Insuring Car Outside NY
We’re buying a weekend home in CT, and it just occurred to us that we could now change our car registration, legally and legitimately, to CT and thus pay lower insurance rates. Any reason not to do this? Given that Brooklyn is our primary home and we’ll be spending more of our time here, is…
We’re buying a weekend home in CT, and it just occurred to us that we could now change our car registration, legally and legitimately, to CT and thus pay lower insurance rates. Any reason not to do this? Given that Brooklyn is our primary home and we’ll be spending more of our time here, is there any advantage to keeping our NY registration?
Thanks for any insights!
When I moved from Manhattan to Queens, I got a rude shock. Hertz charged me a surcharge for renting a car. They charge this surcharge to all Queens, Brooklyn and The Bronx residents renting cars in NYC. I thought this was outrageous and did some research on the internet to find out if there is a reason. Turns out that under New York law, after a motor vehicle crash, an injured party can sue not only the driver but the registered owner (the chauffeur rule), and further that Queens, Brooklyn and The Bronx civil juries are very generous with awards to plaintiffs (there was a suggestion that juries in these counties figure their turn at the car crash civil suit lottery would come one day, so they award lottery prize damages). Consequently, it does not surprise me that auto insurance is more expensive in NYC counties than in other parts of NY State or the tri-state area. It also does not surprise me that an insurance company would void the policy of a car owner that misrepresents themselves as living outside NYC when in fact they live in NYC.
The reason you buy auto insurance is to protect yourself from financial loss in the event of a automobile crash. If you lie on your policy application form, the insurance company is entitled to void the policy. In that event you are liable to pay the lottery prize damages that Brooklyn juries are allegedly notorious for awarding.
Don’t be penny wise pound foolish.
actually NY states Vehicle and Traffic law has the answer. You are required to register the car at your primary residence.
http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/resident.htm
its technically a violation- a minor infraction- to do otherwise(a crime is a misdemeanor or a felony,)
can it void the insurance? maybe….
NYC has an 180 day requirement to pay NY City taxes. I know someone who counts his days in NYC to decide whether he has to pay city taxes here. He pays state taxes and registers his car outside NY City.
So its probably perfect legal to register a car in some other place within NY as opposed to another state.
I had a car parked upstate, all the time. Paid upstate rates. But it never saw Brooklyn after the day it was bought. Register it where you actually keep it; it’s that simple. Or as a great Brooklyn filmmaker once said:
Do the right thing.
“- then I need to insure upstate since I park the car up there more than half the time (every weekend and all winter).”
ringo, it’s simple. Just ASK your insurance company.
BOD, I also have a second home upstate so in fact I could get away with it. Not worth the risk to my assets. All it takes is one slip-up, run over a kid or something, and you could lose it all.
But here’s what State Farm told me about a second car. Cuz one of these days I’m gonna buy me a lil’ convertible just for the house upstate in the summer. SF told me that if I register the car upstate and drive it primarily upstate they would have no problem insuring it with the upstate address and rates.
It’s illegal, and not worth the potential grief. Your insurance company will walk away, and someone could take your weekend home away from you if a lawsuit results from an accident.
I’ve got a house in RI but keep my car registered in NY because it’s a primary residence.
i didnt read thru any of this but im sure there’s a lot of haters. i feel like 1/2 the cars in park slope are out of state license plates. whatever. do note tho, that with certain state plates you are gonna be prone to window smashing and theft. there are certain states you dont want to advertise.
i dont CT is such a bad one tho.
*rob*
Ty: I drive a beat-up, old, very-used car too, because that’s what I can afford. But, gee…wouldn’t that make me a good candidate for rationalizing out-of-state registration at one of my friend’s addresses? On the flip side, I was born in Brooklyn, I live here now, I use city services and part of THAT deal is embracing at least a minimum of civic obligations (personally, I urge embracing more than a minimum). With that, I’m off this thread and back to making enough to cover gas.
I thought that insurance came into play with regards to registration because some states don’t require insurance.
So not only is registration cheaper in South Carolina, but they also don’t require car insurance, unlike NYS.
So if you got into an accident w/ a Brooklyn resident whose car is registered in one of these states, you’d have no recourse other than suing them personally for any damages – and they may or may not have enough money to recompense – rather than an insurance company which would have the funds to pay out any claims in your favor.
I may be wrong.
And yes, way too many GA, FL, Carolinas and PA plates in Brooklyn to pass the smell test.
Is there anyway to catch these people other than waiting for them to screw up and getting towed – which may or may not reveal their true residency?
Vinca — my insurance wouldn’t cover the tree-squished car scenario either. But that’s because I don’t carry that sort of insurance (i.e., the deductible is about the same as the value of my car).
I hope that SUV owner was just visiting… cuz, yep, their insurance company will do everything to avoid paying. And keep in mind, that’s NOT a bad thing. They shouldn’t pay folks who entered into a contract fraudulently.
And to take the tree-squished car example further — Sue the City… it’s their tree? Well, the city will be able to argue that your car in on NY State road illegally and shouldn’t have been on the street in the first place. Homeowner’s insurance? They can argue the same thing… will it get them out of paying a claim? (if either of those claims are even allowed) Dunno, but it will sure as hell slow down the gears!