car insurance

I'd recommend Marshall and Sterling, Inter-Ocean & First Insurance.

www.viphonebook.com

I think I pay $250/year for each car and motorcycle I own, thru Guardian....maybe it's $270? Something like that.

when i rented a jeep on my PMV to STX my state side insurance would not cover the rental like they do here. my credit card did, ATM or DEBIT card will not.

I don't think that there is any restrictions as to the miles. However it does have to pass a safety inspection. These can be very through or some will just sign off on them.
There are no emission requirements here. You don't need catalytic converter or smog pump.

I went thru 1st Insurance & signed up wuth Guardian. I signed up on a Saturday,an hour before closing....I was outta there in 40 min & didn't need an "inspection". I think I got lucky.

You don't need the inspection for the insurance, but for the license plates, I think. I know every year I have to get safety inspected, for one or the other.

Oh holy *!#@*

I bought a 2008 Ford F250 diesel for boating and my employer is shipping it from my home in the Seattle suburbs. It should be here in the next 1-2 weeks so I decided to start pricing insurance yesterday.

My first couple of stops have been at Marshall & Sterling as well as First Insurance. I got 2 surprises:

1) The coverage levels here ARE VERY LOW - like 1/10th of what I'm used to. My stateside vehicles carry $500k BI, PD, and underinsured limits (and then I have an umbrella on top of these policies.) I think the standard limits here in STX are 10/25/10!!!
2) I got a quote for 'increased limits' which turn out to be 25/50/25 coverage. My 10-20X coverage in the U.S. is about $1k in the U.S. and the much reduced limits here are going to be either $1900 or $2200!!!

I think I'm going to have to check around with one or two additional agencies today to see if there is a significant difference in pricing.

Just to complicate things it turns out my U.S. carrier (Liberty Mutual) said that the truck would be covered while here but I'm assuming the USVI is going to require me to have a 'local' firm instead...

Alison:

1. Get the rental car company's CDW insurance for the short term if you don't have the American Express Card rental car CDW insurance ($19.95 for up to 42 days).....the rental car company CDW will cost about $20./day....perhaps it would be wise to get the Amex card (with the CDW agreement) if you rent for more than a few days.

2. It's been my experience that when you get auto insurance they ask you for the information concerning your vehicle (to determine the rate). Since you don't own a car I don't think you can get insurance. However, if you lease a car you can......some companies, like Avis, do allow mini leases........but you would need to ask if they are available on STX.

3. Like others have indicated the low rates that island insurance companies quote are for very low coverage......if you have an accident here the damage costs (and lawsuits) will be just as high as on the mainland, so don't skimp on coverage.

Hope this helps.

F.I.

Try Annaly Insurance Company
Their number is 340-773-7374.
They are who we use, but I can't compare the rates, as we have a classic 1985 Bronco II . Unfortunately I can't find anyone on island who will insure a older vehicle with full coverage, so we only have liability and medical.

You also need to buy an endorsement to cover you driving anywhere in the world or at least in the United States. The standard policy in the VI covers you only if you are driving in the USVI.

If you take a trip to the states and rent a car you have zero coverage, therefore in addition to the CDW you will also have to buy the car rental company's liability coverage. The cost for the CDW and the liability is often as much as the car rental.

The coverage that you might get from using your credit card is very limited and probably doesn't cover your liability.

Also with no coverage you really can't borrow someone's car stateside as their coverage may or may not cover you or their liability limits may be so low that your personal finances are at risk.

Insurance in the VI is expensive. Only a couple of companies offer coverage, but their policies may be sold through multiple agencies. Blame the high cost on our government here and the inability to legislate tort reform.

Jim

Thanks folks - much appreciated 🙂

Lots of good info. here and I've got some more homework to do next week it appears.

Great info. on the stateside coverage issue. I guess for now I'm OK as I've still got a house and cars in the U.S. but this is definitely something else to consider long term.

VI don't care whether the insurer is local or not ----- as long as you have proof of insurance. My cars are covered by USAA (an insurance co-op based in Texas). When I got the cars registered and when I get them re-inspected, I just show my USAA proof of insurance cards and all is well.

I think that's where I'll have a problem. My insurance cards would still have a Washington state address but the written policy will state that coverage extends to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Maybe I'll try it but I'm assuming that without the insurance card showing my local STX address I'll be out of luck.