Leasing companies are kind of, you know, sensitive, about insurance. That’s one difference between financing a vehicle and leasing one. A bank might let you do something stupid regarding insurance. Your leasing company won’t.

Leasing a vehicle pretty much enters you into a partnership. You’re using a vehicle exactly like you own it, but someone else does (at least technically, legally, and all those other important words). And that someone else (your leasing company) has got quite a lot of risk for how you use that vehicle. If things go wrong, the leasing company will probably get sued by whoever is suing you.

Leasing companies nearly always have some rules about how much insurance you need to carry, with minimum liability coverage limits that are often higher than the minimums your state allows you to carry. And at the same time, most leases don’t include insurance as a part of the monthly payment. In some cases, a leasing company is licensed to sell insurance, but in most states, the regulations concerning who can legally sell insurance products makes it unattractive.

So expect to arrange and pay for your own insurance, and also expect your leasing company to verify that your coverage is in force and that you’re carrying enough to satisfy them.

Wondering if you can put signs on a leased vehicle? Read this article to find out.