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When To Transfer Car Insurance To A New Owner

Sooner or later most of us are tasked with buying or selling a vehicle. One important question many car owners have is whether or not car insurance can be transferred to the new owner of the car. After all, a driver must be insured before the car can be driven out of the driveway or off the lot. Can auto insurance actually be transferred to a new owner? There are many unique situations in which you might want to consider transferring an auto insurance policy.  For example, if you’re temporarily lending your car to someone, will they be covered under your insurance? Auto insurance can be complicated, but a policy transfer doesn’t have to be.

How Can I Transfer Car Insurance To A New Owner?

One of the primary reasons that an auto insurance transfer occurs is due to a change in vehicle ownership due to selling, purchasing, or inheriting a car. If you’re selling a car to another person, then you will need to transfer insurance to the new owner. Luckily, this is a standard procedure. Insurance companies deal with new owner insurance transfers all the time. First, you’ll need to complete some paperwork to ensure the insurance is in order. 

A car insurance transfer to the new owner goes hand in hand with the title transfer. Once a car is sold or assumes new ownership, the policy of the former owner is no longer valid. When a claim is filed, the insurance company will require that all names on the policy document match on the car registration. To transfer insurance to a new owner, you’ll first need to transfer ownership titles and change the registration at your local department of motor vehicles. Unfortunately, this process cannot be done online. 

Once both parties have completed a change in title and registration, all you have to do is contact your auto insurance company to complete the switch. At this point, the insurance company will provide some documents necessary to transfer the insurance to a new owner. You will then have to provide these documents to the DMV. Once the DMV approves the documents you or your car’s new owner can hit the road!

What Do I Need To Transfer Car Insurance? 

If you’re going to transfer your insurance to a new owner, there are a few documents you’ll need to bring along to the DMV. Without these documents, you won’t be able to complete your insurance transfer or change the title on the car. In addition to a transfer form, you will need to bring: 

  • A copy of the car registration certificate/title
  • Old policy documentation
  • No Objection Clause
  • New policy application 
  • The inspection report that’s been carried out by the insurance company. 
  • Insurance company documents

Transferring auto insurance to a new owner is easy, as long as you remember that insurance follows the car and that the title/registration will need to be transferred to the new owner first. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the names on the ownership documents of the car must always match the names of the policyholder on the insurance.

Should I Transfer Insurance For A Temp Driver? 

One important aspect of insurance to understand is that car insurance policies always follow the car- not the person. In most situations, you can let a friend or family member drive your car under your policy without having to transfer the policy to the driver. Your car will still be covered, so long as you’re the primary driver of the car and are following rules laid out under your particular policy. 

When you first purchase a policy, the insurance company automatically assumes that different members of your household will likely use the vehicle. With that understanding in mind, they calculate the risk of the primary driver, as well as the potential risk of other drivers in the household. In a nutshell, if a friend or family member occasionally drive your car, there is no need to transfer the policy.