Paying Dues to Get a Quote: What California Allows

Ordinarily, getting a quote requires no membership. A few insurers say "join first." That can look like a way around the rule that good drivers may buy from the insurer of their choice, but Insurance Code section 1861.02(b)(3) allows it in two narrow cases and wraps both in conditions. Knowing them tells you whether the dues are a fair price of entry.

Who qualifies

The two kinds of insurer allowed to require membership are:

• a reciprocal insurer organized before November 8, 1988 by a motor club that required membership in the club as a condition of applying; and
• an insurer that requires membership in a voluntary, nonprofit organization in existence before November 8, 1988 to apply for coverage offered through that group, provided the insurer or an affiliate also offers and sells coverage to non-members.

For both, membership may be conditioned only on paying dues on time and other bona fide criteria that are not based on driving record or insurance. A motor club may not base membership on where in the state you live. So a membership requirement cannot be a back door for screening out drivers with a ticket. If a company that requires membership turns you down for membership because of your record, that is worth questioning.

How to ask for it

1. Ask for the membership dues and the insurance premium as two separate figures.
2. Ask whether the dues change if you don't buy the insurance. The statute says the amount of the dues shall not depend on whether the member buys the insurance offered.
3. Ask what the membership provides apart from the right to apply. The statute requires bona fide services or benefits in addition to that right, reasonably available to every member in the class.
4. If you meet the Good Driver criteria, ask for a Good Driver Discount policy once you are a member.

What to check on your declarations page

The declarations page should show the insurance premium, not membership dues; dues are paid for the membership, and the statute bars any part of them being transferred to the insurer or its affiliates, apart from bona fide transactions. Confirm the policy is a Good Driver Discount policy if you qualify, and note the membership renewal date separately from the policy renewal date. Ask the company what happens to the policy if the membership lapses.

When it isn't worth it

• When the dues plus the premium cost more than another company's premium alone. Add them together before comparing.
• When you would never use the membership benefits. Roadside help you already have elsewhere is a common duplicate; our page on add-ons you may already have covers that.
• When you are joining only for one quote. Get the quote first if the company will tell you the premium before you join, and decide with both numbers in front of you.

A membership-based company is one more option, not a better one by default. Compare it with other quotes on the same coverage.