<p>Hello, parents! My dad asked me to ask the rest of you all for some help.</p>
<p>We currently live in Maryland; I'll be attending the University of Alabama this fall. I'm going to be a first-year. He recently bought me a car (late March/early April) and I have had a provisional driver's liscence since late May. I'm taking it to school with me. He's having some trouble insuring my car -- he's using Geico -- and wants to know how/in what ways can/do parents insure their child's car OOS? </p>
<p>When I did this (in graduate school, not as a freshman, because you kids have it too damn easy today, and while you’re at it, get off my lawn), the insurer just asked where the car was registered and where it was principally garaged (or parked, but they say “garaged”) overnight.</p>
<p>You’ll be registering it in either MD or AL; you’ll be parking it overnight in AL.</p>
<p>What kind of trouble is he having with GEICO? I’m surprised. I’m sure this kind of thing has come up before.</p>
<p>We also live in Maryland and have State Farm. My son has brought his car to NC with no problem. The car is registered in MD and our insurance agent said he is insured no matter where he is - just like if you are on vacation and get into an accident in another state.</p>
<p>I just got a call from our insurer this afternoon, wanting to know about my son’s car situation. I’m sure it’s because of the area where the car is located. My son lives in a high crime, university area, so I was thrilled when they agreed to leave it under our home address. Factors seemed to include where the car is registered, if student is a dependant, and if student comes home for the summer.</p>
<p>We allowed our car out of state. Only to find out the underwriter had a major fit when it was damaged in a hit and run in a parking lot. Threatened to drop that car from the policy as they didn’t underwrite in that state. I never saw this in the fine print and when we asked our agent initially he never flagged that as an issue. In hindsight we should have not filed the claim, high deductible and bumper replacement. Weigh all your costs and coach the student on how insurance works.</p>
<p>I’ll be sending the link to this thread to my dad.</p>
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<p>He didn’t specify as he was in a rush. He works in the afternoon and at night, so I’ll have to come back to this question later today. It’s registered in MD, if I’m getting the definition of car registration right.</p>
<p>We had no trouble doing this while our kiddo was in grad school. We had to indicate where the car was registered (our home state) and where it was garaged (state where he went to college). This was ONLY allowed because he was a college student and the car belonged to US…and our kiddo was a family member on OUR car insurance.</p>
<p>Is the car title and registration in YOUR (student) name? Is your family trying to get YOU an individual car insurance policy? If so…that could be the problem.</p>
<p>“Yes” to all of the above posts. OP, if the car is in your name and is registered in MD, then YOU need to be the one phoning. If the car is in your Dad’s name, perhaps he is running afoul of Alabama’s Graduated Driver’s Licensing laws:</p>
<p>Given the age of the OP - I can’t imagine the car is registered to him or that he is the owner on the title. It is cheaper and easier to have the parent be the registered owner of the car - list the student in second position.</p>
<p>I’m assuming that the parent has a good driving record and a good record with the insurance agent. I personally prefer dealing with a small agency rather than a large entity like Geico. We have had the same State Farm agent for 20+ years - auto, home and umbrella liability insurance - good level of personal attention and service.</p>
<p>On a related note, our State Farm insurance permits a substantial discount for students attending college more than 100 miles away - can keep them active on the insurance for a relatively low cost if they’re only driving on vacation. (Thankfully, D2’s school is exactly 102 miles away!)</p>
<p>Our insurance was VERY clear. If our student was listed as a co-owner of the car…they would NOT continue to insure the car and kid under OUR family policy. That policy was for cars we (the parents) owned…not for cars even jointly owned by the student.</p>
<p>When son was moving to MA, our insurance company (Amica) insisted he switch to that state. It was clear that he is the primary driver for that car. Also, he’s a grad student, so does not come home for the summer. When I visited, I signed over the Title to him.</p>
<p>I was surprised that AAA said that when he turns 25, he needs to register as an individual in MA. That costs about $25 more than being on family plan.</p>
<p>Where is it currently insured? Just need to contact the current insu co and tell them you are a student takign the car ro collee ans askt heir prolicy ont hat. BTW what is a “provisional” license? Will it be accepted in AL?</p>