if i was to take a year-long trip outside of the country with the family, i was told by my current insurance agent that i must change my home owner's insurance to something ridiculously expensive (called non-occupied insurance or something), and the car insurance still has to be full coverage since the bank still has the title to them.

are the above statements true?

 

can i claim secondary residence insurance since i will come back on a regular basis?

 

I can only speak for State Farm, but you could easily insure the home with us as a "Seasonal Dwelling" which has the same rates as regular homeowners insurance.

In regards to the car, it would depend on what your lending company requires. If you register the car as "non-op" with the DMV, you should be able to take off liability, although that means nobody can legally drive the vehicle period until you change the DMV and insurance back.