OK, for anybody following all this insanity and trying to learn anything from it I just learned I made a *big* mistake!
After the claim was settled on the truck I cancelled the policy.
My thinking was there's no point in carrying a policy on a dead vehicle and I had about $400 coming back that I could use for stuff.
Well I just insured the new truck. (It's not ready yet, but b/c I'm an out of state buyer I have to insure it *before* they will release it to me.) I took a really big hit / rate hike on my new initial 6 month insurance rate. It was not b/c of the "wreck". It was actually not legally classified as a "wreck". It was classified as vandalism and does not show on my driving record at all; not even as a "not a fault wreck"!!! (Didn't see that one coming!!!)
But, b/c I canceled the old policy before I got a new policy I have not had continuous coverage for the last 6 months, so my rate went up.
When I renew in 6 months it will go down a fair bit b/c I will have had continuous coverage for the previous 6 months.
So, my advice is: If the poop hits the fan and you're in a total loss wreck and you're planning on getting a new car don't cancel the old policy until after you get the new policy; even if it's going to be a couple of months before you get the new car. It will save you money in the long run.
Also, another thing I did not consider at the time that I cancelled it: Renting Cars.
My policy did not pay for the actual rent payments. (It will now.) But, if I still had a policy, even on a totaled vehicle *I think* (don't quote me on this: talk to your insurance agent) that it would have covered me if I had an accident while driving a rental. Which means that I would not have had to keep buying the premium car rental insurance to cover everything under the sun, just the basic rental ins to cover their car (which your driving policy may not cover). Which would have saved me many hundreds of dollars while running around town looking for a truck.
Last but not least: Domiciliary / tax stuff / buying car out of state: You have to pay the taxes *somewhere*; either in state of purchase or in your home state. You don't pay twice, but you also can't get around paying either.
What you can do is pay in which ever state has the lower rate. I.E; ID is 6.0%, NV 8.25%. I will pay in ID. ***Also*** if you pay in the higher rate state there is no process to do something like claim it on your taxes: It's just gone!
