I am planning to buy car insurance in PA but I would like to know if I need to get drivers license first to purchase insurance? What auto insurance companies in Pennsylvania are the easiest to work with and have the best rates?

Lee

Philadelphia, PA

No, you do not need to get drivers license to get Pennsylvania automobile insurance.

Although you can buy automobile insurance without your drivers license, if you just moved in PA you will need to get drivers license to register and title your vehicle.

The minimum liability limits required in the state of Pennsylvania are:

• $15,000 for injury or death of one person in an accident
• $30,000 for injury or death of more than one person in an accident
• $5,000 for damage to property of another person

This insurance is usually referred to as 15/30/5 and it is better to get higher limits to better protect yourself and your assets.

If you are leasing your car, your lien holder may require you to get physical damage liability of collision and comprehensive coverage.

I recently moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania and I have a Delaware license. I am planning to buy a vehicle. Do I have to switch to a PA license before I can obtain vehicle insurance in Scranton?

Jake

Scranton, PA

You should be able to insure a vehicle in Scranton, PA with your DE driver’s license but it would be advisable to change over your Delaware license to a Pennsylvania license before purchasing, registering and insuring a vehicle just to make the whole process easier. You will need to go to the PA Bureau of Motor Vehicles to get a Pennsylvania driver’s license and register and title a car in this state.

The PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT) states that all new residents with out-of-state non-commercial driver’s licenses must get a Pennsylvania Driver’s License within sixty days of establishing PA residency.

If you do buy and insure a vehicle in Scranton Pennsylvania before you exchange your DE driver’s license for a PA license then once you do obtain your PA license, during the sixty day period you have after you becoming a resident of Scranton PA, you need to tell the insurance provider of your new license.

My brother lives in New York and wants to insure her vehicle under my insurance policy in Pennsylvania. Her vehicle is registered in New York. Is this possible?

Helen

Philadelphia, PA

No, normally this would not be possible for a few reasons.

One reason is that likely your insurance provider would not permit you to insure an out of state car that is not garaged at your home, not driven by a member of your household and not registered in PA. If you did not give your insurance provider the information that it was your brother’s car registered, driven and garaged in NY when adding the vehicle, nor have your brother listed as a driver on your insurance policy then this could be determined to be misrepresentation, a form of insurance fraud.

Another reason that you cannot insure your brother’s NYS registered car with PA car insurance is that New York laws require vehicles to be insured with NYS insurance.