How To Handle Car Insurance During A Divorce
If you are currently going through a divorce, there are a few things you need to deal with. One of them is your car insurance. Here are some tips for handling your car insurance during a divorce when both spouses are on the same policy.
Move to a New Home
One thing you might not be aware of is that even with separate policies, you might both share liability of one's vehicle if you live at the same address. In order to separate liability when driving is concerned, one of you should move to a new address. Make sure when you separate the insurance policies, the new address is entered on your policy. If you still have the old address listed, this might cause problems when you go to file a claim.
You Can't Remove Someone Without Their Permission
One thing you should know about car insurance and divorce is you can't just remove your spouse without their permission. This is a mutual car insurance policy and all decisions must be agreed upon. If you and your spouse are on the car insurance policy for two cars, the first thing you should decide is who will keep which car. Once you decide that, you can proceed with having someone removed from your current policy. The other spouse will need to get a new policy for the vehicle they intend to keep.
Separate the Titles
The next thing you need to do is separate the vehicle titles. You will need to go to your local Department of Motor Vehicles to request to have the title information changed. Not only is this a good idea if you ever decide to sell the vehicle, but insurance companies require the person getting car insurance to be on the title. If your spouse is still on your vehicle's title, they might require them to be an additional insured. You don't want this, so make sure to have that new title.
Get the New Policy Before Canceling Your Coverage
If you are the spouse that will be removed from the joint policy in order to get a new policy, get the new one from a company like Fishel H N & Associates Inc Insurance first. You don't want to be without car insurance for any length of time. You can either get it with the same insurance company or a new company, but make sure that policy is valid and in full effect before cancel the old policy. If you don't have a new policy when you are removed from the old one, refrain from driving your vehicle until you are fully covered by insurance.