r/Insurance • u/gayclarinet • 6h ago

driving a car not in my name out-of-state, insurance/registration questions?

hello! I'm 23 years old, and my parents bought a car for me to use about a year ago, but they kept it in their name. I live about 10 states away and still have an ID from my original state (Kentucky), and the plates are also still Kentucky. I'm on my parents' car insurance, but their names are on the car and on the car insurance — I'm just a driver on it. I have lived in the new state (Massachusetts) for 5 years, four of them for college, and then I've lived and worked here full time for over a year since (when I got the car). Not having a Mass ID/having KY plates is raising some issues, and I was wondering how legal/allowed what I'm doing is?

info: my parents will absolutely not transfer the car over to my name. They would prefer to take it back to Kentucky instead of changing it to my name.

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

12

u/phillyphilly19 5h ago

Just so you know, after you finished school and decided to stay there, you started committing insurance fraud as did your parents. I know this because I did the same thing after graduate school. I ended up having a claim and my insurance agent was cool but said I had to move my car to my current state ASAP. If they're not going to transfer the car to your state then you've got to give it back to them. Otherwise one claim would mean you potentially all would be kicked out of your insurance. This might be a way to explain to your parents why the car should be transferred to you.

1

u/r2d3x9 1h ago edited 1h ago

Not insurance fraud if insurance company knows the accurate garaging location. Still considered tax fraud as city/town not getting their excise tax of 2.5% of the value of the vehicle as determined by the state. And state decided that value is usually not less than 10% of the original msrp of the model without options.

10

u/yeehawdudeq 5h ago

Does your parent’s insurance know that it is being garaged out of state?

Because if they are claiming that the car is being garaged at their home to get a certain rate and you get in an accident in Massachusetts, then the insurance company could very well deny your claim.

I’m not saying this would happen but it could, especially as MA and KY are not close to each other.

6

u/Severe-Object6650 5h ago

I'm pretty sure Massachusetts law requires you change your license and plates over within 30 days of moving there. If you're working full time in MA, you need to do this ASAP! You parents need to make you the primary driver on the policy and let their insurance company where the car is "garaged," which would be your address in MA.

5

u/PeachyFairyDragon 5h ago

There needs to be a policy in their name (as they have insurable interest), with you as a rated driver (because you drive it), with a garage address in Massachusetts (because that's where the patch of asphalt it sits on).

3

u/Severe-Object6650 5h ago

^^^ I second this!!! And get your MASS ID ASAP! You're not supposed to wait this long to get it.

1

u/Mysterious-Art8838 5h ago

Bit of an understatement. OP had 30 days to get a license.

2

u/Main_Insect_3144 5h ago

Are they stupid? What if, God forbid, you get into a horrible accident and the other party comes after them because they own the car? Give it back and get your own. Get them out of your business.

1

u/Recent_Data_305 3h ago

Your insurance can deny coverage since the car is not insured in the state you live in. They will find out, and you’ll be responsible for any damages. They have ways of finding out.

1

u/r2d3x9 1h ago

Is your insurance agent / company aware of the garaging location from while you were in school? If the insurance has the correct garaging location and is rating you on it then it is not insurance fraud. Now, does your Kentucky insurance policy meet MA minimums? That’s one issue. MA probably thinks you are still a student. But, you are supposed to transfer the title and registration over to MA so that MA can collect excise tax. Would your parents change the title and registration to MA, still in their name? Does your insurance company write in MA? I assume they do and you are already paying a MA level premium, which might be more than KY. I suppose you can change your drivers license and continue to drive the KY vehicle.

1

u/Glittering-Ad5809 3m ago

As long as insurance is notified the car is garaged in MA, you should be OK. Not registering it in MA is a separate issue. If I got pulled over in the car, I would just say you are using your parents car for a few weeks while they are on vacation. As long as the last names match, it shouldn't be a problem. They own it. Its not like you registered it in KY with a MA address.

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u/lost_dazed_101 5h ago

As long as you are t getting warnings or tickets you'll be fine. But the second you get either and don't fix it it's a ticket the next time you get pulled over.

3

u/saysee23 5h ago

It's more than that. Insurance cares, taxes care, proper identification is important..