Well, i guess i should have checked this out before i bought my used gem. I just had my agent get quotes for me and i was shocked when it came back at $800 a year or $600 without comp. It would be added to my vehicle policy. I only got it to ride back and forth to a friends house about 1 mile away. If these rates are correct im going to have to sell it. Can anyone help?
Well, the insurance company made a mistake and had the vehicle valued at $80,000. But still the insurance without comprehensive is 378 per year. But this gets strange, I have a friend with a Bad Boy Buggy golf cart that he bought brand new that is registered as a street legal low speed vehicle and when he went to renew the registration this year they asked him if he had insurance and they told him he didn’t and they said oh it’s a golf cart you don’t need it. He also had an on the road accident last year where his wife fell off and was severely injured and in a coma, the police came and nobody ever asked for any insurance from him and they never gave him any tickets. He is convinced that we don’t need insurance I may go to the tag office and just try to register it and see what they do.
Can you tell me what company? Do you have tags on yours?
mine is in the 800 range to for street legal / plated gem . its more then my car . if you find a cheaper rate let me know
Foremost Insurance. Insured as an ORV. Belton Insurance Tavares Fl. We are a Golf Cart Friendly Town, We don’t need Tags. Went up to $68 for 2018 for full coverage,
Rodney
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Do you meen an ohv? I dont find an orv in the Florida law. If it is registered as an ohv the law states that it cannot be operated on public highways.
O ff road vehicle. Tavares is a Golf art Friendly town. We don’t need tags and can drive on the streets.
I have a plated gem car on sanibel and it is in the $600 range thru progressive. More than my 2014 corvette and 2015 Audi S5.
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Well the tax office made it very clear that if I am going to put tags on a low speed vehicle I must have insurance just like a car. I asked about doing it as an off-road vehicle and they said I can do that and insurance will probably be cheaper but even in a community that allows you to operate them on roads they are not tagged and insured legally to be operated on public streets. My buddy is calling the dealer where he bought his to find out how on Earth they got his registered without insurance and he still can’t figure out how they allowed him to renew without insurance. I have a feeling that there are a lot of employees at these places who don’t know the rules. I read up on the law before I went and I think they were correct in what they told me today.
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I own an insurance agency, and this is a common question. Florida law has (3) classifications; Low Speed Vehicles, Golf Carts and Off Highway Vehicle.
- Low Speed Vehicles: are vehicles with top speeds of 20 to 25 MPH. Golf carts can be converted to low speed vehicles and vice versa so the two are often confused. Owners of low speed vehicles have higher Federal safety standards as well as other requirements. For example, a low-speed vehicle may be operated only on streets where the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less. Also, a low-speed vehicle must be equipped with headlamps, stop lamps, turn signal lamps, tail lamps, reflex reflectors, parking brakes, rearview mirrors, wind shield, seat belts, and vehicle identification number. Any person operating a low-speed vehicle must have in his or her possession a valid driver license. And, most importantly, a low-speed vehicle must be registered and insured with Personal Injury Protection and Property Damage Liability.
- Golf Carts: A golf cart is a motor vehicle that is designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational purposes and is not capable of exceeding speeds of 20 miles per hour. Conventional golf carts are not classified as low speed vehicles because they have a top speed of less than 20 MPH. Consequently, they are subject only to state and local requirements regarding safety equipment. Golf carts are not titled or registered and as such are not required to be insured with PIP/PDL
- Off Highway Vehicle: An all-terrain vehicle is described as being 50 inches or less in width, having a dry weight of 1,200 pounds or less, designed to travel on three or more non-highway tires, and is manufactured for recreational use by one or more persons. An off-highway motorcycle is any motor vehicle used off the roads or highways of Florida that has a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and is designed to travel with no more than two wheels in contact with the ground, but excludes a tractor or a moped. Off-highway vehicles are titled but not registered and are not required to be insured with PIP/PDL.
GEM cars are “Low Speed Vehicles” and require Insurance. Mistakes have been made by some DMV employees by classifying a GEM Car as a Golf Cart. All Gem Car’s have a title. Golf Carts do not.
The bigger concern is if you get into an accident. If you’re in anyway responsible for a part of the accident, you’re going to need insurance. Some home owner policies have riders and can provide coverage. Progressive and Foremost are two great companies although Progressive tends to be much higher cost. Talk to your local agent to get quotes and please remember even your local agent maybe confused about Golf Carts and Low Speed Vehicles.
For more information please see the attached brochure: https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/mv/lowspeedvehicles.pdf
Donnie
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I have Ameriprise Auto Insurance through Costco. I added my GEM with full coverage for $40 for 6 months and I live in California
My buddy who that renewed his tags without insurance got a letter in the mail that said that he needed to provide proof of insurance asap or they were going to suspend his license. They caught it in Tallahassee. It appears that some people at the tax office are making mistakes and they all allowing tags without insurance or with improper insurance. I making an appt today and getting the corrcet insurance and tags.
Donnie ,
can you recommend an affordable insurance company for Gems ? i have allstate for my cars with a great rate but they charge more for my gem then my wifes new $45,000 suv
Depends on what state you live in. Generally speaking Foremost will give you better price. Depending on the state you should be able to get it for around $100 per year. Make sure you look at your Allstate & State Farm Declaration Page in the policy especially on Home Owners policies as they sometimes will list the deductible as a percentage. Most people want a 500 or 1,000 deductible. If they say 5% and you have a $300K home that 5% can hurt you… If your in North Carolina, call Beard Insurance Agency, Inc 704-861-5999. They can shop over 43 companies to give you the best rate.
And he will be responsible for any fines or penalties. Crazy right…
That information doesnt look accurate for Florida. If you are putting tags on a gem car and plan to drive on public roads you have to have insurance just like a regular car. Homeowners policies and off road insurance doesnt count. People are getting away with it in places like the villages but technically its not legal and if something happens you wont be covered.
I also have a home in Florida. Private communities can have different rules for their community. A GEM car can cross a state roads. Different states have different laws. In Florida the minimum requirement is $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP) and $10,000 property damage liability (PDL). If you have less than a stellar driving record, Florida DMV can request you purchase additional auto insurance coverage such as bodily injury liability coverage (BIL). I would recommend you carrying more than just basic coverages to protect yourself. Like I said above, it’s best to contact your agent…
I’m not going to help but I have mine on the insurance for the company I own. Since we have a larger company, all the salesmen drive company cars with company insurance because our company was quoted a ton of money to cover so many vehicles. I just have mine registered under my company’s name as a company vehicle.
In California, in a town with crazy drivers and very high insurance and Ameriprise just quoted me $420/ 6 mo coverage on just a GEM. Minimal liability coverage and no collision or comp. Our current coverage through USAA (three cars and home) is $177/6 mo for the GEM. The cost of living in paradise 