Glossary

Garaging address

The address where a car is mainly parked overnight, which insurers use to price a policy and which must be reported accurately.

Also called: principal garaging location, garaging location, where the car is kept

The garaging address is the place where your vehicle is principally kept, usually where it is parked overnight. It is normally your home address, but not always: a college student's car kept at school, or a car kept at a second home for most of the year, may have a different garaging address.

Insurers price heavily by location through territory rating, because theft, vandalism, traffic density, repair costs, medical costs and lawsuit rates vary from one ZIP code to the next. The same driver and car can cost far more to insure in a dense city than in a rural town a short drive away.

That price gap tempts some people to list a cheaper address, such as a relative's home in the suburbs or a former address in another state. Insurers call this rate evasion or garaging fraud, a form of soft fraud. It can lead to a bill for back premium, cancellation, a denied claim and, in some states, criminal charges, and it may also violate vehicle registration laws. If you move, or the car will be kept somewhere else for an extended period, update the garaging address promptly, even if the premium rises. See insurance fraud.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

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Related terms

Territory rating Pricing based on where a car is garaged, with each area assigned a factor that reflects its local claim costs. Rating factors The characteristics insurers use to price a policy, such as driving record, location, vehicle, mileage and, where allowed, age and credit. Insurance fraud Deceiving an insurer, or a policyholder, for financial gain, from staged crashes and padded claims to fake policies and lies on applications. Soft fraud Opportunistic insurance fraud by otherwise honest people, such as padding a real claim or giving false details to lower a premium. Policy cancellation Ending an insurance policy before its term is over, either by you or by the insurer, as opposed to letting it expire or not renew.

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