Buying a used car in PA but no existing insurance - how do?

Submitted by XxItsAwigxX t3_11jk9d4 in Pennsylvania

Hello! I am looking to buy a used car in PA, but I don't have insurance. Most car insurance places I've looked at online want registration and proof of ownership to provide coverage, but I don't have that yet since I'm just looking. I'm mainly looking to buy with Carvana because lots don't have models I'm looking for. ... Does anyone have experience buying a used car w/o having insurance before buying? I feel like I'm in a weird "cart before the horse" scenario and could use some advice. I appreciate any guidance!

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[deleted] t1_jb31u7g wrote

it’s probably just easiest to call an agent and get it set up

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb339nm wrote

Any good recs for an insurance agent? I'm in Bella Vista, so one closeby would be desirable.

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ktappe t1_jb3rhis wrote

There is no need to have your car insurance agent nearby. Mine is in Harrisburg while I live outside Philly. We just do business by phone; it's easy.

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Droids24 t1_jb35bd2 wrote

Progressive and State farm you don't need an agent. all is done through the apps and 24x7 Roadside assistance.

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Megalodon_91 t1_jb36r57 wrote

progressives been pretty good to me so far. I was a switch every 2 or 3 years guy but mine actually went down a couple times even with used car values though the roof.

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Megalodon_91 t1_jb36yb1 wrote

i will note i was using most of them. I've had most of the big ones as one of my cars is an R title antique and the smaller ones usually give me crap about it.

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb369qs wrote

I am waiting for Progressive to approve my application; I got weirded out when they asked for pictures of the car with the registration. All I could send them was downloads of the car I'm holding on Carvana. They said I could submit proof of payment if I don't have registration; I sent my order, but I technically haven't paid yet because haha Carvana wants insurance first. Anyway, I hope what I sent is enough.

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--Cr1imsoN-- t1_jb3aj1f wrote

Seconding Progressive. Me and my girlfriend both go through Progressive. They gave us the fairest prices by far and the bonus stuff (like the loyalty programs) are actually legit. It’s not just marketing crap. I used to have Geico and they supposedly had loyalty programs as well, but it never seemed concrete and it never seemed like I was really benefiting from remaining with them for long.

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[deleted] t1_jb35mpp wrote

I have USAA, they are usually the cheapest but you have to be a service member or family member

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb36g3d wrote

Does the family member need to be immediate?

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[deleted] t1_jb3a14f wrote

i believe that it has to be a parent or spouse. You may or may not be able to get in if it’s a grandparent.

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb3detq wrote

I did a little googling and looks like it might need to be immediate; however, it's worth an email to ask!

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pgh9fan t1_jb3feq0 wrote

AAA has very inexpensive insurance.

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb3foic wrote

Oh they were very expensive for me. I am in Philly. (.__.)

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WCAIS_PA_Individual t1_jb3mysk wrote

Make sure you always tell them that the car has a car alarm and anti theft. It may seem insignificant or kinda obvious that most cars do have them, but it actually helps with your rate, due to the possibility that it can be a theft deterrent. 👍

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[deleted] t1_jb35sl0 wrote

Avoid carvana.

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--Cr1imsoN-- t1_jb3a20m wrote

Yeah, they used to be really good, but the prices are just way too high now. I got my 2017 Jeep Renegade through Carvana after trading in my 2012 Mustang GT. Carvana are the only ones who would give me a fair deal after going to at least 10 other dealerships. But now the prices are just ridiculous. I’m glad I bought from them when I did, because now I wouldn’t even consider it.

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb3dymd wrote

I hear you! I've crunched numbers, looked at used dealers, included cost of getting to dealers into my financing.. The prices equal out and Carvana offers better mileage on the models I'm looking at. I'd like to have a lower price (who wouldn't!) but I couldn't afford a car until now. I haven't had one for 10 years and I am so ready. So it is what it is.

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WCAIS_PA_Individual t1_jb3mjc8 wrote

In reality, Carvana was a great idea. Except, it was an idea that got funded by people who saw the immediate cash they could make by selling the stocks.

Carvana has lost its sales license is multiple states. Has restrictions on it's license in almost as many, for failure to follow state laws/guidelines for car transfers.

Go to YouTube, and insert this into the search and just start watching them cuz they are actually funny, I am not Steve Lehto. I am not endorsing him or sponsored. I just have watched him for years and he always has shit on Carvana.

steve lehto & "carvana"

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Melaniewolf70 t1_jb324uz wrote

I purchased my car from Carvana. I just bought insurance online once I had decided which vehicle I was going to buy. Took 5 minutes (Esurance)

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb32qdp wrote

I have been turned down by most online insurance, but I haven't tried Esurance! ...I was even turned down by Root from Carvana, and the reason they gave was because there was no existing insurance info about me from LexisNexis reports.

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yadda4sure t1_jb4gcxi wrote

DO NOT BUY FROM CARVANA.

I cannot reiterate that enough as someone who buys 6-10 vehicles yearly or more. Also, the customer service is complete shit. Need a title? They don't care; you figure it out. I had to hunt down the title to a vehicle I bought outright and get it from Arizona because Carvana lost it. It was never fully transferred and I had to involve an attorney.

