I lived car-free for many years in San Francisco, and even a few months in Pittsburgh. Today I am re-learning the car-free life in Brooklyn.... I lived car-free for many years in San Francisco, and even a few months in Pittsburgh. Today I am re-learning the car-free life in Brooklyn, where it's very easy, even more convenient to live without a car. Car-free life is fraught with insurance-related conundrums, however. Friday I received a document from my insurance company that had been sent to the wrong address. I made a call which set off a series of events. It turns out now that I am living car-free, I can't have my personal umbrella policy unless I purchase a non-car owner auto policy at a cost approaching $1,000 a year. There's one way to avoid this, however- turn in my driver's license. Giving up a car is one thing, but turning in a drivers license somehow moves to a new level. It's a right-of-passage in the United States, and car or no car, it would be a big change to know that we "can't" drive. Yet it seems like the next logical step, especially since the cost of other insurance also comes down when you don't have a drivers license. I'm leaning toward surrendering this sacred card that allows me at at least rent a car and hit the road. From an economic standpoint, should I pay $1,000 a year or more just to keep this easy ticket to go back to the car world? No, probably not. Turning it in may be an insurance policy against the temptation.