How long am I allowed to drive without insurance in Michigan after buying a vehicle from a private seller? I’d like to add it to my policy immediately, but my insurance company requires the new title to arrive first. I’m already insured and have another vehicle; I just bought a camper van and want to take it camping for my birthday this weekend.
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Review your policy for terms like “replacement vehicle,” “newly acquired,” “grace period,” or similar. This situation is quite common, but the specifics can vary significantly depending on your policy. I’ve seen grace periods range from as short as seven days to as long as 30 days.
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Since you have other coverage on another vehicle, generally you get several days, 7-30, up to 180 depending on it being a new car (sounds like this is) at the shortest end, versus a replacement of a listed car on the longest.
Since it’s an RV, you also have to find out if your current carrier will extend any coverage at all or whether you need an RV policy.
With a valid, verifiable and notorized bill of sale, they might insure it back to the date you bought it.
Lastly, thank your fellow Michiganders for all the fraud which is why your company is requiring the title in your name first.
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I know you can’t in my province, but I didn’t realize Michigan had different rules than everyone else!!! In Ontario, you cannot drive without insurance, period.
DolphGabbana, thanks for the thorough information! The grace period for coverage is a nice feature, but I’ll make sure to find out if my current insurance covers recreational vehicles or if I need to get a different policy. In order to maybe backdate the insurance, I’ll also make sure to have a notarized bill of sale. Indeed, these fraud problems are quite annoying!