Farm Insurance Agents

Here’s the situation. Before I start here, I will say I have never sold a car/transferred insurance in my life until now (I’m 37) and I’m panicking. (Please don’t laugh; I am somewhat mentally disabled and have a hard time understanding business side of things). Please bear with me:

I have a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu with 178,000 miles on it.

Last Friday, my husband’s brother decided to give his 2005 Hyundai Elantra (53,000 miles) to us as a free gift.

We decided to sell the Malibu to some friends of ours (with whom we have been friends for quite a few years).

My friends have already paid us and they have a Bill of Sale and next week we are getting a duplicate of the Chevy title in the mail (because we lost ours), at which time we will transfer.

Here is where the confusion begins: My mother-in-law (who is a retired State Farm insurance agent) drew up a Bill of Sale that indicated as its last sentence at the end, "Buyer will show proof of liability insurance at the time the car is received" (or something like that; I don’t have the Bill of Sale in front of me). We saw our friends today to get the Bill of Sale notarized (they already paid for the car; we’re just waiting for the title for the Malibu to arrive via mail, as mentioned above). Their insurance agent is about 90 miles away, I find out, and will need pictures of the car. Our friends insist that my mother-in-law is just "being a mom" since we’re new at such a transaction (our friends have owned and sold boats, cars, etc., so they are experienced at this, too), meaning that she’s being overcautious by saying they need to present proof of liability insurance at the exact time I give them the keys to the car. So, once I give them the title and the keys, are they responsible for when they get the car insurance?

My Hyundai is covered through my insurance agent (my mother-in-law called them and got coverage on it already), but she insists that I am not to get insurance verification on the Hyundai until the friends show proof of their insurance on the Malibu after they get possession of it. Is that correct, or is my mother-in-law just being overcautious? (I would think that once I switch the Malibu title to my friends’ name and give them the keys, that would relieve me of any responsibility any longer to the Malibu).

Help me, please. I am so confused; I have my mother-in-law telling me one thing, and my friends telling me another. Both sound correct.

So would I be right if I did these (in this exact order):
1) switch the title over to their name & give them the keys to the Malibu.
2) call my insurance agent and report that I sold my Malibu, and ask them to type insurance vertification for the Hyundai. (would I have to be present in person for them to type the verification for the Hyundai? Also, would my report of me selling the Malibu mean that they would cancel the insurance on it immediately?)

I am sorry this is so lengthy; I tried to explain this the best as I could. I just want to do what is correct in the eyes of the law.

The steps you outlined are the right ones. Once your MIL called to add the Hyundai,it was covered, even if you don’t have the insurance card, and once you sell the Malibu, it’s no longer your responsibility.

You don’t have to be present for the verification on the Hyundai; calling the agent is enough. The agent should send you a copy of the change request adding it and cancelling the Malibu.

Recommended Reading

• Farm Insurance Agents Providing Financial Security
• Successful Farm Insurance Agents Understand That Knowing Their Clients Is The Key
• Farm Insurance Agents in the News
• Scott Bradfield Agency – State Farm Insurance – Insurance In Waterloo, IA
• Business Strategic Development For Farm Insurance Agents