Does your car insurance and registration have to be under the same name?

Your car insurance and registration have to be under the same name in most cases. New York, North Carolina, and New Jersey are a few of the states with laws requiring that the name on a car’s insurance policy and registration match. But even though other states don’t have it written into law, insuring a car that is not registered in your name can still be difficult and make the claims process harder. 

If you do need to insure a vehicle that is not titled in your name, you’d need to prove you have an “insurable interest” in it. That means you would be affected financially if something happened to the car. Examples include the vehicle’s owner, its lienholder, or a co-signatory.

Insurance for a car not registered to you

You might want to insure a car that isn’t registered to you because you frequently rent or borrow one. But even if you have regular access to the same vehicle, you can’t insure it on your own. Instead, you should be a listed driver on the owner’s insurance policy, which serves as the primary insurance in the event of an accident.

You can get additional liability coverage by purchasing non-owner car insurance if you don’t own a car.

Someone else insuring a car whose title is in your name

If your insurance company has reason to believe your car was insured by someone else for fraudulent reasons, they will deny payment for your claims. If you have several accidents or traffic violations, you can’t just get a friend or family member to insure your car so the premiums are cheaper. Insurers fully investigate claims, and any discrepancy between the names on the policy and the title will be explored before any claims are paid out.