No. No matter where you live, your standard car insurance policy will typically cover you in all 50 states and Canada. Your policy won't cover international travel outside of Canada. Whether you're on vacation out of state or taking a long road trip, you can drive with confidence knowing you're insured up to the full limits of your policy. If you're spending a significant amount of time out of state, the situation can become trickier when it comes to which state your insurance policy should originate from. You may also need an additional policy if you are storing cars in two different states.
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No, there's no such thing as a separate multi-state car insurance policy since a standard car insurance policy generally provides "out-of-state" coverage in all 50 states. There's also no such thing as a multi-state car insurance policy that originates from two or more states. Any auto policy you buy will originate from one state only, typically the state where you reside.
You can buy two car insurance policies to insure two separate vehicles. However, buying two policies to insure the same vehicle may result in automatic cancellation of one of them.
In most cases, you only need one policy that covers you in both states. The key to determining which state to buy your insurance from is where you keep your vehicle most of the time. For example, if you live in Connecticut but work out of state in New York, you would have a Connecticut car insurance policy since the vehicle is kept there overnight.
The rare exception would be keeping a second vehicle at your workplace. In that case, you would need two car insurance policies — one for your vehicle that's kept overnight in Connecticut, and one out-of-state policy in New York for the vehicle that's stored at your job.
If you keep vehicles at both homes, you'll need a separate policy for each state. For example, if you have homes in Massachusetts and Florida and you keep a car at each residence, each vehicle will need its own policy.
If your car travels with you between houses, you'll only need one policy. This is commonly called the "snowbird exception" because it usually impacts "snowbirds" who spend the winter months in a warm-weather state. For example, let's say you split your time between Ohio and Arizona and keep your car in the state where you're currently residing. You'll have an Arizona policy for the fall and winter months when you're living in that state. When you move back to Ohio for the spring and summer months, you can cancel your Arizona policy and start an Ohio policy. This is known as rewriting your policy for a different state; if your car moves with you, it helps you avoid paying for separate out-of-state insurance coverage that isn't needed.
If you need to rewrite your policy for a different state at Progressive, the easiest way is by calling us at 1-866-749-7436.
If you have a child in college out of state that keeps a car on campus, they may need a separate, out-of-state car insurance policy depending on the state where they go to school. Learn more about college students and car insurance rules.
If you're consistently driving in different states, we're always here to answer questions and customize a policy to your unique situation:
Get a free car insurance quote online or call 1-866-749-7436. We'll ask about your address(es) and make sure you have the right policy for the right state.
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