A little info:
I’m travelling to the US from Europe for just under 90 days.
Now, the obvious thing would be a long term rental, but since I’m 19, this is not possible.
I see [visitor.us](https://visitor.us/) can take care of registration, so insurance is the last thing I need
My question then becomes: How could I possibly actually insure a car in the US as a 19 year old foreigner who’s only staying for 90 days?
The 500 character cap makes the post somewhat vague, so feel free to ask questions! Thank you!
6 comments
I’d google insurance agents in the area you are visiting and give them a call
I don’t understand why the registration process company doesn’t have advice for this. These are very specific circumstances most of us have never had to use.
Are you rich? Not being rude–Just that it will cost an enormous sum of money for you to do this through that website. You’re paying for the insurance one way or the other.
Do you absolutely need a car? What are your plans? If you absolutely need a car then I suggest you buy a decent used car here and insure it here, then resell when you’re finished. That will almost certainly be cheaper than going through the site you link.
It’s worthwhile to check the laws in the state(s) you’ll be visiting, as well as your existing insurance policy at home.
In almost all cases, you can just pay an extra fee to your home insurance to make it valid for the vehicles you drive while you’re traveling.
I don’t know about long term rentals, but car rentals are certainly available for 19 year olds.
Michigan and New York have laws requiring car rentals for 18 year olds. The rental companies do add on “underage driver fees”. Other states allow 19 year olds too.
If you have a credit card with some US or Canadian banks, (like Chase, or AmEx), the card may also give you some discounts or “free” insurance if you use your card to rent the car.
Organizations like AAA (US/Canadian auto club) also offer discounts. The $85 or so annual membership might be worth it if they waive the insurance or underage driver fees.
Then, we don’t have anything close to a national standard on these things. Every state has different requirements for insurance. Every state has their own version of “Motor Vehicles” DMV, BMV, MVC and similar with their own rules and paperwork.
Some states don’t even require insurance (like New Hampshire).
If you know where you are going to be declaring a primary residence, or where you plan on registering this vehicle, then you can look for more detail with that information. You can always buy a 6-month policy, then cancel it when you leave and get your refund .
The car lending service “turo” (turo.com) does appear to let you rent, too. But, they are restrictive. You’ll be limited to only cars with a value less than $20k and you’ll be paying a mandatory daily fee of about $50 extra.
If you are here for a nearly 90 day tourism and can afford to do so at 19, then it sounds like you are very financially well off and can find a rental agency who will charge you appropriately.
I’d just do that. Registering a car, buying it, and then selling it and the associatedpaperwork is going to be a huge hassle.