I have filed for divorce and am in the process of removing my wife from my insurance. It is the only joint item we ever had. I added her to my policy a few years after we married.
I called them and they asked if it was due to separation or divorce. I said divorce, then they told me they cannot drop her until the divorce is finalize which can be months! She stopped paying me her and her son’s portion of the insurance as they have 2 out of 3 of the cars.
Does this sound right? What can I do? I could have just lied and said I wasn’t getting divorced. Now they have notated my account and told me changes cannot be made. Now I’m stuck laying her insurance for her and her son.
EDIT: To clarify this is just my auto policy. She is not on my homeowners insurance.
State Farm will not let me drop my soon to be EX-wife
byu/Live_Demo inInsurance
Posted by Live_Demo
16 Comments
Get a new policy with a new company and cancel your state farm policy.
Does she still live with you or is your name on the title of any of the cars she has?
This is a common practice I think. I believe they need it to be finalized. But can’t you just end your insurance and restart just with you?
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If your wife still lives in the household, she can’t be removed. If you go to another carrier, they’re going to run a household makeup and force add her anyway. You’ll need to wait until you’re divorced and she’s out of the house.
If she lives with you and you’re married, you have to be on the same policy.
Ask if there’s any options to unlist her as a rated driver but keep her as a named insured or exclude her. Insurers have to put the legal owners of an asset as a named insured. Marriage legally shares assets between you. That’s why. She should be a named insured on the home policy too
What you can do is remove coverage for their cars, if you want though
Keep paying it. Ask the judge for it back in the separation. Tell your lawyer.
Don’t waste your time fighting with them when you’re already fighting a more important battle.
If you’re divorcing, she should first get her own policy for herself and her son. If two of the three cars are registered to her, once the divorce is final you will no longer have insurable interest (ownership) of those cars. State Farm, and any reputable company, wants to make sure that in a divorce situation 1 – no one has a lapse in coverage and 2 – one soon-to-be-ex doesn’t remove the other out of spite. Not to say you’d do this, OP, but somebody would. Once she’s separated herself, her son and their cars’ coverage from yours, contact State Farm again. They may ask for proof of the other coverage and/ or for her to sign a Waiver of Interest form.
OR you could get a separate policy just for you and your car. Then she could remove you and the car, probably with the same conditions. Wishing you luck, this is never easy.
That is actually very true! And same goes with health insurance. It’s illegal to due so until divorce is finalized.
As long as both parties agree and it’s an Uncontested Divorce. The process should be fairly quick.
Change companies. There are some out there that LOVE getting in ppls business like this and they’d be happy to separate your policy and charge both of you almost double what you previously paid.
Ask her to get her and her son plus their two cars on a new policy. Then send a copy of that new Declarations Page to State Farm and they will fulfill your request
There are multiple legal issues at play.
Marriage laws in many states mean you share liability as long as the marriage still exists. Some states prohibit excluding a spouse even if they’re no longer in the household – until the divorce takes effect, you’re a marital community.
If you read the definitions in your homeowners policy, there’s a reasonable chance she’s covered as a household member even if she’s not listed, but many companies would require you to list her or refuse to renew your policy, even if the house is a premarital asset titled only to you. Again because of the marital community and shared liability.
If you’re in a state that allows an insurance company to exclude a spouse from a policy, some carriers will do it, others won’t, since it does still add risk. She would still need to insure any cars she owns and drives – if she doesn’t, you’re still sharing liability as a married couple. You would insure your car(s) for yourself, listing her as an excluded driver, usually meaning no coverage if she ever drives your car. She would insure hers listing you as excluded. You’ll both probably pay more doing it that way.
It has nothing to do with your insurance company. It’s a state statute that a husband can’t remove his wife until it’s finalized. It’s to protect both of you as it works the other way too.
She needs to be involved and give written consent to remove her pre divorce. This is a state statute so you can’t trick your spouse into driving uninsured. To put it in layman’s terms.
Should have done it before you filed.
Your rates will go up when you’re single. Just FYI
Nah she’s still legally your wife and therefore an insured person