Driving in various States. Own car, not rental.

markeire

I have got a job in America for a year, just waiting on the interview at the embassy for the visa.

Planning on buying a car when there for the year.

I will be based in Kentucky for the first 2 months, then New York from mid May until October, then back to Kentucky for a couple of months then onto Florida from December until March.

As you can see moving quiet a bit, so I am wondering about car insurance? would one cover all or do I need new insurance in each state.

Looking for advice from experience folks who have done it. Have searched the internet to no avail.

First Up

markeire wrote: »

I have got a job in America for a year, just waiting on the interview at the embassy for the visa.

Planning on buying a car when there for the year.

I will be based in Kentucky for the first 2 months, then New York from mid May until October, then back to Kentucky for a couple of months then onto Florida from December until March.

As you can see moving quiet a bit, so I am wondering about car insurance? would one cover all or do I need new insurance in each state.

Looking for advice from experience folks who have done it. Have searched the internet to no avail.

Your insurance will be valid everywhere but what you pay might vary depending on where you live, where the car is kept etc. Expect to suffer at first. When I first insured a car in the US I was hammered, simply because I had no track record. Basically, nobody wanted me and I was put into the "assigned risks" pool. A year later, with my US licence and a credit history it dropped about 80%.

markeire

Ya I'm expecting to be paying a lot, even though I plan to buy a Corolla or some small CC car.
Then I'm worried that I'll be caught again because they will say "Oh the car is too old, lacks safety features ABS etc etc".

Should I inquire about multi state insurance at the start or just do it when I move states? What would you advise?

lonestargirl

Getting a licence may be tricky, you have to resident in a state to get one there and it seems Kentucky only grant licences to citizens and green card holders.

http://www.dmv.org/ky-kentucky/apply-license.php

First Up

markeire wrote: »

Ya I'm expecting to be paying a lot, even though I plan to buy a Corolla or some small CC car.
Then I'm worried that I'll be caught again because they will say "Oh the car is too old, lacks safety features ABS etc etc".

Should I inquire about multi state insurance at the start or just do it when I move states? What would you advise?

Its a while since I did it so others may have better information. But I don't think the car will matter much - its the third party (damage you might do) that counts. Essentially you will be treated the same as a Guatamalan goat herd until you show otherwise. Your insurance will be valid in all 50 States but your premium will be affected by where you live.

markeire

lonestargirl wrote: »

Getting a licence may be tricky, you have to resident in a state to get one there and it seems Kentucky only grant licences to citizens and green card holders.

]

Would an international permit suffice?

jetfiremuck

From what I understand you can't get insurance without a full licence.

spideog7

You likely won't be able to buy/register a car without a state licence either.

lonestargirl

Driving licences and ruled are state based rather than federal. For example Texas is the state I'm most familiar with. There you can drive on your foreign license for a year but some insurance companies will only give you 3 months before insisting you get a US licence. There is no problem buying a car in Texas on a foreign licence but as Spideog says other states may we'll be different.

First Up

spideog7 wrote: »

You likely won't be able to buy/register a car without a state licence either.

That is not the case in NY.

Ponster

markeire wrote: »

Would an international permit suffice?

No. an International permit is really just an English translation of your existing license.

lonestargirl

The link below suggests that they do in fact grant licenses to non-citizens / greencard holders. They just make you go to a particular office to do so. It also says that it is legal to drive for up to a year on your foreign license, if your insurance company is ok with that then it might be the way to go. What happens when you travel to other states is a bit more difficult, usually you must have a license for the state you a resident in.


http://transportation.ky.gov/driver-licensing/pages/non-us-citizens.aspx

spideog7

I only know PA and here you can't buy a car without a PA licence and you can't get a PA licence unless you're resident here and have a visa valid for at least one year. You can drive on an Irish licence for up to a year, just not in your own car.

Other states are different though.