How do I insure and register vehicles that are in AZ when I am not a resident?

[pvcces]

We live in Alaska but we travel to AZ to pick up our motorhome and motorcycle when we can get away. This happens about four times a year, for about 3 1/2 weeks at a time. Both are registered in Alaska because we are residents of Alaska.

Alaska will not let us insure them in the state because the vehicles are never here. AZ requires that AZ insured vehicles are registered in AZ.

The AZ DMV has suggested that I set up dual residency to register and insure them in AZ while I live in Alaska. Reading over the statutes, it looks as though that will cost us our permanent fund or at least, increase the risk of losing it, which I don't want to do.

Registering isn't the issue, by itself. It's the restriction on insurance companies by the states where they do business. In a nutshell, it's the "where garaged" requirement that seems to govern the issue.

Will registering in a different state such as Montana allow us to solve this problem? If I can get some leads, I'll try to run them down.

Thanks.

Tom Caffrey

[jordansinthesky]

I'm not sure, but I live in Az.  You could give me the titles and I could register em and play with em     Jk, good luck.

[Dave5Cs]

Someone put this up on another thread but is supposed to be where a lot of RVers register ecause they help you with everything and give you an address to use etc. Plus really lowtaxes.

Dave

http://mydakotaaddress.com/

[luvrbus]

Tom,what insurance co are you using do it on line with Progressive worked for my daughter she kept her Texas plates Don has CA insurance with AZ plates.You know what a collection of out of state plates I have, never a problem for me suggest you go to Bullhead instead of Kingman for plates.You do not need AZ drivers license to buy AZ plates   


good luck

[oldmansax]

Go to www.Montanacorporate.com. I have used them before. Register in Montana. I used Knapp insurance agency in Helena. $171/year. No taxes, no inspections, no problems.

TOM

[luvrbus]

The laws have changed in Montana in the past 2 years not that easy any longer

[bobofthenorth]

I don't have an answer for you Tom other than to say that insurance is a huge issue for those of us with a nomadic lifestyle.  We ended up buying property in SK just so that we could buy public liability insurance.  I'm sure you know this already but others may not - the fact that an insurer cashes your cheque doesn't mean that you have insurance.

[wal1809]

How would the Alaska DMV or insurance company know where the bus is parked?  If your in Alaska and the bus is registered in Alaska why not just keep trucking on the way you have been?  It might turn out you have to drive it back to Alaska for the insurance company to photograph it for their files. 

[pvcces]

jordansinthesky, I don't want to go that route because I don't want to give any slick lawyer an argument for the insurance company to escape, if we get into an accident.

A friend of ours was injured when a car hit our building after losing control. His attorney was trying to get him to sue us because we have some assets.

Thanks for the offer.

Tom Caffrey

[pvcces]

Dave, I'll save this idea in reserve. For the time being, I'm trying to find some way to do this directly, so I'll see how some things I haven't tried work out.

It's kind of interesting how much higher Progressive is than State Farm. That's one of the things holding this show up. Progressive will do what I want for 2 or 3 hundred dollars more a year.

Thanks for the link.

Tom Caffrey.

[pvcces]

Cliff, I know that AZ will take my money for plates. Progressive is the only company we have talked to that says that they don't care where the rig is registered; they will insure it in the state that it spends most of it's time in.

I'm trying to find a way to stay with State Farm; we've been with them over 30 years. If I need to go to the DMV, I'll keep BHC in mind.

Thanks.

Tom Caffrey

[pvcces]

Bob, you have hit the nail on the head. The few claims that we have had, they always have paid more than we thought that we had coming.

How are you two doing this winter? We are hoping to run into you sometime in our travels. I thought that Marilyn looked like she was having fun getting her picture taken with those Mexicano soldiers.

I digress.

Tom Caffrey

[pvcces]

wal1809, lying on an insurance contract is one of the ways to let them escape liability in a claim, as far as I know. In many cases, they might just be entitled to the difference between what we paid and what they earned as a deduction off of the loss. On the other hand, they might be able to avoid the claim altogether.

I don't care to take a chance on being worried sick about it if there was an accident that we were liable for. Keep in mind, an auto policy entitles us to first dollar defense, as well. The drawback is that the insurance company will call the shots on how to minimize their loss.

My first choice is to stay out of accidents. The policy is for when things go wrong.

Thanks.

Tom Caffrey

[jordansinthesky]

I agree, I was being a smart A kid.  I hope you figure something good out. 

[MikeH]

wal1809, lying on an insurance contract is one of the ways to let them escape liability in a claim, as far as I know. In many cases, they might just be entitled to the difference between what we paid and what they earned as a deduction off of the loss. On the other hand, they might be able to avoid the claim altogether.

I don't care to take a chance on being worried sick about it if there was an accident that we were liable for. Keep in mind, an auto policy entitles us to first dollar defense, as well. The drawback is that the insurance company will call the shots on how to minimize their loss.

I think if you lie on an insurance contract, you could have much bigger problems than the liability for an accident. You could get hit with an insurance fraud claim, and I don't think you want to go there. I'm not an attorney, so I don't know where that line would be drawn, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way where it is. My 2 cents worth.

Mike