State Farm won’t let me take my soon-to-be ex-wife off the policy

I’ve filed for divorce and I’m trying to remove my wife from my insurance. It’s the only thing we ever shared. I added her to my policy a few years after we got married.

I called them and they asked if it was due to separation or divorce. I said divorce, and they told me they couldn’t take her off until the divorce is finalized, which could take months! She’s stopped paying me for her and her son’s part of the insurance, and they have 2 out of 3 of the cars.

Does this sound right? What can I do? I could have just lied and said we weren’t getting divorced. Now they’ve made a note on my account, and they won’t let me make changes. I’m stuck paying for her insurance and her son’s insurance.

EDIT: To clarify, this is just my car insurance. She isn’t on my homeowners policy.

Ask if they can remove her as a rated driver but keep her as a named insured, or if they can exclude her. Insurance companies need to have legal owners of assets listed as named insureds. Since you’re married, your assets are legally shared, and that’s why. She probably should be listed on the homeowners policy too.

You could also remove the coverage for their cars if you want.

EdwardGenesis said:
Ask if they can remove her as a rated driver but keep her as a named insured, or if they can exclude her. Insurance companies need to have legal owners of assets listed as named insureds. Since you’re married, your assets are legally shared, and that’s why. She probably should be listed on the homeowners policy too.

You could also remove the coverage for their cars if you want.

Exactly, just because something’s in your name (like a house or car), it can still be considered marital property. How that gets split depends on the divorce case. You can likely exclude her, but since she has an interest in your vehicle, they can’t just drop her like that.

It’s not up to the insurance company. It’s a state law that a husband can’t remove his wife until the divorce is final. It’s to protect both of you. It works the other way around too.

She needs to agree in writing to be taken off the policy before the divorce is final. It’s a state law to stop one spouse from leaving the other without insurance.

Maverick said:
It’s not up to the insurance company. It’s a state law that a husband can’t remove his wife until the divorce is final. It’s to protect both of you. It works the other way around too.

She needs to agree in writing to be taken off the policy before the divorce is final. It’s a state law to stop one spouse from leaving the other without insurance.

Yep, same deal in my state. My ex stopped paying her share of the insurance, which was two cars, so she got five months of free insurance while I had to cover everything.

Maverick said:
It’s not up to the insurance company. It’s a state law that a husband can’t remove his wife until the divorce is final. It’s to protect both of you. It works the other way around too.

She needs to agree in writing to be taken off the policy before the divorce is final. It’s a state law to stop one spouse from leaving the other without insurance.

Keep paying for her, her son, and their cars, and make sure to keep records of the payments. Pass that information to your lawyer, so it’s settled when the divorce is final.

If your wife is still living in your home, you can’t take her off. If you go to another company, they’ll check who lives in the house and add her anyway. You’ll have to wait until you’re divorced, and she moves out.

WilliamGarcia said:
If your wife is still living in your home, you can’t take her off. If you go to another company, they’ll check who lives in the house and add her anyway. You’ll have to wait until you’re divorced, and she moves out.

Is this rule the same everywhere? I started my State Farm policy a year after we got married. I was the only one on it for a year until she bought her son a car. Then I added them to my policy because it was cheaper.

@Jony
No, it’s just the legal requirement when you’re married. It’s part of the auto insurance contract.

@Jony
You could just cancel the whole policy and get a new one only for you.

Jones said:
@Jony
You could just cancel the whole policy and get a new one only for you.

They’ll eventually find out who else lives at the address, and you might get flagged for hiding drivers.

@Jony
It’s probably not just a state rule; it might be a State Farm thing. Most companies have the same policy about this.

@Jony
That sounds like rate evasion. You probably signed something that said all drivers in the household are listed.

If she’s living with you and you’re still married, you have to be on the same policy.

Jordan said:
If she’s living with you and you’re still married, you have to be on the same policy.

That’s not true. I have clients with separate policies. Try shopping around if State Farm won’t let you remove her.

RiskResponder4 said:

Jordan said:
If she’s living with you and you’re still married, you have to be on the same policy.

That’s not true. I have clients with separate policies. Try shopping around if State Farm won’t let you remove her.

That would mean she’d have to get her own policy with her son, which doesn’t seem likely since she isn’t paying OP for it.

Jordan said:
If she’s living with you and you’re still married, you have to be on the same policy.

I think this might be a State Farm thing, but it could also depend on the state.

Jordan said:
If she’s living with you and you’re still married, you have to be on the same policy.

It probably depends on the company. My wife and I have separate policies because I didn’t want her on mine due to her bad driving record.

This seems common. They probably need it finalized. Can’t you just cancel your policy and start a new one?

@jonathan
I guess I could, but it’s a hassle because my homeowners insurance is bundled with it.