So, you want to get cheap auto insurance? Well who doesn't? Especially in this economy, every penny can help and with the cost of insurance in some major metropolitan areas skyrocketing, you are wise to look into all your options. First, let me talk about what you should not do, then we'll discuss what you can do.
I personally have seen a great many vehicles parked regularly on the streets of New York City with Florida license plates. There is nothing inherently illegal about having plates from out of state. In fact, you can legally have plates from out of the country.
Canadian and Mexican drivers can legally drive into the United States in their own cars and there is nothing illegal about it. They can street park, they can do whatever they want and they are of course still subject to American traffic laws, including local laws in the area they are visiting.
So why do I bring this up? Because many of those people with Florida plates are in fact doing something illegal. They actually live in New York City but have some mailing address somewhere in Florida (sometimes a relative, sometimes a vacation home, sometimes just a mailbox) and they register their cars in Florida in order to pay lower insurance rates from Florida.
If you live and work in a particular area, you are legally required to register your car there. If these people were to get into an accident and it goes to court, they could be fined and possibly even jailed for the privilege of having Florida plates and slightly lower insurance (mind you, this is not just an issue of Florida plates -- it is an issue for anyone, but I mention those because they are so common on the streets of New York City).
Now, here is a novel and legal (if done correctly) way to get cheap auto insurance. If you work for a large company, they may have insurance for their fleet of vehicles. As with anything, it is cheaper to do things in bulk. If you insure 10 cars, you are going to get a lower rate than insuring one car.
Great, you say, I'll go register my car as belonging to the company. Not so fast. Like I said, this is legal only if done correctly. In order to register the car under your company's name it must legally be the property of your company. There are all kinds of legal pitfalls with trying to maneuver the situation where a car you privately own would be owned by the company.
I don't recommend simply "selling" your car to the company, because it will create more problems than it will solve.
However, there is a legal way to do this which will not raise eyebrows. You can arrange for your company to offer you a perk whereby they will lease a company car for you and you will have the cost of the lease (and the attendant cheap auto insurance) deducted from your paycheck.
You need to understand however this will be a company car and if you lose your job, you lose the car and any investment you have made. This is the big drawback, but it is a legal way to get that cheap auto insurance you want.
