[CharlieB]

I'm posting this for my daughter who is in the process of moving from NY to FL.

I know she has to get a Florida driver's licence and transfer the registration and insurance to Florida. She has a NY license now (she's 27 YO).

Her car is also registered and insured (Geico) in NY. She owns the car and has had the clean title for years.

My question is what ORDER does she do this? Get license first? THEN transfer insurance THEN transfer registration. And what is the timeframe allowed between each transaction?

I went to the website and see what she needs to accomplish each task, but can't figure out what needs to be done first. Know what I mean?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. She's busy getting packed and I told her I'd research this for her.

CharlieB

[Lilybeans]

She should change her license, and then go to the tag office to change her registration. She should have some insurance lined up too-just call GEICO and tell them what you are going to do. I don't really think the order in which things are done makes any difference.

[Denise in Fla]

When I moved here got our license first, then new tags for the car. Called and informed insurance company of our move. Depending on where you live in FL you might want to see if you have to make an appt for license as some of the places only go by appt, otherwise you pick a number and can be there forever.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

She should change her license, and then go to the tag office to change her registration. She should have some insurance lined up too-just call GEICO and tell them what you are going to do. I don't really think the order in which things are done makes any difference.

She will want to change her license and also register to vote to make sure that she is changing her residency if possible ASAP since there's no Income Tax here. Of course if you work out of another state that may be different...but I don't.

You have to have the Florida insurance before they'll give you the tag. You then have to give the tax office (registration people) the information on the insurance AND the lienholder information if there is financing. THEN they take a month to do some kind of title search or something before you get the registration.

That's what they told me here in Indian River county and they gave me a paper of what to do but I still haven't bothered lol.

So it's license, insurance then car registration.

OP tell your daughter that it's about 250.00 for the tag and my car insurance went up 20% even though I increased my deductable to 2000.00. Car inspection is voluntary so you save a hundred or so per year depending on NY. I get mine done by Scion under warranty.

So make sure her insurance is current and not expiring soon if possible but to look around if she wants once she gets here for renewal might be cheaper with another company.

Also she should get homeowners/renters within a SHORT period of time from signing the lease or settlement. I waited two months because I wasn't living here and there was a stupid surcharge for "lapsing" even though nobody was living in the rental house to insure any possessions on to begin with. There is a big variance in prices and I used Universal for my renters. A different broker than my auto. the auto broker tried to sell me the state insurance for 850.00 renters ha ha ha yeah right, I ended up paying 300.00 which is double what I paid in PA but I expected it.

[TANaples]

I did everything all at once at the County Clerk's office, even registering to vote.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by TANaples

I did everything all at once at the County Clerk's office, even registering to vote.

Yeah, I didn't have my loan information so I had to go home for it then I never bothered to go back.

Here in Indian River Vero Beach though the license is on one place and the tag is at the tax collectors. Maybe it's different everywhere.

[TriMT7]

A bit off topic, BUT....definitely inform your insurance company of your change in residency ASAP, regardless if you're moving into the state, or are a Florida resident changing zip codes.

I'm one of those bad attorney guys the ambulance chasers talk about who "work for the insurance companies," and I have seen my share in my short career thus far of claims denied and policies voided because of a residency problem. Florida statute allows insurance companies to deny a claim if you are receiving a lower premium because you misrepresented your address or basically any other fact on your insurance application, so if you "forget" to update your address after moving, you may find yourself in a real bad situation really fast.

For example, say you live Port St. Lucie and have a son or daughter leave home and rent an apartment indowntown West Palm Beach. To save on the significant rate increase your kid is going to get, you both decide to leave the "address" for the policy as the PSL home. If your kid then gets in an accident downtown and has to make a claim, the insurance company will investigate and may void the policy back to its inception, refunding the policy premium in its entirety, but in the process, refusing to pay your claim or defend you in court.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

A bit off topic, BUT....definitely inform your insurance company of your change in residency ASAP, regardless if you're moving into the state, or are a Florida resident changing zip codes.

I'm one of those bad attorney guys the ambulance chasers talk about who "work for the insurance companies," and I have seen my share in my short career thus far of claims denied and policies voided because of a residency problem. Florida statute allows insurance companies to deny a claim if you are receiving a lower premium because you misrepresented your address or basically any other fact on your insurance application, so if you "forget" to update your address after moving, you may find yourself in a real bad situation really fast.

For example, say you live Port St. Lucie and have a son or daughter leave home and rent an apartment indowntown West Palm Beach. To save on the significant rate increase your kid is going to get, you both decide to leave the "address" for the policy as the PSL home. If your kid then gets in an accident downtown and has to make a claim, the insurance company will investigate and may void the policy back to its inception, refunding the policy premium in its entirety, but in the process, refusing to pay your claim or defend you in court.

You're exactly right about making sure your policy is crystal clear about coverage in other states.

My kid attended college in FL and our residence was Pa. After several calls on my part to get an explanation of coverage, my stupid insurance company finally casually informed me that they would not cover anything incurred in Fl. They wanted him to become a Fl resident and get a seperate policy. Money grubbing. I answered that it would be illegal since the college CLOSES IT'S CAMPUS four times per year and all students MUST go HOME and that he wasn't even a legal adult so he could not declare residency anyway. They said then we are not the company for you.

NICE that the agent never told me a thing about that even though he knew the kid was out of state student. I promptly changed companies but how lucky that he did not have any claims during the first year that I was unaware of the rules.

I don't mind tort lawyers a bit. They are the only ones who pay ATTENTION to the law, case law, rulings and relief. It's just a shame most people don't hire them in advance but only after they screw things up LOL. And to your credit, nothing is worse than being adversaries with an insurance lawyer because you can be sure your tort attorney is going to have to work alot harder and better know how to state a claim properly. Not to mention they're more likely to sell you down the river and settle too ha ha.

[acegolfer]

I just moved from NYS to FL and I had GEICO insurance.

Unlike NYS, driver's license and plate aren't issued by the same DMV agency (at least in Broward county) in FL. I was confused at the beginning. I had to go to driver's license office for the license and county tax collector's office for registration. Many FLdians go to tag agencies which costs approx. $50 more but more convenient.

By law, car must be registered within 10 days and a new license within 30 days. Before registration, call GEICO and ask for FL coverage proof. They will issue one right away by fax or email. Bring the title and insurance proof to tag agency or DMV to register your vehicle. Once you get your new plate (or tag), you must return NYS plate to NY. Then you will receive F6L (not sure the number but it's pink slip) in the mail within 5 days. Without this, GEICO cannot change NYS policy. Call GEICO to officially change the policy and get a new insurance paper.

As for license, you can make an appointment online, which will save you time waiting at the office. You can even fill out online application. You will surrender your NYS license and receive a 30-day temporary license. The real license will be mailed within 2 weeks.

I am not sure whether there's a correct order between license and registration. But I got the temporary license before registering the vehicle.

[rusty78]

Try these sites... www.florida-relocation.com www.stateofflorida.com www.flgov.com they will all point you in the right direction...