If you’ve recently purchased a car with a rebuilt title or finished repairing a salvage title vehicle, it’s time to think about getting insurance coverage so you can hit the road. But which providers offer rebuilt title coverage—and of those, which are the best?
Most people think that once a car has been declared a total loss, its life is over. But for those with the means to cover the cost of repairs—and a certified mechanic to help make them—you can breathe new life into a totaled car.
Once your rebuilt title car is fit for public roads again, it’s time to buy car insurance
. Luckily, finding liability insurance
for a rebuilt title is pretty easy! Finding full coverage
is a bit more difficult, but it’s not impossible. The challenge is knowing which providers offer the best coverage options and the best insurance rates. For tips to deal with all the challenges you may face when insuring a rebuilt title car, read on!
What are the best car insurance companies for rebuilt title cars?
While not all insurance companies offer coverage for a car with a rebuilt title, most major providers (and even several smaller companies) do. But knowing which company to go with—or even whether the company you want offers coverage in your state—can be confusing.
To help, we’ve compiled this list of the best car insurance companies for rebuilt title cars:
Knowing which companies offer rebuilt title coverage is only half the battle, though. You also need to be sure you’re actually in a position to qualify for it.
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How do I buy car insurance for a rebuilt title vehicle?
When a vehicle is declared a total loss, the owner generally has three options—take the insurance payout, scrap it, or get a salvage title and repair it. The process for getting a salvage title is different in every state, but one thing is uniform across the board: to insure a previously-totaled, salvage title car, you’ll need to get rid of the salvage title on your vehicle
. To clear a salvage title, you’ll usually need a mechanic’s statement indicating that all the necessary repairs have been made to make the vehicle road-worthy. Once you have this, and you pass the necessary safety inspections, you should be able to have your title status changed from salvage to rebuilt by your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Once you have the rebuilt title, you’re in a better position to begin searching for rebuilt title vehicle insurance. However, many providers require additional inspections on top of those required by the DMV to qualify.
An insurance agent or customer service rep can usually provide you with all the information you need to know to qualify for rebuilt title car insurance with a given company.
MORE: How to sell a junk car for cash
How much does rebuilt title insurance cost?
Contrary to what you may think, auto insurance for a rebuilt title vehicle can be pretty cheap. There are two key reasons for this.
First, a rebuilt title car will usually carry a lower market value than a comparable clean title
vehicle. Second, most auto insurance companies offer only liability coverage for rebuilt salvage vehicles. Liability tends to be much cheaper than other types of car insurance
, namely full coverage. But just how cheap are we talking? It depends on your car and the provider or providers you’re shopping with. The best way to find the lowest premiums is to compare car insurance quotes
from multiple providers. Key Takeaway Rebuilt title car insurance is sometimes up to 50% cheaper than clean-title car insurance.
4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ drivers Can you get full-coverage insurance for a rebuilt title?
Yes—but not all providers offer it. While most providers offer liability-only coverage for rebuilt title cars, just a handful will offer an insurance policy with collision coverage
and comprehensive coverage
. But why? If the car is truly road-ready again, you should be able to protect it fully, right?
Unfortunately, though your car may be safe for the road, its previously totaled status isn’t just relegated to its vehicle history—it’s written in the car itself. No matter how well you or your mechanic repair your vehicle, it will never be as solid or safe as it was fresh off the assembly line.
The previous damage can not only compromise vehicle safety features, but it could also leave behind issues that might not crop up for some time. Because of these potential underlying issues, your car’s value has diminished.
This makes finding cheap car insurance
(at least on a liability-only policy) a breeze. But we’ve all heard the old saying, “You get what you pay for.” Because your car is less likely to be able to stand up to a collision—or perhaps even to withstand the stresses of severe weather—the insurance industry recognizes a payout for damages is more likely than if your car had a clean title. Most providers simply aren’t willing to take that risk.
Fortunately, though, a few are. Here’s a list of providers that do offer full-coverage options for cars with rebuilt titles:
Keep in mind that just because these providers offer full coverage for rebuilt title vehicles, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll qualify for it. Most require the vehicle to pass a series of extensive inspections before they’ll extend a quote for coverage. Plus, providers like USAA only offer coverage for military veterans and their immediate families.
Key Takeaway Obtaining a liability-only policy for a rebuilt title car is fairly simple, but finding a provider that will offer full coverage is more difficult.
Which car insurance companies don’t cover rebuilt title cars?
We mentioned some providers don’t offer coverage options for rebuilt title cars, so that may have you wondering—which ones? The answer to this question is a bit complicated.
First, keep in mind that just because an insurance company offers coverage for rebuilt title vehicles in general, that doesn’t mean they offer it in your state. That said, three providers don’t offer coverage of any kind for rebuilt title cars—Direct Auto, Liberty Mutual
, and Travelers
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