DON'T DO IT.

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WCAIS_PA_Individual t1_jb38ci1 wrote

You can call progressive, tell them you want state minimum coverage for the year and make of the car. When they ask for a vin inform them that you do not have it to provide. They should say okay, get the ball rolling and when you purchase the car, you call and tell them the vin. When registration is approved by the state (which needs insurance lol) You will be good.

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JohnDeere714 t1_jb4ps9b wrote

I got Erie insurance. It’s so far the best I can get for the price.

Save yourself a headache and do not by from carvana. There’s plenty of great, no bullshit used car dealers to buy from.

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brashendeavors t1_jb31zqi wrote

This is the closest advice i could find on Google:

>If you don’t have an existing policy, you should get quotes prior to purchasing your car. Even without a specific vehicle identification number (VIN), you can give your personal information to an insurance agent and then officially activate your policy once you know the car’s details. However, if you’re buying the car on the weekend when most insurance offices are closed, you will have to either wait to drive your new car or purchase the policy online while you’re at the dealership.

Most places seem to think you already have a preexisting insurance and are simply adding an additional car, but if I understand you it is more of a chicken-and-egg, which do you get FIRST if you have neither.

I have heard of Carvana but never dealt with them -- are you supposed to travel to another town/city to pick up the vehicle, or do they deliver the vehicle to your area? If there is an option for either, is having them deliver to your driveway very expensive? Because then it could sit there while you do the final insurance details.

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb336jd wrote

Haha! I was wondering if I should have used chicken/egg instead! ... I would be picking up the car from the vending machine in Fishtown, so I wonder if the deadline for providing insurance proof would be different if it was delivered. ...Good point about weekend-related timing.

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monachopsiss t1_jb3s3xh wrote

Get all set up with the insurance first, you can just give the agent the make and model if you don't have the VIN yet. Explain you're about to buy it, on X date. And then once you have purchased it on X date, call them back and confirm all the info and ask for it to take effect that day. You can literally just call from the car before you drive away and finalize it quickly.

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb4ii4k wrote

That makes a lot of sense. I've spoken to so many people who say I needed to know which car I'm buying before having insurance; I wish they had explained that it's possible to work with an agent before buying a specific car.

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monachopsiss t1_jb4z2nl wrote

Definitely give an agent a call, every one I've ever dealt with been extremely nice and accommodating and will walk you through everything! (Progressive is who I dealt with when I was in your situation. It's not rare at all, they'll tell you exactly what you need to do). They all want your business, so it's in their best interest to be nice and help you out! You don't even need to know a specific agent, just call the general number and you'll get connected with someone who can help. If you end up liking them, get their extension and call them exclusively. Good luck! :)

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[deleted] t1_jb70nhr wrote

If you find a car you want, call insurance company for quote. Buy the car. Call insurance company back to confirm. Have fun.

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underhandfranky t1_jb71ke6 wrote

Car sales rep of 8 years here….

  1. AVOID CARVANA. The convenience of shopping online is heavily outweighed by the lack of customer service, proper notary work, and you generally end up purchasing “as is” aka no warranty.
  2. For the insurance, shop around with the big names. State Farm, Allstate, Geico. Smaller providers like Erie Insurance will be much more expensive until you’re about 25 years old.
  3. In response to the people saying to shop for state minimum coverage, you get what you pay for. An extra $10-$20 a month in insurance can save you from huge expenses that would have been covered for just a few extra dollars.

Feel free to DM me, i can help explain how to make sure you’re shopping smart and buying the insurance you need without overpaying for things you don’t.

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Benanov t1_jb349t6 wrote

Call an Agent and have them set up a quote for you. You can give them the make/model of the car you're eying and they can run you up a quote.

I've used State Farm mainly due to inertia - it's who my parents (and in-laws) use, so all my experience is with them. Just call a local office in your area - agents are scattered all over, really; you can look a few up online and whoever gets back to you soonest, go with them, heh.

Even if you don't use State Farm, they know applicable law and should be able to at least get you a competitive quote.

Then you can call a couple of other local agents with different insurance firms and feel out which works best for you

BTW, unless you're really budget-conscious, you want full tort in PA

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb35gnv wrote

So when you know what car you exactly want to buy, do you tell your agent and then they run numbers for you? How quickly does the whole thing take? Would you get any time between buying the car and showing the dealer proof of insurance or does it all need to happen the time you buy the car?

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Benanov t1_jb3rdkc wrote

Yeah, they'll run the numbers for you. Ask the agent; they want you to be able to be insured if at all possible. They'll know - it's how they make money.

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Droids24 t1_jb34y3f wrote

look online .. Get a quote and check your options like full tort or limited tort. Deductible. PA allows you to show Digital copies. Dealer will just assign you coverage if you don't have ir....

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb35ozf wrote

The dealers assign you coverage? Does that mean they give you temp insurance until your application for insurance is accepted?

