The cash value of the whole vehicle if it is stolen
• Repairs a vehicle needs because someone tried to steal it while stored
• Damage caused by fire or smoke damage at a facility, if they are beyond what the facility’s insurance will cover
• Flood damage that a vehicle might sustain during a regional flooding event

Consumers should read insurance quotes very carefully and consider the risks they expect a car to face while in storage.

Read Your Quotes Thoughtfully

For instance, an insurer could state in their contract that they will not cover hail damage to a stored auto. This makes sense, as hail is an outdoor peril, and a stored car should not be damaged by hail, unless it is being driven outside. We can imagine insurers in hail-heavy states, like Colorado or Wyoming, putting this exclusion in a parked car insurance policy.

Final Thoughts on Parked Car Insurance & Reddit for Insurance Research

We encourage consumers to spend as much time as they like researching parked car insurance before making their choice. Try our online quoting tool if you need hard numbers for parked car insurance costs and try searching “parked car insurance reddit” to hear stories by other consumers and get their recommendations. Just remember that you do not share travel plans with strangers and take any advice you read on Reddit with a grain of salt.