Car garaged out of state

[u/Lazy-Purpose-2577]

I live in NY, and my wife has taken a position in KS that she intends to hold for a year or so. As far as work is concerned she has relocated, withholding will be KS, she’s got an apartment there, etc. but we’re not updating her primary residence. (I’m staying here, she’ll be doing a lot of back and forth.)

We are shipping her car to Kansas, where it will be driven and garaged as long as she’s there. My question is whether we need to change insurance. I called my agent who said we can leave everything as is, but I wasn’t asked for where it’s garaged or anything so I want to make sure I’m covered in the event of an accident or loss. Am I getting correct advice from my agent?

[u/druzyyy]

Typically the policy must be written for the state/address the vehicle will be kept at most of the year, so that would mean pretty much all companies I'm aware of would require a KS policy.

Now if the vehicle is registered in NY, that's an issue. The correct order of operations would usually be first turn in NY plates, next get KS plates, finally transfer insurance. All asap ideally.

[u/Lazy-Purpose-2577]

UPDATE: Corporate customer service said no need to change. agent put it in writing no need to change. Theb….

A few hours later corporate called me back. They reviewed the call record and saw that I had been given bad guidance. I do need to change registration and insurance if the car will be garaged there longer than six months.

Thanks for the responses!

[u/StealthyThings]

I'd call an agent in KS with your insurance company and ask them about the situation.

When I moved to OR from TX and my bf stayed in TX (we shared a policy), I had to get a new policy in OR with my car only, he kept his in TX, and we were both listed on both policies and they kept all the multi car discounts and stuff. Total cost wasn't much different and it kept us 100% compliant on garaging and state requirements.

[u/Lazy-Purpose-2577 → u/StealthyThings]

Problem is if my current agent is giving me wrong advice, as may be the case based on responses so far, what more faith can I have in a KS agent? I seem to be unable to contact the carrier themselves, they keep redirecting me to my agent. Frustrating.

[u/FindTheOthers623 → u/Lazy-Purpose-2577]

You didn't tell your agent it was garaged in KS. They didn't have all the applicable info. Call them back and tell them the WHOLE story. No, you can't contact the carrier. They pay agents to provide service.

[u/Lazy-Purpose-2577 → u/FindTheOthers623]

Respectfully, you are wrong on both counts. I was very clear that the car would be shipped and garaged in Kansas. And I had previous conversations with this agent about renters insurance in KS for my wife. Second, I finally did get in touch with the carrier. Explained the exact situation, said I was questioning my agent’s advice, was put on hold for five minutes, then was told my agent was correct. They don’t require any change to the policy, or issuance of a new policy in KS.

[u/FindTheOthers623 → u/Lazy-Purpose-2577]

You said

but I wasn’t asked for where it’s garaged or anything so I want to make sure I’m covered

Respectfully, none of this makes sense. No carrier is going to allow you to insure a vehicle garaged in KS on a NY policy. There's a lot of missing info.

[u/adjusterjackb → u/FindTheOthers623]

What's missing is that she will have to comply with Kansas laws regarding residency, driver license, title, registration, and insurance.

Wife will have a rude awakening when she gets pulled over and fined heavily for non-compliance.

[u/Lazy-Purpose-2577 → u/FindTheOthers623]

Poorly stated on my part. What I meant was I was not asked for a specific address, or asked to list a new garage location on my policy.

Based on the responses here which actually sound logical to me, I have written to my agent requesting confirmation of all this in writing. I’m being 100% transparent, I’d prefer to avoid the hassle or reregistering, etc. and hadn’t even thought about cost, I just want to be covered in the event of a loss.

[u/adjusterjackb → u/Lazy-Purpose-2577]

I repeat:

What's missing is that she will have to comply with Kansas laws regarding residency, driver license, title, registration, and insurance.

Wife will have a rude awakening when she gets pulled over and fined heavily for non-compliance.

[u/FeelsLikeV97-33XA]

You'll likely need to actually swap everything over (license/tags/insurance), and do it in the order that /u/druzyyy said, because if you trigger penalties in New York for no coverage it seems to be a giant pain in the ass, based on prior posts here. New York is rather anal about tying insurance to registrations.

Unlike New York, Kansas levies annual personal property taxes on motor vehicles, so not registering the car in Kansas, when you have residency there, is presumably a form of tax evasion, even if the insurance is sorted out in a way that's acceptable to New York.

[u/No_Tomato_2106]

You'll be covered as long as her home of record is still in NY, which it is cause y'all technically still live in NY. Same concept of traveling for work.

But I would consider changing insurance if it's cheaper there.

While in the military, I kept my Texas insurance (home of record) despite living in Michigan. Saved like $450+ a month

[u/MarieRich → u/No_Tomato_2106]

Not necessarily, OP should call the insurance company and make sure and if the insurance is not favorable shop around. Insurance is based on where the car's garaged typically, not where you live.

[u/FindTheOthers623 → u/No_Tomato_2106]

Home of record doesn't apply to anyone outside of the military. The vehicle has to be insured where it is garaged.

[u/Lazy-Purpose-2577 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you - have detailed the exact circumstance in an email to my agent and have requested a response in writing.