How to Get Cheaper Auto Insurance Rates With a Garaging Address

Experienced drivers know that so many factors contribute to higher car insurance rates that it’s challenging to keep track of them all. The policyholder’s age, the type of car you drive, and the history of their driving record are all weighed before a company agrees to a premium. 

But did you know that where you live — or more specifically, where you park your car — can also affect your insurance costs? 

This leads us to some obvious questions: Can you use a different address for car insurance? What will happen if you decide to write down your car’s location incorrectly to your insurance company so you can save some money on your policy?

We will discuss these topics along with the legalities of parking your car in a specific spot to get a better deal on your insurance. 

Will you get in trouble for lying about your car’s location for your insurance? 

You should never lie about anything on your insurance application, as this increases your risk of fraud charges. This could mean you lose your policy or more serious consequences. Fines and prison sentences can be brought down for more elaborate lies like false claims. 

You may be tempted to lie about your location when you take out auto insurance, as some ZIP codes are tremendously expensive to take out insurance. Cities that have higher crime rates or more of a certain model of vehicle are likely to see higher insurance costs than cities on the other end of those scales. 

So what can you possibly do to get around these costs legally? 

Think about parking your car in a different area than your home mailing address. Not everybody has the money to buy a house with a garage, and garages require maintenance, such as with their door openers, that parking on the street does not. 

Say you buy a sports car that you are not going to drive more than a couple of times a week. If you live in the inner city or another area with high crime rates, the car is a risk to the insurance company to insure. But what if your friend lives in a nearby town with low-risk insurance rates? 

With their permission, you could park your car in their garage or driveway and list their address on the insurance application when shopping for an affordable policy. You aren’t lying, and you get around the huge rates that come with living in your specific city. 

Other Alternatives to Save on Insurance

Not everybody can afford to rent a different garage, or they don’t have a friend who will lend their space to you for parking. This means that if you live in an area with expensive auto insurance, you might need to get even more creative to afford the rates or get transportation from one point to another.

If you only need a vehicle for a special circumstance, you can think about renting a car instead of buying it. Asking others for a ride or taking public transit will also come in handy.

The important thing to remember is that no matter how tempting it may feel, you should always consider every other option instead of lying on your insurance application to save money. If your car gets damaged and your insurance refuses to cover it due to fraud, you will have to pay much more.

Shawn Laib writes and researches for the car insurance comparison site, CarInsuranceCompanies.net. He is passionate about teaching the public about the forgotten details of the insurance industry.