Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

i am in California and have a non-operational vehicle (literally not working). It has been declared as such with the state DMV. The vehicle is parked in my driveway, off-street. I will probably either junk it or make the decision to repair it and re-register it sometime in the coming year. Until that point, can I let the insurance lapse on the vehicle, or must I continue to purchase insurance for it by law? Currently unemployed, so every penny is an issue.


Asked on 9/15/10, 11:01 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeffrey Zinder Zinder & Koch

The requirement is that you have insurance to drive or to have any car on the roads. If you do not have insurance on the car you can not register it, but if it is Non-Operational and you have filed for same with the DMV you do not need to have insurance. If it somehow gets onto the road or someone climbs on it and is injured your homeowners/renters policy will most likely not cover you and you as the owner of the car may be responsible for any damages. So the choice is yours; remember that all that is needed for you to be liable for damages (to a certain extent) is that you are the registered owner and someone is hurt or property damaged by your car.

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Answered on 9/20/10, 11:21 am


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