8+ years writing for major outlets, including MarketWatch and Business Insider
Master’s in Education
Taylor Mlam-Samuel is a personal finance writer and credentialed educator. When she’s not helping readers better save and spend money, she can be found teaching.
Background working with banks and insurance companies
Sarah enjoys helping people find smarter ways to spend their money. She covers auto financing, banking, credit cards, credit health, insurance, and personal loans.
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In general, insurance companies require drivers to give an address when applying for car insurance. Your location helps determine car insurance rates and minimum coverage amounts since some states require more coverage than others. Where you plan to drive your car also affects risk factors that apply to your rate, like traffic, weather, and vehicle theft.[1]
You must provide an address that’s the same as your primary residence. To protect against fraud, car insurance companies can ask for address verification, including a recent pay stub, driver’s license, W-2 form, or utility bill, to confirm the ZIP code.
Quick Facts
The address you provide must be the same address on your bills and tax return.
Your address helps insurance companies determine rates.
When drivers use a friend’s address or a mailing address from a P.O. box as the garaging address for their car, insurers consider this fraud.
Why an address is important for car insurance
Auto insurance companies use your ZIP code to determine rates, except in states like California and Michigan that ban the practice. Your location affects different aspects of your insurance policy, including state laws about how much coverage you need and how likely you are to file a claim. That’s partly because auto insurance rates can vary widely within the same state.[2]
For example, imagine you live in a city with high crime rates and difficult street parking. You might pay more for insurance coverage than someone who lives a few hours away on a safe residential street with private garage parking.
The table below shows rates for different cities in Florida to illustrate how widely costs can vary by location.
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
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How to get car insurance without a permanent address
Sometimes, your situation determines whether you can get car insurance without a permanent residence. Regardless of the circumstances, updating your insurer throughout the process is essential, especially if you’re:
Moving to a new home: If you’re in the middle of a move, give your insurance company your new address as soon as you have it. If you’re moving to a different state, you might have to get a new auto insurance policy or insurer. Moving might increase or decrease your premium. Check with your agent or car insurance company for details.
Living with friends or family: If you live with a family member or friend, you can typically use their address for car insurance. Confirm that it’s okay with the person you live with before applying.
A college student away from home: If you have a child in college, you must provide the college’s ZIP code. But you can still use your home address as the garaging address for your car.
Car insurance when living in a hotel
When applying for car insurance, you must provide an address that matches your pay stubs, utility bills, and tax returns. Because of that, you can’t get car insurance while living in a hotel. Suppose you’re living in a hotel temporarily while waiting to move into a new home or apartment within the next 30 days. In that case, you might be able to use your new address when you apply. If you can’t, you can use the new address once you sign the lease.
Car insurance when living in an Airbnb
If you live in an Airbnb, you can’t use it as your permanent address since you’ll have to provide an address that’s the same one you use for utility bills, tax returns, and government-issued licenses.
If you’re waiting to move into a new home or apartment, check with the landlord about when you can sign the lease. For example, let’s say you want to move in within 60 days, and the leasing company only requires you to sign the lease 30 days before moving in. Ask if you can sign earlier and use the address for insurance applications before moving in.
Cheapest recent rates
Drivers have found policies from GEICO, Certainly, Direct Auto, and more, for rates as low as $37/mo. through Insurify
*Quotes generated for Insurify users within the last 10 days. Last updated on November 20, 2024
Rates shown are real-time Insurify user quotes from 100+ insurance companies and Quadrant Information Services data. Insurify’s algorithm excludes anomalous quotes and anonymizes personal details, then displays refined quotes by price, date, and insurer popularity up to 10 days ago from November 20, 2024. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer’s unique driver profile.
*Quotes generated for Insurify users within the last 10 days. Last updated on November 20, 2024
Rates shown are real-time Insurify user quotes from 100+ insurance companies and Quadrant Information Services data. Insurify’s algorithm excludes anomalous quotes and anonymizes personal details, then displays refined quotes by price, date, and insurer popularity up to 10 days ago from November 20, 2024. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer’s unique driver profile.
How to register a vehicle without a permanent address
Registering your car without a permanent address can take time and effort. Here are some steps to consider if you’re in that situation.
Live with friends or family. You may be able to find someone to live with while you search for a new home or apartment. Ask friends or family if you can live with them. Once you’re living with them, you have a physical address where you reside. You can likely use the address for government documents, paychecks, and car registration.
Call 211. Most states have a 211 information and referral hotline that operates 24 hours a day. The hotline can connect you with relevant free resources, including ways to find housing.
Use local resources. Many states offer community resources for people who need help with housing, food, or health. Check with your local Community Action Council.
Car insurance without permanent address FAQs
Here’s some additional information about why car insurance companies require permanent addresses and what to do if you don’t have one.
Why does a car insurance company need my address?
Car insurance companies require addresses because location is a risk factor when determining rates. Your ZIP code affects how likely you are to file a claim, get in an accident, or experience car theft.
Can you get a car insurance quote without providing an address?
Some insurers offer the option of getting an anonymous car insurance quote without providing an address. But even if you can get a quote, it won’t be as accurate as a customized quote with your exact address. Consider using a car insurance calculator or looking at the average quotes for your location.
Can you insure someone with a different address?
When applying for car insurance, you must provide the garaging address where you park your car. If your insurance company suspects that you used a different address, your insurer might ask you to provide proof of your address with a recent pay stub or utility bill.
How do you register and insure your car in a new state if you don’t have your new address yet?
Drivers typically have 30 to 90 days to switch insurance and registration when moving states, which might give you extra time to find a place to live. You can also provide your new address once you sign a lease or close on a home, even if you haven’t moved in yet. Check with your insurance company about car insurance policy options.
Can you get car insurance if you live out of your vehicle?
Car insurance companies use location to determine risk. If you don’t have a permanent address because you’re living out of your vehicle, the insurance company’s risk assessment might not be accurate.
This can be a frustrating cycle if you’re looking for housing, since you can’t register your car without insurance. You may be able to use the address of a friend or relative to obtain insurance. But if your insurer finds out you don’t actually live at the address, they can cancel your coverage.
It may be a good idea to discuss your situation with a licensed insurance agent.
Methodology
Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 90 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 50+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.
Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).
Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:
Bodily injury limits between state-minimum rates and $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
Property damage limits between $10,000 and $50,000
No additional coverage
Full-coverage premium averages correspond to the same bodily injury and property damage limits in addition to:
Comprehensive coverage with a $1,000 deductible
Collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible
Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.
Taylor Milam-Samuel is a writer and credentialed educator who is fascinated by how people earn, save, and spend their money. When she's not researching financial terms and conditions, she can be found in the classroom teaching.
Background working with banks and insurance companies
Sarah enjoys helping people find smarter ways to spend their money. She covers auto financing, banking, credit cards, credit health, insurance, and personal loans.
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