moving and car registration/insurance (relocating, job, cheap, address)

[saresum]

Hi everyone, hoping that someone who moves a lot can help me figure this out.

I'm planning to move for a year for a job from Indiana to RI. After the year, it's possible but not all that likely that I'll stay in RI. If I switch my car over, I'll be looking at re-registering it, switching my drivers license, possibly having to take another driver's test (?), getting it inspected, switching the title etc, and then switching everything back again when I move out. It seems like a huge amount of hassle and a lot of money for a temporary move.

I know that not switching over the registration could get me a ticket, but I'm not sure how likely it is, so that's the first part of the question. (for what it's worth, I've been driving for almost 10 years and I've never been pulled over or ticketed, so it's not like I'm a crazy driver likely to be stopped).

The second part are the insurance implications of doing this-- the title for the car is actually in my mom's name. If I kept the title in her name and had her take an insurance policy out on the car and add me as an additional driver but then lived for the year in another state, would that be grounds to deny any claim I made to the insurance if they found out? (If relevant, I'm 24, not a student).

[PacificFlights]

The rules are state specific and its always best to contact that state motor vehicles for the requirments and any exemptions. Example, if you move to another state and take up residenc ehter, they may require that you transfer registartion tot hats atte within X day. But if your onlt a transient worker, (your legal address is still in the other state, you vote int he other state, you pay taxes in the other state) that may be an exemption. But in some states, if your working full time and have a apartment or house you rent or own int hat state, your not exempt. Its confusing at best, so call their motor vehcile office and speak with them.

Insurance is another matter and a lot depends on the policy, company your with, and state insurance regulations, so call your insurance company.

[twingles]

If you get pulled over, it's unlikely a cop would ask you "Oh, I see you have an Indiana license - do you there or do you live here in RI?" More than likely he would assume you are just visiting.

Insurance is another matter....a lot of people do things like register their cars in a state where rates are cheap but they actually live in - say - Brooklyn. Used to see it all the time when I handled car insurance claims in NY. I'm not sure what the rate differential would be between Indiana and RI - my guess would be not that much. If you get in an accident in RI with your Indiana insurance, you could potentially have a problem. But if I were you, here's how I would handle it...claim rep calls you up and says "where is your license from" - you say "Indiana" - they ask why you are in RI - you say "I'm on a short term work assignment here and I'm planning on relocating back to Indiana when the assignment is up. I'm not exactly sure how long the assignment will last but it should be less than a year total". A claim rep would not have an issue with that. It's the intent to misrepresent and defraud that gets you into trouble.

HTH.