There are a lot of myths out there when it comes to car insurance. One of the most misunderstood questions is whether marriage cuts your car insurance rates or raises them. In this article, we’ll discuss the potential impact of marriage on your rates and ways you can save on car insurance.
The Impact of Marriage on Car Insurance Rates
By all accounts, marriage does seem to have a positive impact on most driver’s auto insurance rates. While there are many theories about why this is the case, the decrease in rates is generally because of the statistics.
Accident data shows that married motorists get into fewer car accidents than single people and sustain fewer injuries than single people. Some say this is because married drivers stay home more and, therefore, drive less. Others say it’s because married people simply drive safer than single people, perhaps because they have a spouse and/or children in the car with them.
Extra Savings on Car Insurance for Married Couples
One of the easiest advantages to take if you get married is the additional discounts offered to married people. These discounts usually apply to married same-sex couples also, in states that have civil unions and domestic partnership legal status.
The primary discount to take advantage of is the multi-car discount available for insuring both your car and your spouse’s car under the same policy.
And while we’re at it, let’s briefly mention the opposite situation: divorce. If marriage can have a positive effect on your auto insurance rates, can divorce have a negative effect? The answer is usually yes. Losing your marriage discount your multi-car and other discounts, as well as changing residences can negatively impact your auto insurance premiums.
Should You Combine Your Policies?
While the multi-car discount can almost always be taken, there are other potential advantages for married couples in combining their policies, however, there are potential pitfalls also. This is because your car insurance rate and discounts depend on many factors.
The driving record of both you and your spouse will be taken into account when determining your new rate. For this reason, you may want to take a look at the cold hard facts and figure out if it really does make sense to combine your policies.
If you both have a clean driving record, then you may save even more money by combining policies. If you add your spouse as a secondary driver you could see even more savings, provided they have a clean driving record.
However, if you or your spouse has a poor driving record, one with accidents, tickets or a DUI, it may be better to keep your policies separated until the one spouse can clear up their record. Blemishes on either spouses’ driving record could have a negative effect on the entire policy.
The best way to figure out if you should combine your auto insurance policies when you marry is to shop around. InsuranceWins is ready to help. Use our simple form to receive quotes and help you to choose the policy that’s right for you and your partner.
