My 1992 Honda Accord with 210K miles was stolen yesterday from the train station parking lot. The police said that the thieve(s) would probably strip it for parts. Should I tell the insurance company?
The answer might seem obvious, but…
It was very old and had no value. I only had liability insurance on it so there’s no chance of getting any money. I need to replace the car with another one. If the insurance company knew that it was stolen, they probably will jack up my premiums for the next car. I basically have nothing to gain by telling them. I’d probably just call them and tell them that I got rid of it and to cancel the insurance. My only problem is if they somehow found out that it was stolen. Do they have any way of knowing this?
Yes, you should tell them. What happens to you if the thieves have a hit and run accident with your car? Liability comes to you and will be hard to prove otherwise.
And they will find out sooner or later - the VIN will appear in a national database called CLUE once the police report works its way through. And then, you’ll get a call from the insurance co. wondering why you didn’t tell them two months ago that your car was stolen.
Also, if you get another car and you get a multi-car discount because the stolen car is still on the policy? You just stepped over a line called insurance fraud.
Theft is covered under Comprehensive. Comp claims are typically not surchargable and so don’t affect your premium.
Make sure you file a police report ASAP if not sooner. This is your paper trail demonstrating when the car ceased to be yours. This will be important if your car becomes involved in mischief.
If you’re geting a multi car discount from your insurer, yeah, tell them the car is gone and either stop the discount or replace the car. The F-word is a bad one to get associated with, but most companies give you more than plenty of time to let them know the story before they go after you. Just act promptly and reasonably, you’ll be fine.
You may need to contact your DMV to let them know the car is stolen so they can ‘kill’ your VIN. What state do you live in now, and what state issued the title to your car? I can look up this info for you.
Are you planning to cancel the insurance entirely? If you are planning on getting a new car within a short amount of time, I’d keep it. It’s likely that the rates have increased since the inception of your current policy. I’d report it to the theft to the insurance company and the “lost” plates DMV, since the plates were stolen as well (I’m assuming). If you cancel the insurance and the plates aren’t turned in, you’d likely be charged a civil penalty.
Thanks for the good advice. The police filled out a report although I didn’t get a copy. I don’t know what a multi-car discount is. If I’m paying insurance on 2 cars, it’s still more expensive than it would be on 1 car without a discount. Also, I live in New Jersey.
Oh well, if you live in New Jersey the best thing you can do from a car insurance standpoint is move out of New Jersey or sell your other car and get a good bike.
and
Looks like you got smething to do this week. This is just the statute language. I sugest calling the DMV to find out if they really need you to get a salvage title for the car. And if you DO need to get a salvage title, what will you have to do to get a clear title if the car is recovered and is in good enough condition that you can still drive it.
But it’s probably less expensive than it would be to insure the same two cars separately. Many (most? all?) insurance companies give discounts if you have multiple policies with them (two autos, auto and home, home and business, etc.). It’s an incentive for you to keep your business with them and obviously a way for the company to generate additional revenue.
Even if it is covered, as long as you are not going to make a claim it shouldn’t matter either. I have fire insurance on my house, if I decide to burn it down today, I won’t be in any trouble (assuming I haven’t left my bound up mortal enemy inside ) unless I file a claim.
As an aside, do NOT delay with this title business. Odds are your car has been stripped and is not something you will enjoy seeing when the police call you to come and claim your chunk of metal. If not, you will at least make it’s disposal more difficult as the VIN will reflect a stolen vehicle, and much penis will ensue for the person attempting to retitle the vehicle. The sooner you kill your VIN, the better the odds the thief will be caught (by better odds I mean from zero to maybe 3%).
You’ll need to report this to your insurance carrier. After all you’re paying or you’ve paid a premium for the liability coverage. If you paid your policy up front and cancel early you will be eligible for a pro-rata rebate of premiums paid. You can apply this to new coverage for a new car. If you pay in installments you will owe up to the time the car was stolen.
The coverage for the new car will be based on that car and your driving record. Your rates will change no matter what. Different cars have different ‘factors’ used to determine premium. In fact they will most certainly go up because you will most likely have a new if not newer car that you will want comprehensive and collision coverage on.
I should have been more specific.
I live in the country, if I burn my house down there is no compelling reason for the firemen to fight the fire if I don’t call them. So, in my scenerio no firefighters get hurt. Plus, my point was in regards to fire insurance not overall danger to others.
) unless I file a claim.