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Can I insure my sister’s car to get her lower rates?
If you try to insure someone else's car in your own name to get lower rates, it is called "fronting." Fronting is illegal as it's a form of fraud.Skip to article
Written by:
Shivani Gite
Contributing Writer
Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions. When not writing, you can find her reading a book or watching anime.
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.
If you are considering insuring your sister’s car (as if it was your own) while she continues to be the vehicle’s primary driver, this is a very bad idea.
Insuring someone else’s car in your own name to obtain lower rates is termed “fronting” and is illegal — it’s a form of fraud.
An insurance company has the right to know who owns the car, the car’s primary driver, and the car’s garage location. Insurers use this information and other factors to determine if they should take you on as a risk and issue a policy. They also use these as rating factors to calculate your premium amount.
If you are untruthful with your insurer about any information because the valid information would cause your car insurance company to refuse you a policy or charge you a higher rate. In that case, this can be considered material misrepresentation, a form of insurance fraud.
By misrepresenting the facts, you may be able to get lower car insurance rates for your sister’s car, but the coverages probably won’t be there if there is a car accident. Most car insurance policies include a general provision that excludes coverage for fraud or misrepresentation.
State laws differ regarding what happens if you are found to have misrepresented facts. Canceling your policy (possibly back to the effective date) is one outcome and denial of claims is another. Depending upon state laws you could also face charges of insurance fraud.
While it may save some money to insure your sister’s car, it is unwise to do because the ramifications are severe.
Do I have to list my sister as a driver on my policy?
If your sister is driving any car in your household regularly, then yes, she would normally need to be listed as a driver on your policy to be properly covered. If she has a bad driving record, then this could make your rates rise.
Your sister needs to get her own car insurance policy. Even with a bad driving record, or other issues, your sister should be able to shop around for car insurance and find a policy for her needs. She can start here with a free auto insurance quote online with CarInsurance.com.
— Michelle Megna contributed to this story.
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Laura Longero
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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 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 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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Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions. When not writing, you can find her reading a book or watching anime.