Car Insurance for Married Couples

Car Insurance for Married Couples

It’s not pretty like a wedding gown, or as exciting as a Hawaiian honeymoon. But it can be essential to your marriage financially: car insurance for married couples.

Points to Ponder

Consider these topics when you are going to buy car insurance for married couples:

• Joint policy vs. separate policies
• Premium rates
• Monthly, six-month and annual payments
• Discounts

What About Domestic Partner and Civil Unions?

Although same-sex marriage has been legal in the U.S. since 2015, several states offer married rates to domestic partners and LGBTQ+ civil unions. These states include California, Colorado, Washington, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

Payment Schedules

You can choose to pay month-to-month for a policy or pay up front in exchange for a discount. Six-month policies are a popular choice.

Joint vs. Individual Policies

When you marry, you and your spouse can share a single policy or buy separate policies. You will want to decide which policy will provide the most savings, what benefits you need, and which insurer has the customer service and reputation you want. You’ll also want to keep in mind the details of your particular circumstances.

Joint Policies

Typically, a joint policy owned by both spouses is the best approach to auto insurance. Plus, policies owned by married couples cost less than those owned by individuals. Why? Because insurance research has shown that drivers who are married tend to be safer behind the wheel.

Common benefits of combining insurance with your spouse include:

• Sharing a policy can save you money.
• If one of you has a less-than-stellar driving history, the spouse’s clean driving record could balance the situation with a more competitive rate.
• Both spouses are covered and can share cars.
• It is convenient to pay one auto insurance premium.
• Many insurers offer discounts for multiple cars on the same policy.

Separate Policies

Some couples opt to keep their car insurance policies separate. Combining your policies doesn’t always make good sense, though. This is especially true when:

• One of you has a bad driving record. When combining insurance, the poor driving history of one can lower the premium of him or her while raising the other’s. Say your spouse has a DUI on the books, their coverage will be especially expensive.
• One has a poor credit score. If your spouse has a bad credit rating, be sure your name is the only one on your policy so only your credit score is used to determine premium costs.

Average Premium Based on Credit Score

• One owns a very expensive car. This in itself is not a bad thing, but that Bugatti or Ferrari comes with higher premiums than a Nissan. The person driving the Nissan could save money on its own policy.

Average Premium: Married vs. Single

A married couple will, on average, pay $186 per month in premiums for a joint policy, or about $89 less than the average premiums for individual policies.

Average Premium for One Based on Marital Status

Why Premiums Cost Less if You Are Married

According to a study by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), two-thirds of major insurance companies in ten large cities raise rates by an average of 20 percent when the spouse passes away. Another report concludes that when singles get married their car insurance premiums drop by roughly 6 percent.

Rates are typically also higher for single, separated or divorced customers.

Based on studies and observations, insurance companies often work on the assumption that married individuals drive more carefully than single drivers. Another reason insurance companies want to attract married drivers is that they are more likely to own a home, which means an opportunity for policyholders to bundle their car insurance with homeowners insurance and other coverages.

Discounts that Might Be Available

States differ in required discounts and insurers vary in what discounts they offer. Discounts are typically small but taken together they can help whittle down premiums.

Discounts can include:

• Good driver discount
• Multi-vehicle discount
• Multi-policy discount (homeowner’s, renters, motorcycle, life insurance)
• Telematics programs
• Paid in full discount
• Homeowner discount
• eSignature discount
• Paperless billing discount
• Anti-theft device discount
• Professional organization discount
• Low mileage discount
• Good student discount (16 through age 25)

How to Get the Best Rate

Now it is time to decide which company and policies you want. Even if you are happy with your current provider get quotes from at least three companies. We recommend you compare quotes from insurance providers at least once a year. Comparison tools, like our interactive EINSURANCE quote generator, take the information you enter and gets quotes for you.

How to Compare Quotes the Simple Way

Before you obtain quotes, gather some pertinent information about everyone who will be on the policy.

1. Note personal overviews including:

Address and other contact information

Date of birth

Driver license number

Occupation

Marital Status

2. Get information together about your vehicle.

Purchase date

Mileage

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

Make and model

Age of the vehicle

3. Note current insurer for each person to be included on your policy.

The goal is to show that everyone on your policy is or has been insured.

4. Get the driving record about everyone you want to be on your policy, including yourself.

This includes claims, tickets, violations and any completed driving courses for the past five years.

Time to Get Your Quotes

Once you have gathered all the information you’ll need, use our online quote generator. Lowest cost isn’t the best coverage for you. You’ll need to provide the same information to each insurance company you want a quote from such as:

• Where you live
• Desired coverage levels
• Levels of liability
• Claims history
• Annual mileage
• Deductibles
• Coverages

Keep in mind that some states require additional coverage so minimum coverage will be added. To learn more about your state’s requirements, use this

Note that some states require additional coverage, minimum extra coverage will be added. Check out your state’s requirements, use this State-Specific Insurance Guidelines interactive map.

Looking for Insurance?

While you’re here, EINSURANCE can help you find the right insurer, quickly and easily. Use this quote generator and compare.