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Droids24 t1_jb36v0g wrote

They are required to prove you had insurance at time of delivery. Yes dealerships have contacts to get you insured. it will be a phone call or two rates will be higher. Credit karma also does Insurance...

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BigoofingSad t1_jb3qhfj wrote

I'm not sure how it goes online, but the last time I bought a car from a dealership, I only needed the vin to buy insurance, and to download a copy of the binder to email to the dealership.

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buckeyebignut t1_jb3vnsg wrote

I ordered a jeep on Vroom, they never even asked if I had coverage. They just delivered it and I took the title to my agent and she set me up.

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mentalgopher t1_jb3y391 wrote

Your first mistake is going through Carvana. They like doing the whole "cart before the horse" shit.

Technically, you can have insurance as a named operator in this state. (Proof: I have a named operator policy with my insurer.) Most companies will have you go through a local agent to set this up, if they'll offer a Named Operator policy. Once you actually purchase a vehicle, you can add the car onto the policy and you're set.

If you don't wanna go the N.O. route, just get the VIN info from Carvana. You wanna know what the hell you're purchasing before you pull the trigger and buy, anyways. Besides, if you haven't received something like a Carfax from them, the VIN will give you a perfect excuse to get one from them. You definitely want to know the vehicle history, as it's something a lot of insurance companies use to determine your rate.

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb4j5ej wrote

A Carfax report is available from Carvana on the car details page. ...why wouldn't I just get a regular insurance policy instead of getting insurance as a Named Operator?

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mentalgopher t1_jb55bda wrote

The insurance companies usually want you to have an insurable interest in what you're insuring when you bind a policy with them. (Progressive is making you verify an insurable interest in the vehicle in question before allowing the purchase, based on other comments.) You don't actually have an insurable interest in that car until you have possession of it. Therefore, you're going to potentially have an issue with buying a policy. The N.O. policy gets you around that.

The other reason why an N.O. might be to your advantage: What if the deal with Carvana falls through but you find another option in a short period of time later? You'll have a policy that can be changed over no problem without having to shop again.

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your_mail_man t1_jb4c7bs wrote

If you are registering the car in Pa, you have 10 days to get insurance in place. If you are buying in PA but registering elsewhere, you can buy a transit tag at the time you do the title work to allow you to drive it back to your state and get your permanent tags/insurance in place.

I just went through this with my son 6 months ago.

As the others have said, you can do most insurance on line, once you find suitable coverage. Our agent issued a certificate as soon as we called him with the vin from the dealer. He is the one who told me we have 10 days.

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worstatit t1_jb4vbnv wrote

Your agent is wrong. Pennsylvania will not allow registration without insurance.

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darkapollo1982 t1_jb4k83m wrote

Have you NEVER had a policy before? Not under a parent when you were getting your license?

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb4na8o wrote

I had a policy under my parents plan when I was a teen in PA in the 90s and through to about mid-2000 (I THINK; I never actually saw it), and about 2010-2012 in Massachusetts. I don't remember what the policy was and I don't have any records to refer to. My car buying situation was different in MA, so I can't really use it to compare with this situation.

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darkapollo1982 t1_jb4o2ek wrote

If you had a policy under your parents, you can talk to that insurance company since they had a policy for you already.

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XxItsAwigxX OP t1_jb4og0v wrote

I had that policy almost 20 years ago. Would you go through the same company you had that long ago?

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darkapollo1982 t1_jb4pmcy wrote

If it was between dealing with being rejected for not having prior or talking to a company that had a policy for you 20 years ago, Id talk to them.

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Mrbooodooo t1_jb4knjb wrote

What you need is called an insurance binder. You can call any actual agent and give them the info you have for the car and policy requirements (coverage, deductible) and they will write a binder that provides coverage. Then there is either 24 or 48 hours after the title transfer to have coverage in effect.

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split_oak t1_jb4nbnz wrote

ID an insurance company you like. Once you find your car and complete your purchase, you'll have all the info you need to open your auto policy.

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worstatit t1_jb4swp5 wrote

Once you decide on a car, obtain an insurance binder from your insurance agency covering that vehicle. Believe you'll need the VIN# and descriptive information.

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No-Setting9690 t1_jb4z6ao wrote

You can only do the title transfer without insurance. You obviously cannot register without insurance.

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CentaurusAndromeda t1_jb57q68 wrote

I used Univest- they compared prices for me and then helped me choose the best insurance for what I needed. And if I need to switch insurances for any reason, I just send an email and they will send back suggestions.

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Fine-Blacksmith-9330 t1_jb7ijma wrote

You do not have to have insurance to buy a car (unless there is a loan for it then the bank will require insurance)you do need insurance to register a car

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30686 t1_jbecn22 wrote

Call an agent, tell her you're about to buy a car, give her the details, and she'll "bind coverage" on the spot (assuming you're insurable and pay the premium). The company will issue the official policy shortly thereafter. The dealer will be willing to help, because he wants to make the sale.

You could almost certainly do this online, too, but I've never tried to get a binder issued online, so I'm not sure.

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xAsroilu t1_jb33n91 wrote

I'd sell you my lifted 2016 Jeep Compass for $10k, honestly.

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