If you are heading off to college and not taking your car with you, it is tempting to consider dropping your car insurance to save a little money. In most cases, however, this is not a good idea.

If you are still making payments on your car, the finance company will require that you continue insurance on your vehicle, even if you are not driving it. If you fail to provide insurance, they may take out a policy on the vehicle to protect their interest in the car and add the cost of the policy to your auto loan.

If you own your vehicle free and clear, it is still a good idea to retain insurance, even if you simply purchase a storage insurance policy while you are not driving it. Remember that not all accidents involving cars happen on the open road. While in storage, the car could be stolen or damaged by fire or storms. If any of these events happen to your car in your absence, a homeowner’s policy will not typically cover the damage.

Only a car insurance policy will help you replace your car. To make a logical decision regarding insurance for stored vehicles, it is important to consider the value of the car you own. Unless the vehicle is worth very little, it will probably be less expensive to keep the car insured than to replace the car if tragedy should strike.

It is also important to keep insurance your vehicle to protect yourself against any person who might drive the car without your knowledge. If you are storing your vehicle at your parent’s home, for example, and their car is in the shop for the day, they may drive your vehicle. If it is uninsured and an accident occurs the consequences could be catastrophic and financially devastating to either yourself or the driver. Even in the best of circumstances, you could find yourself without a running car and without the finances to repair or replace your auto.

For these reasons, keeping insurance on your car is an important financial responsibility. Autos are typically the biggest asset college students own and protecting that asset can help keep you financially stable through your college and early career years.

Although we do our best to offer you accurate and current auto insurance advice, we are not responsible for any negative consequences you may encounter after reading this advice. Insurance problems are often complex and can hinge on facts not provided in your submitted question. For this reason, you should not use this advice as a basis for any decision. We provide these answers for information purposes only, with the intention of steering you towards making your own conclusions about how to act or refrain from acting. Because we are not lawyers, no information on this site should be used as legal advice.