Can I get short car insurance extension?

If I leave Japan 20th February, but car insurance expires mid January, will the company give me a short extension for that period? Obviously, I wouldn't want to have to renew the whole year just to have use of my car for about a month or so only.

By "car insurance" do you mean the shaken (bi-annual car inspection which includes the mandatory insurance on the vehicle) or private insurance (which most people get but is through individual private companies or through your job and is in addition to the shaken insurance)?

It is illegal to drive without car insurance in Japan, but this refers to the car insurance you get when you take your car in for the inspection, which is every 2 years. If it is your shaken that expires, you've got two choices: do the shaken again, and then include it in the price when you sell the car, or not drive the car when shaken expires, and make other arrangements.

If its through a private company and only for a short time, you could just let the insurance lapse. Or you could talk to your company about short-term coverage. It may depend on the company whether its available or not. Although this insurance is great to have (shaken insurance covers almost for you nothing if you cause an accident), if its just a short period, you may consider just skipping it if your company doesn't have short-term insurance on offer.

Assuming you're talking about private insurance (since you say 1 year), then it totally depends on your insurer. Most car insurance is paid monthly, in which case you can usually cancel at anytime, but there are some collective plans like teacher's union plans that are sold in one year increments. These probably can't be broken up into smaller units, but you'll have to ask the insurer about their specific policies.

about private insurance,任意保険:
if you paid for one year, you can cancel the insurance at any moment, and they will give you a refund.

Ken

Thanks, but I wouldn't be around to do the necessary paperwork to get a refund, would I? And how long would that take?? Um...a while, I'd guess, by which time I'd be back home.


I'd much prefer to pay for what I receive (only) and end payments when I no longer wish to be covered by the insurance.

some paperwork is necessary. and probably it may take one month to get a refund.
generally speaking, when you leave Japan, you still need to keep a bank account to pay the last electricity fee and so on.

also, you may change the payment from yearly to monthly.

All this is highly speculative. You'll need to contact YOUR insurer to find out their specific policies.