Car Insurance For Married Couples

Getting married is an exciting step to the rest of a couple’s life. They may be planning on having children or buying a house, and in order to do these things saving money is key. Spending less money on car insurance can start with researching policies from multiple companies whenever a milestone moment in life occurs. People can also get other discounts. Automobile insurance carriers use different formulas to determine the rates a person pays on their insurance plans. These formulas are based on statistics. Married couples are more likely to stay in rather than go out, and are also statistically more likely to be safer drivers overall. Learn how this can affect your insurance rates, and how to find the best auto insurance plans to suit your needs in this article.

How Does Marriage Affect Car Insurance?

How marriage impacts the overall household cost of car insurance premiums depends in part on whether the married couple chooses to maintain individual policies or to combine auto policies. In the effect that the newlyweds choose to maintain individual policies, each partner should contact their auto insurance providers to inform the company of the change in marital status as well as add their partner as a driver on their policy. However, there are a number of potential benefits if married couples choose to combine policies with one of the current providers or seek out a combined policy with a new provider.

Why Combine Car Insurance After Marriage?

There are a number of potential benefits to combining car insurance policies after marriage. Auto insurance providers typically offer discounts for families who insure multiple cars on an auto policy. Keeping track of bills and monthly payments is also easier when there is a single payment to worry about versus multiple payments by multiple people.

Is Car Insurance Cheaper When Married?

Marriage can result in a reduction in auto insurance premiums. Research has shown that married couples tend to go out less and engage in less risky driving behavior, so some car insurance companies will lower rates for married couples to account for the associated reduced driving risks.

Depending on the state, automobile insurance premiums can be reduced by as much as 22% of policies are combined after marriage. Men in their mid-20s, who are viewed as being at increased risk for accidents compared to women, might see a significant drop in their auto insurance rate. However, while obtaining a married status can reduce automobile insurance premiums, there are still many other factors contributing to car insurance rates that might negate the benefits resulting from marriage. However, note that some states do not allow car insurance companies to consider marital status when assessing auto insurance premiums. 

Can I Get Other Discounts?

Alongside listing multiple vehicles on a policy, married couples can bundle their auto insurance policies with their home insurance policies to further reduce costs. Even if couples choose to hold a home insurance policy with a different insurance company, they should still make sure that their car insurance provider knows of their status as homeowners. Customers who are also homeowners tend to receive reduced rates due to being viewed as less risky individuals. There are plenty of other discounts that are not related directly to marriage as well. If you are able to pay in full for your policy, for example, you can save up to 15% or more on your policy overall. There are also discounts for good students, safety features, antitheft devices, and more.

Can My New Spouse Hurt My Car Insurance Rates?

If both newlyweds have a good driving record and limited to no claim-history, combining policies can lead to big discounts on auto insurance premiums. However, sometimes combining car insurance policies with a new spouse can actually increase the overall premiums. For example, if one spouse has recently received a DUI or some other ticket for a traffic violation, they can have a negative impact on the combined car insurance rates. If a spouse has poor credit or high annual mileage due to a lengthy daily commute, those factors can also impact the combined score. 

Is There Ever A Time To Not Combine Policies?

There are a lot of questions both partners should ask the other before combining insurance policies. Couples should understand both parties' credit history and driving record. If one partner possesses a good driving and credit history, but the other partner doesn’t, the combined risks of both partners might increase the overall premium paid by couple. In this case, combining policies might not be beneficial to the married couple. Alongside asking all the important questions, couples should make sure to get quotes and compare rates both for individual policies and for combined policies and determine which premiums are better for the financial health of the household.

Another consideration couples should make before combining policies is if either partner owns one or more specialty vehicles that require a special policy. In this event, it may be more prudent to have both partners keep their individual policies while still making sure to add each other as drivers to each respective policy.

Final Notes

There are many considerations that people who are married need to communicate to each other about before deciding whether to combine their auto insurance policies. Auto insurance for married couples has some complexity to it, though in many cases combining both cars on one policy can help married couples to save money overall. This is because statistics have shown that married couples both go out less and practice safer driving practices on average. The lower rates a married couple can get are not across the board, however. If one driver in the couple has a bad driving record or poor credit, combining policies may increase the amount a couple pays overall. Take these things into consideration when purchasing your next automobile insurance plan. That said, you can compare rates on car insurance both as a married couple and individuals using the free quote tools on this website. Get the best car insurance rates available using these tools now.