Car Storage Insurance: How to Insure a Car You Won't Drive
Car storage insurance usually means cutting a parked car's policy back to comprehensive coverage alone, which protects it against theft, fire, vandalism and weather while it sits for a season or longer. Many insurers offer it, though not all do, and whether you may drop liability depends on your state: New York, for one, requires it on every registered car, so the plates go back to the DMV first. Never drive a car on storage coverage, not even to a repair shop; restore full coverage before it moves.
In this article
- Car storage insurance options compared
- What comprehensive only insurance covers on a parked car
- Can I suspend car insurance? Your state's registration rules decide
- Insurance for a car in storage that still has a loan
- Before the car is parked and before it moves again
- When parked car insurance is the wrong tool
- Sources
Car storage insurance options compared
| Option | What is covered | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Keep full coverage | Liability, collision and comprehensive | Someone drives it, or a loan requires it |
| Comprehensive-only storage coverage | Theft, fire, vandalism, weather; no driving | Off public roads for a season or longer |
| Cancel and turn in the plates | Nothing; the car is uninsured | You are selling or scrapping it |
Storage coverage sits in between: whether the car is laid up for the winter, a deployment or a long hospital stay, it stays insured against what can happen while parked, without paying for coverage that only matters on the road. State Farm and Allstate, for example, both describe it as removing liability and collision and keeping comprehensive on a car parked for 30 days or more. Canceling leaves the car unprotected; How to Cancel Your Car Insurance Policy covers that route.
What comprehensive only insurance covers on a parked car
Comprehensive pays for damage from something other than a collision, such as theft, fire, vandalism, hail or a falling tree; What Comprehensive Coverage Actually Covers goes through it event by event. A parked car still faces those risks, which is why Wisconsin's insurance regulator suggests keeping comprehensive, and possibly collision, while a car is in storage.
What it leaves out is everything to do with driving: no liability coverage for injuries or damage you cause on the road, and no collision coverage for the car itself. So do not drive it at all, not even to a mechanic. Allstate's storage guide, for example, tells drivers not to drive on comprehensive alone, since it pays nothing for on-road damage or liability.
Can I suspend car insurance? Your state's registration rules decide
An insurer can remove liability, but your state decides whether a registered car may go without it. Three examples:
- New York. A registered car must be insured even when it is in storage, the DMV says, so the plates go back before liability ends. Its seasonal option: surrender the plates and cancel liability for the winter, then reinstate the registration. Ask for a receipt for transfer, not a registration fee refund receipt.
- Michigan. The no-fault law requires its coverage only while a car is driven or moved on a highway, and it lets an insurer drop the other coverages and keep comprehensive on a car that is not, sending you documentary evidence of the change. The state's insurance department calls this a storage policy and notes that not all companies offer one.
- California. An Affidavit of Non-Use tells the DMV that a registered car is off California roads and its liability coverage has been canceled, to avoid a registration suspension. For a full registration year off public roads, Planned Nonoperation status can be filed up to 60 days before the registration expires, or up to 90 days after with penalties.
Other states set their own rules, so check your motor vehicle agency's page first.
Getting the order wrong creates a lapse. In New York the insurer reports the cancellation to the DMV electronically, and a car left with active plates and no liability has its registration suspended for as many days as it went uninsured, unless the owner qualifies to pay a civil penalty instead; past 90 days, the driver license is suspended too. What Happens If You Drive Without Insurance? covers driving during a lapse.
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See our quote guideInsurance for a car in storage that still has a loan
If you still owe money on the car, the Texas Department of Insurance says, the lender will require collision and comprehensive, and if you cancel them it will buy single-interest coverage, which is expensive, protects only the lender and is added to your loan payment. Check the loan or lease agreement before removing anything; Car Insurance for a Financed Car or Lease: What the Lender Requires explains those terms.
Before the car is parked and before it moves again
Call the insurer before the car is parked and again before it moves; the coverage changes on the date you agree.
- Check the state rule. Where required, turn in the plates or file the non-use paperwork before the liability coverage ends.
- Check the loan or lease. The lender may not allow you to drop collision.
- Get it in writing. Ask for a declarations page showing comprehensive only and its start date.
- Park it off the street, in a garage, a driveway or a storage unit.
- Before it moves, restore liability, collision and anything else you removed, effective before the first drive. State Farm tells customers to add liability and collision back before the car leaves storage.
- Sort out the registration. In New York, reinstating means taking the surrender receipt and an insurance ID card showing current coverage to a DMV office; Michigan wants proof of valid Michigan No-Fault insurance at renewal.
When parked car insurance is the wrong tool
- A car you still drive now and then. Storage coverage cannot stretch to an occasional trip; Pay-Per-Mile Car Insurance: Who Should Use It may fit better.
- A collector car. A classic policy is its own route, with agreed value and mileage limits; see Classic Car Insurance vs Regular Auto Insurance.
- A car you are selling. Once it is sold there is nothing left to insure.
Rules change and insurers set their own storage terms; the states and companies named here are examples, and your motor vehicle agency and insurer have the final word.
Sources
- New York State Department of Motor Vehicles — Auto Liability Insurance and Temporary Surrender of Vehicle Plates and Registration (Store Plates For a Season)
- Michigan Legislature — MCL 500.3101 and MCL 500.3009
- Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services — Insurance (Reinvent Retirement); Michigan Department of State — License plates and tabs
- California Department of Motor Vehicles — Affidavit of Non-Use and Planned Nonoperation Filing
- Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance — Consumer's Guide to Auto Insurance (PI-057, revised 10/2026)
- Texas Department of Insurance — Auto insurance guide
- State Farm — Long term car storage: Is your car prepped and insured? (Sept. 18, 2025)
- Allstate — How to insure a stored vehicle (August 2025)
- USAA — Military car storage options and tips (updated June 19, 2025)
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I cancel my car insurance or suspend it while the car is stored?
For a car you plan to keep, storage coverage usually makes more sense. State Farm, for example, warns that canceling may create a gap in coverage that could put you in a higher category or affect future eligibility, and it leaves the car unprotected against fire or theft.
Can someone else drive my car while it is on storage insurance?
No. Storage coverage does not cover anyone driving, so a relative using the car while you are away needs a full policy that lists them, as USAA's car storage guide for service members also advises.
Does car storage insurance cover mice or mold damage?
Animal damage is often a comprehensive claim; Allstate lists rodents chewing wires among the storage risks comprehensive typically helps cover. Mold is less certain: State Farm notes that fungus or mold from humidity may result in an exclusion, so check your policy and keep the space dry.
Do I get my license plates back after storing my car in New York?
Only personalized or custom plates, which the DMV stores at the office where you surrendered them. Standard plates are destroyed, and you get new ones at reinstatement for a plate fee of up to $25. Either way, the registration keeps its original expiration date.
Can I park a car with storage insurance on the street?
Not in California: the DMV says a car driven or parked on a California street, road or highway must be insured, with no grace period. In New York, a registered car needs liability wherever it sits.