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Can you insure a car that someone else financed?
It can be difficult to get insurance if someone else finances a car for you. Here's what you need to know about car insurance.
Our Carinsurance.com team is made up of regular people with insurance policy needs, just like you. We just happen to know a little more about insurance than the average bear.
Laura is an award-winning editor with experience in content and communications covering auto insurance and personal finance. She has written for several media outlets, including the USA Today Network. She most recently worked in the public sector for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
It can be difficult to get insurance if someone else finances a car for you for several reasons. One is that you do not have an insurable interest. Since the other party has the car in their name (and thus is the registered owner), you do not have an insurable interest in the vehicle.
But, there are insurance companies that will allow you to get insurance though you do not have an insurable interest in the car if you have care, custody and control of the vehicle.
Another issue is that the finance company will require the person who financed the vehicle to be the one who holds the insurance policy on the car. The financing company (lien holder) has a say over the insurance requirements since the car is its asset.
If you are the named insured but not named on the loan, the lien holder may require the buyer to be listed on the insurance policy as a named insured.
One way to get car insurance is to have the buyer get car insurance and list you as the principal operator. If their insurance provider knows that you’re the primary driver for the car, it’ll want to make sure you’re listed on the policy.
Laura is an award-winning editor with experience in content and communications covering auto insurance and personal finance. She has written for several media outlets, including the USA Today Network. She most recently worked in the public sector for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
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John McCormick
Editorial Director
John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology.
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Managing Editor
Leslie Kasperowicz is an insurance educator and content creation professional with nearly two decades of experience first directly in the insurance industry at Farmers Insurance and then as a writer, researcher, and educator for insurance shoppers writing for sites like ExpertInsuranceReviews.com and InsuranceHotline.com and managing content, now at CarInsurance.com.
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Nupur Gambhir
Managing Editor
Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.
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Our Carinsurance.com team is made up of regular people with insurance policy needs, just like you. We just happen to know a little more about insurance than the average bear.