Using Your Parents’ Address for Auto Insurance (2023)

If you’re moving out of your parent’s house, you may want to know if you can continue using their address for insurance. Insurance costs are higher in some ZIP codes, so some drivers may attempt to lie about their addresses to get cheaper rates. 

In most situations, you’ll need to purchase your own policy and update the insurance address to reflect your new address or risk getting dropped for insurance fraud for lying about where you live to your auto insurance company.

The exception is college students whose primary address is still their parent’s. Insurance providers allow these students to stay on their parent’s insurance policy and continue using their addresses. You can also use your parents’ address as long as you live with them. 

Continue reading to learn more about when your car insurance address needs to be updated when you move out of your parent’s house and when it can stay the same. 

When You Can Use a Parent’s Address for Car Insurance

Unlike health insurance, you don’t age out of car insurance, so you can stay on your parent’s insurance or use their address for insurance as long as you still live with them. If your parent’s address is your primary home address, you can keep using their address.

Here’s what you can expect to pay for car insurance if you stay covered under your parent’s policy.

As you can see, in most cases, staying on your parent's car insurance can help keep your car insurance rates low.

What are other exceptions when I can use a parent’s address? 

As stated, you can use a parent’s address if you still live with them. However, should college students use their home address or college address for auto insurance? Most insurance companies allow college students to stay on their parent’s insurance or continue using their address.

For example, if you move to college, but your primary home address is still your parents' address, you can stay on your parent's insurance or use their address for your insurance policy. Insurance companies may also offer a discount for college students, typically called a distant student auto insurance discount, and an auto insurance discount for students with good grades. 

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When do you need to update your auto insurance address? 

If you’re moving out of your parent’s house and it will no longer be your primary address, you’ll need to update your home address. Insurance requires a driver's home address to calculate rates, as companies look at local risks like the rate of crashes in the area, extreme weather, and more.

So if you’ve got your own place and are moving out, you’ll need to update the address on your insurance policy. You’ll also need to purchase your own insurance policy with your new address if you’re still on your parent’s policy as a driver.

What happens if I don’t update the address? 

Unless you’re a college student, purposefully lying about your primary address when you move out of your parent’s home can lead to multiple issues. Some of the things that may happen include:

• You can get dropped by your insurance company. If your insurance company finds out you lied about your address to get cheaper rates, it may drop you as a customer.
• You could get charged for backdated rates if there was an increase. If you’ve been living at your new address for quite some time, insurance may bill you for the amount you should have been paying.
• Denied claims. Insurance companies may deny claims if you don’t change your address to your current primary address. 
• Insurance fraud charges. In worst-case scenarios, insurance companies may file insurance fraud charges against you. 

Insurance companies won’t penalize you if you don’t immediately notify them about your new address change during the week of your move. However, if you moved out a year ago and still use your parents’ address, you could get dropped from insurance or denied claims, especially if your parents’ area has cheaper insurance rates.

Updating Address for Car Insurance 

If you’re permanently moving out of your parent’s house, you’ll need to update your address for insurance since your car insurance address can’t be different from your home address. Luckily, it’s fairly easy to notify your insurance company of the change of address. 

You can generally change your address through the following methods:

• Call your insurance company and speak to a representative. 
• Change your information through your online insurance account. 
• Change your information through the insurance company's app. 

Remember that you may see a rate change after updating your address information. 

If you’re moving to a new state and changing your auto insurance, you may also need to find a new insurance company if it doesn’t provide coverage in your state, or you may need to update your insurance coverages to match your new state requirements.

Ensure you read auto insurance company reviews and check rates to pick a good company.

Updating Address for Vehicle Registration 

You’ll also need updated car registration if you purchase your own auto insurance policy after moving out of your parent’s home. Your car registration should match your driver’s license address, which is your primary address.

Most states give drivers 10 to 15 days to update their addresses on registrations and licenses. You should update your vehicle registration and license whenever your home address changes.

Of course, if you’re still living with your parents or are just moving out temporarily to go to college, you won't need to update your license and registration.

Can I register my car at my parent's address?

You need to use your primary address for registration, which can be your parents’ address if you still live with them. A primary address is where you live most of the time, and you can only have one primary address. 

You don’t want to use a secondary address for car insurance or registration, which would be a home you use on weekends or your college dorm.

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The Final Word on Using Your Parents’ Address for Insurance 

Using your parents’ address for insurance is perfectly acceptable if you’re a college student or still live at home. However, if you’re permanently moving out, you’ll need to update your address on your insurance, driver’s license, and registration.

If you need to find new car insurance with better rates for your new address, the best way to lower your costs is to shop around at different auto insurance companies. You can use our free quote comparison tool to find the cheapest auto insurance in your area.

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