First of all, congratulations! It’s smart to be asking yourself this question about your insurance now that you’re married. You should certainly speak to a insurance agent about this major milestone as you may be eligible for saving on your insurance policy by bundling or compiling into one policy.
One of the often overlooked aspects of marriage is considering coverage for your wedding or engagement ring. Ideally you would have gotten this covered right when it was purchased, but if not, now that you’re married it is important to consider coverage of this asset on your policy.
Additionally, now that you’re married and likely moving in together you should insure your combined belongings on one homeowners or renters insurance policy. For renters, you can simply drop one of the policies and you both will be covered on the policy that you keep active. The same goes for homeowners, however you should consider relevant adjustments now that you live together.
There are many other ways you could potentially save by bringing your policies together – merging car insurance, bundling, life insurance, etc. The best think you can do is speak to an insurance expert who can help you and your spouse get the coverage you need at the lowest possible cost.
How Marriage Impacts Your Insurance Policy – St. Clair Shores, MI
Video Transcription
“So likely beforehand, you each had your own separate policies, being married, likely living under the same roof, you should be combined on the same policy. In doing so, there are a lot of advantages actually, some people avoid it, they just assume that there’s going to be an increase in cost or it’s not going to benefit them. I’d say more times than not, it’s a benefit to the client. Because we’re able to look at that policy in a different light. Now, there’s a number of different things happening. So you’re combining and having more than one vehicle on the policy, which adds extra discounts. So just by taking both vehicles and putting them on the same policy, that’s going to drive down the cost of each vehicle. Secondly, your spouse now, they may have a better insurance score than you. So if I’m looking at combining a husband and wife, I’m going to record everything, again, I’m going to start looking at fresh new policies. And it’s a great opportunity to do so because if your spouse has a higher insurance score, that in turn is actually going to drive down the cost of your vehicle even further than it was before. So to, you know, combine both, and really, it’s the way that you should do it. The number of married couples, you know, we don’t find out till you know, sometime later that you know that, that was the case. And then we make that recommendation and they find out that there was a good amount of savings to be had. But it’s you know, it’s important to understand those things and be present and, you know, address it immediately. I’d say for most people it’s a very good thing to combine and to be on the same policy.”
Insurance Savings for Married Couples
Auto Insurance: Statistically speaking, married drivers tend to file less claims and are less risky to insure. According to a study by The Zebra, “getting married can save you up to 12% on car insurance in some states with national savings averaging 6%.” In addition to more attractive rates, many insurance companies offer multi-car discounts which can add to the savings.
Home Insurance: By simply dropping one of your existing insurance policies (renter or homeowners) you already start saving. However, you may want to increase your coverage limits in order to protect the additional belongings now that you are living together. Again, bundling auto and home offers yet another cost savings opportunity for newlyweds.
