We all know that if you have a car, you have to pay for car insurance. It’s the law nearly everywhere. But, it can be a hassle to set up a new insurance policy, so it’s good to know that there are some circumstances when you can transfer car insurance to another person.
Generally, a car insurance policy goes with the car – not the person. But there are some circumstances where you can transfer your car insurance to another person.
Short Term Insurance Transfer
There are some stipulations around using a short term insurance transfer. For instance, the car you are going to be driving under the short term policy cannot be owned by your employer (this makes it a business use of the car, not personal) and it cannot be a leased vehicle.
You may wonder about short term insurance policies for rental cars. Generally, rental cars are already fully insured by the rental company and you don’t need to spend the extra money to buy additional coverage. There are times you may want to, but usually only for special circumstances and for higher end vehicles.
Change of Ownership Transfer
When a vehicle is changing ownership, it is not uncommon to transfer insurance from one person to another person. This ensures that the new owner is covered right away and can be helpful when a car is being transferred long distance, for instance.
The following steps should be followed to transfer car insurance to another person.
- Transfer title: The first step is to change the title and registration of the vehicle to the new owner at your department of motor vehicles. The most important thing to remember is that the names on the title and registration documents must match the insurance documents. If the names are different, the insurance company will automatically deny any claims should you have an accident.
- Contact insurance company: Once the car is officially in the new owner’s name, contact your insurance company and follow their procedures for transferring the insurance. Usually, this means you will receive a document that verifies the transfer of liability.
Notify the DMV: You need to submit the transfer document to the local department of motor vehicles so they can certify that the car is legal to drive. They will then issue proof of insurance documents and everyone is good to go.
Last Steps
Transferring car insurance to another person is really a temporary measure. Once the need is over, it makes sense to shop around for a better deal. After all, car insurance rates are based on many personal details.
When you’re ready to get a better rate, use the InsuranceWins form to get up-to-date quotes for your car insurance. An insurance transfer may not have given you the best rates. So, don’t keep overpaying for car insurance. Get your own personalized quotes right away.
