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How Marital Status Affects Auto Insurance Rates

Once you get married, your world changes so do your car insurance needs. As a married person, you will have a paradigm shift in your insurance needs and hence, it is obvious that the rate of the insurance premium for insuring your car will change as well. Now, this change can do in any direction, depending on your specific standing. However, as insurers consider the married car insurance policyholders as less risk-prone cases, you will feel delighted to know that you will be getting insurance for your car at lower rates. Paragraphs underneath shall discuss various aspects related to changes in Insurance premium after you get married.

Why should you combine the vehicle insurance after you are getting married?

The simple answer for taking such step is that you will have to manage one insurance policy. Either of the spouses can call their insurer and his/her partner to the existing vehicle insurance policy. However, the key reason to combine the separate policies into a comprehensive coverage is that you can avail some special discount. This will enable you to save a significant amount of money. After all, your expenses are going to rise as you get married!

Average marriage discounts by state


StateDiscount
Alabama 16%
Alaska 14%
Arizona 15%
Arkansas 12%
California 10%
Colorado 9%
Connecticut 12%
Delaware 8%
District of Columbia 12%
Florida 6%
Georgia 15%
Hawaii 0%
Idaho 13%
Illinois 15%
Indiana 10%
Iowa 12%
Kansas 11%
Kentucky 14%
Louisiana 10%
Maine 14%
Maryland 15%
Massachusetts 0%
Michigan 2%
Minnesota 14%
Mississippi 15%
Missouri 13%
Montana 0%
Nebraska 10%
Nevada 12%
New Hampshire 18%
New Jersey 12%
New Mexico 16%
New York 12%
North Carolina 0%
North Dakota 15%
Ohio 15%
Oklahoma 9%
Oregon 12%
Pennsylvania 12%
Rhode Island 16%
South Carolina 11%
South Dakota 12%
Tennessee 12%
Texas 7%
Utah 14%
Vermont 23%
Virginia 15%
Washington 13%
West Virginia 15%
Wisconsin 13%
Wyoming 10%

However, before you combine the policies, you should shop around for special offers as the majority of the insurers design some special deals on such policies. This way, you will be able to cut down your expenses, further.

How Much Insurance For Married Couples Cost?


Six-Month Policy Prices for a Married Couple
Policy type Avarage
Husband alone $948
Wife alone $922
Total price of two individual policies $1,870
Price when rated together on same policy $1.477
Dollar amount saved by combining policies - $393
Percent saved by combining policies 21%
Rates are based on the 90039 ZIP code of Los Angeles

Does marriage reduce the rate of insurance premium?

Insurers are of the opinion that car owners and rivers that recently got married will drive, being more careful and hence, they stand lesser chances to encounter car accidents. Hence, these policyholders will have lesser chances to raise an insurance claim. It is for this reason that insurance companies offer lesser rates on insurance premium to the policyholders, taking the policy after marriage.

However, in some states, insurers do not include the marital status as a parameter to fix the rates for the insurance premium. In some states, there are concessions offered to the same-sex couples, while no discounts are allowed to those partners in other states.

Keep in mind that the special rate you get as a married policyholder will apply, until the time you are not getting divorced, separated, or unfortunately, your spouse is passing away.

Can I claim concessions under other schemes?

A few discounts are still eligible to the policyholders who combine their policies after their marriage. You can claim concession, if you are insuring multiple cars, Likewise, if you are buying the car insurance by combining the policies with the same insurer, from whom you have taken insurance for your home, business, Life insurance, home insurance, or policies on other assets, you qualify for concessions for taking multiple policies. In these instances, you can get the concession to the extent of 25% of the usual premium rates, or even higher.

Can my partner have an impact on the rates for insuring my vehicle?

Yes, your spouse can have some significant impacts on your vehicle insurance policy rates, and this impact can either be positive or negative. Assume that you have an excellent record of driving, while your spouse features a sorry figure in this regard. In those instances, you have to accept a rise in the insurance premium rates. Likewise, if either of you holds a negative credit rating or a history of bad credit, you don’t have options than to accept a sharp rise in the insurance premium rates. It is because such instances will mark you as High-risk policyholders and the insurer will suspect higher chances and frequency of raising insurance claims.

Can there be instances when combining the vehicle insurance policies is not advisable?

Yes, there can be instances, like either you or your spouse is driving a vintage car. In such situations, combining the policies will not be the ideal move. However, you can intimate the insurer that you got married recently to claim some special discounts, permitted in this event.

Likewise, if your spouse has records for gross violations like DUI or a terrible driving history, you should keep him/her out of your policy. Such move will enable you to keep the rates lower, as it would have risen if you have combined such individual with your policy. This way, even without combining the policies, you can still save a good amount of money.

Car Insurance For Domestic

There are some insurance companies that work on specific policies for domestic partners. The terms and conditions are almost the same for the policies, hold by the married couples. As insurers consider that domestic partners will be less risk prone, usually lower rates on insurance premium gets offered to such policyholders.

Likewise, if your partner drives lesser miles than you, or he/she displays an impressive driving record or your partner is driving an inexpensive car, the rates on your insurance premium are likely to go down.

Car Insurance for Roommates

If you are living in a sharing accommodation and all of your roommates are likely to drive the car, you will require listing such drivers and it will result in a rise in the rate of the insurance premium. Depending on the concerned State rule, you can exclude some of the drivers, if such exclusion is allowed under the law of your state. However, once you exclude a roommate, you are certifying that the person will never drive the car. Hence, if accidents occur while the car is driven by such drivers, you will not be allowed for any claim benefits.

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