Auto insurance fraud is not a crime ... yet

New Jersey bill targets drivers who lie about where vehicles are garaged.

So what are the chances that a vehicle tagged and insured in Iowa is actually owned and driven in New York? Actually, they’re pretty good if the driver doesn’t mind committing a little rate evasion fraud. And apparently there are quite a few drivers who are willing to take the chance to lower their car insurance rates.

The practice involves owners registering their cars out of state to obtain lower insurance rates, but actually living in and driving their vehicles in places where rates could be anywhere from a few hundred dollars more to almost double the rate. For instance, a driver living in Long Beach, N.Y., would pay an average of $2,269 according to CarInsurance.com’s rate calculator. If he says he lives in Toms River, N.J., he can almost cut his rate in half where the average would be $1,169.