Many people ask the question: “Can I Insure a Vehicle that is Not in My Name?” Yes you can. A car does not necessarily have to be registered under the policyholder’s name to insure it.
Whether a carrier will insure a vehicle not in the policyholder’s name does depend on the underwriting guidelines of each individual carrier; however, now days most will accept a vehicle registered to someone other than the person purchasing the policy.
To cut down on the homework involved in finding the right policy, compare auto insurance quotes from one single site; OnlineAutoInsurance.com. By providing basic driver and vehicle information only once, the information is dynamically used to generate the rates of top rated insurers such as Progressive, GMAC, Infinity and many others who may insure vehicles even though car registration and policies are different. Additionally, a policy can be purchased online to print out evidence (proof) of insurance.
When the registration and policyholder’s name differ, it is important to be aware of the normal procedure of “excluding” the registered owner of the vehicle. Driver exclusions are agreements between the insured and the insurer which state that the specified person or persons are excluded from coverage; therefore, if excluding a driver, make sure that they do not drive since no protection will apply. If an excluded driver decides to drive after the fact, a simple request can be made to add the driver to the policy.
When insuring a car registered to someone else, there may be other issues which may have to be dealt with in the event of a claim. For example, since the vehicle is in another person’s name, if there is a total loss such as theft or totaled out in an accident, a check may be issued in the name of the vehicle owner.
Unless a vehicle is paid off, changing the registered owner’s name will not be possible. In such case where a driver simply had someone else co-sign for the loan, a company who will accept the circumstances will be a solutions. Be sure to clarify the circumstances with an agent to avoid cancellation because some companies will insure the vehicle, but request that a title in the policyholder’s name be provided within a certain amount of days to avoid cancellation.
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