Non-owner car insurance in Delaware

What companies offer non-owner insurance in Delaware?

Quotes were collected from 8 companies, listed with the lowest price first. Only military families can buy from USAA, whose rate is $240.

Under Delaware insurance law, an operator’s policy covers a named person who gets behind the wheel of a car they do not own. After a crash, personal injury protection helps pay injury costs, and every policy here must include it.

What Delaware requires at a minimum, PIP included

Under Title 21 of the Delaware Code, sections 2902 and 2118 set three minimums for your liability coverage. For injuries, coverage begins at $25,000 per person, with a $50,000 total per crash. Coverage for property damage begins at $10,000. PIP, or personal injury protection, has its own starting point: $15,000 per person and a $30,000 total for each crash.

You can find the rule on operator’s policies in Title 21, Chapter 29, Subchapter I of the Delaware Code. The PIP requirement sits within Title 21, Chapter 21. Put simply, an operator’s policy is a non-owner policy: it covers you, by name, when you drive a car that belongs to someone else.

What is Delaware’s process for proof of future responsibility?

Delaware does not use the term SR-22; the state calls the filing a certificate of insurance. Under Section 2948 in Subchapter III on proof of future responsibility, a licensed insurer can write to the state confirming that your liability policy is active. Unless the policy covers a person with no vehicles, the certificate names the covered cars.

Most often, an unpaid crash judgment sets things in motion. Let an unpaid judgment sit for 60 days, and your license may be suspended until you settle the debt and file proof. You may post a surety bond instead of the certificate. Placing $40,000 in cash or securities on deposit with the State Treasurer is another choice.

Owners of vehicles face an additional form. When an insurance audit identifies a car, the insurer is asked, through the DMV's insurance FAQ, to send an FR-19 that proves coverage was uninterrupted.

When two Delaware insurers refuse to cover you

Section 2905 of Subchapter I addresses drivers who keep getting turned down by insurers. Start by applying, in good faith, to two insurance companies. Should both say no, write to the Insurance Commissioner, who will assign you to a company that offers this cover in Delaware. A surcharge may be added by that insurer, made larger by a drunk driving conviction, for as long as three years.

Reinstatement also comes with costs. You can find the charges on the DMV's Driver Improvement page: getting your license back after a suspension costs $50, and after a revocation it is $200. Driving completely uninsured means the smallest fine you face is $1,500, plus a suspension of your license for six months.

Rates in Delaware, broken down by age

A teenager can expect to pay about $1,725 each year. At age 40, the average cost of minimum coverage on a car you own is $1,300 a year, which is roughly $364 above the $936 for a non-owner policy.