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Overview: Can You Insure a Car That’s Not in Your Name?
Even though it can be hard to insure a car that’s not in your name, you may have these options:
- Add the vehicle’s owner to your policy
- Get added to the vehicle owner’s policy
- Have the policyholder transfer their car registration to you or add your name to it
- Get a co-title with the vehicle’s owner
- Buy a non-owner insurance policy
We’ll go over which scenario best fits your needs.
Your Options When You Don’t Own the Car
There’s no clear-cut answer for how to insure a car that’s not in your name. However, you may be able to work with the owner of the vehicle to get car insurance coverage.
1. Add the Car Owner to Your Policy as an Additional Interest
By adding a car owner to your insurance policy as an additional interest, you’re telling your insurer you’re the main driver of someone else’s vehicle. That car owner is listed as an additional interest because they still have a stake in their car, even though they aren’t the principal driver. Your policy doesn’t cover the additional interest, but it keeps the policy in place to protect the car.
If you want to add the car owner to your policy as an additional interest, you must prove to the insurance provider that you have a financial stake in that person’s car. For example, you’d be severely affected if something bad happened to the vehicle, like theft or damage. This lets auto insurance companies know you have an incentive to keep the vehicle in good working condition.
Keep in mind that proving your insurable interest in another person’s vehicle is difficult.
2. Get Added to the Car Owner’s Insurance Policy
If you live with the owner of the car, getting added to their policy should be easy. This is because providers are more likely to insure family members who live in the same household. It’s common for a spouse or a teen to be added to a car insurance policy as a listed driver.
3. Transfer or Get Added to the Car Registration
Another way to insure a car that’s not in your name is to have your name added to the car’s registration or have the registration transferred to you. While this can help prove your insurable interest in the car, not all states allow it. This option might make sense if you frequently drive the owner’s vehicle.
4. Get a Co-Title
Becoming a co-owner with the vehicle’s registered owner could also allow you to get it insured. But while getting a new title with a co-owner should make it easier to insure a vehicle you don’t fully own, it can also increase the car insurance premium. It also typically requires the car to be paid off.
The order of the owners’ names on a car title determines who’s allowed to transfer ownership, such as with a sale. In general, joining the names with “or” means only one person’s signature is required for transferring ownership, while using “and” or “and/or” means both owners must sign off on transferring ownership.
When You Should Buy a Non-Owner Insurance Policy
Non-owner insurance policies cover drivers who regularly use rental cars, car-sharing services or cars owned by their friends or family members. As long as you have a valid driver’s license and don’t already own a car, you could be eligible for this type of policy. It lets you avoid a lapse in coverage so your car insurance rate doesn’t rise significantly once you get your own vehicle.
A non-owner car insurance policy is liability coverage that pays for the injuries and property damage you cause in an accident. It protects you and the car owner, but it won’t cover damage to the vehicle you’re borrowing.
Since non-owner car insurance is secondary coverage, it only kicks in once the primary policy’s coverage runs out during the claims process.
What Does Non-Owner Insurance Cover?
Here’s what most non-owner car insurance covers, depending on your provider and the state you live in:
| Typical Coverage | Optional or State-Required Coverage | No Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury (BI) liability coverage | Medical payments coverage (MedPay) | Comprehensive insurance |
| Property damage (PD) liability coverage | Personal injury protection (PIP) | Collision Insurance |
| Underinsured/uninsured motorist bodily injury | ||
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist property damage |
When You Shouldn’t Get Non-Owner Insurance
Non-owner car insurance isn’t one-size-fits-all coverage. You might not qualify for a policy, or it might not be worth buying in your situation. Here’s when you should pass on a non-owner auto policy:
| Scenario | What To Do Instead |
|---|---|
| You usually borrow a roommate’s car. | Get listed on that person’s policy. |
| Someone in your household has a car. | Get listed on the owner’s policy. |
| You’re required to drive a company car for work. | Non-owner coverage isn’t required. |
| You own a car. | Have a car insurance policy that covers you when you rent cars. |
Check State Laws About Car Insurance
In addition to checking with your insurance provider, you’ll need to check your state’s laws about insuring a car you don’t own. In states like New York, the names on the vehicle’s registration and insurance card must match.
Other than New Hampshire and Virginia, every state requires car insurance. And in most of the country, you need to have auto insurance coverage before you can register a car. But according to Kelley Blue Book, these seven states don’t require insurance to register a vehicle:
| State | Requirement to Register Without Insurance |
|---|---|
| Mississippi | None |
| New Hampshire | None |
| North Dakota | None |
| Tennessee | You must show proof of financial responsibility by posting a bond or making a cash deposit of $65,000 with the department of revenue. |
| Virginia | You must pay a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee to the department of motor vehicles. |
| Washington | You must have self-insurance (only an option if you have more than 25 vehicles) or have a certificate of deposit or liability bond of at least $60,000. |
| Wisconsin* | None |
*You might be required to provide proof of insurance to register your vehicle in Wisconsin if your license was suspended or revoked.
The Bottom Line: Can I Insure a Car Not in My Name?
It can be quite complicated to insure a car that’s not in your name. Depending on your situation, you have several options. You can add the car owner to your policy as an additional interest, get added to their policy, transfer the car’s registration or get added to it or buy a non-owner policy.
Top Auto Insurance Recommendations
Comparison shopping with several car insurance providers can help you find the most affordable coverage for you. Below are our top recommendations to get a non-owner insurance policy.
Travelers: Best for Most Drivers
Travelers ranks in first place in our review of car insurance providers thanks in part to its variety of coverage options, including non-owner policies. The insurer has cheap average rates, along with savings opportunities like its multi-policy, good student and good driver discounts.
Read more: Travelers insurance review
State Farm: Best Customer Experience
State Farm is a top-ranked auto insurance company for a variety of reasons. It has many discounts, as well as local insurance agents all over the country. This makes it easy to find and save on your coverage. State Farm is also a top option for young drivers with its Steer Clear® program, which helps policyholders under 25 save money when they practice safe driving habits.
Read more:State Farm insurance review
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Can I Insure a Car Not in My Name?: FAQ
In certain situations, you can insure a car that you don’t own. Check your state’s laws and what’s offered by the insurance companies you’re interested in. You might have these options:
- Transferring the car title to your name or getting added to it
- Getting added to the car owner’s insurance policy
- Adding the car owner to your insurance policy
- Getting non-owner auto insurance
In some states, your auto insurance and vehicle title have to be in the same person’s name. You can check this with your state’s DMV.
If you don’t insure a car in your name, you could face penalties such as paying a fine or having your driver’s license or vehicle registration suspended. Consequences vary depending on where you live, but it’s illegal to drive without car insurance in every state except New Hampshire and Virginia.
Our Methodology
Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.
Here are the factors our ratings take into account:
- Cost: Auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities were both taken into consideration.
- Coverage: Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
- Reputation and experience: Our research team considered market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
- Availability: Auto insurance companies with greater state availability and few eligibility requirements scored highest in this category.
- Customer experience: This score is based on volume of complaints reported by the NAIC and customer satisfaction ratings reported by J.D. Power. We also considered the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each insurance company’s customer service team based on our own shopper analysis.
Our credentials:
- 800 hours researched
- 45 companies reviewed
- 8,500+ consumers surveyed
*Data accurate at time of publication.
