Is insurance cheaper when you’re married?

Insurance Q&A: “Is insurance cheaper when you’re married?”

For the record, no one is going to believe you’re putting off asking her to marry you because you’re worried about your car insurance costs.

If that’s what’s holding you back, you may want to consider cutting your losses…

But in all seriousness, you’ll want to read up on how insurance rates are determined to get a better understanding of the mechanics behind the pricing.

As far as marriage goes though, a simple “Yes” should answer the question most likely being asked here.

Typically, insurers do charge lower insurance premiums for those of us who are married.

But Why?

Well, the pricing principles of insurance are pretty basic at heart. The higher the odds you’ll file an insurance claim, the more you pay for insurance…and vice versa.

For the most part, insurers simply look at the historical data when determining how much to charge us for a policy. They aren’t too concerned with the reason we file less claims when married. We just don’t seem to file as many claims when we have a spouse, so insurers don’t charge us as much.

And hey, your friends could be right. You may be much less “cool” now that you’re married. Perhaps it’s the new responsibility, or simply that we’re more careful when we’ve got more at stake. And as a result, have toned down our wild driving habits.

Maybe it’s because you now have a back seat (or passenger seat) driver giving you constant updates on your surroundings! “Dear, the light is turning red…you’re going too fast…look out for that truck…Is that a new Macy’s?”

Devil’s Advocate

If you’re the sole breadwinner in the new family, then more of your paycheck will have to be “devoted” to your car insurance…pun intended.

Are you keeping both cars, or ditching one while getting hitched? What does your credit (insurance score) look like compared to your spouse? These are all questions that will potentially move your premium up or down.

Assuming you keep both cars and are just comparing two policies vs. one combined, be sure to get the policy quoted in the name of the spouse with the best insurance score.

You can benefit greatly by taking advantage of the driver with the better score…potentially saving a good chunk of change annually.

(Car insurance and credit scores.)

Either way, if you’re newly married you may want to shop your premium to see what prices are like at the moment.

You could find that switching insurers will save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars, which will certainly lessen the stress associated with being married!

(photo: Kim Marius Flakstad)