Married couples on average save about 5% on car insurance for simply being married since carriers consider them responsible and financially stable. They can save further 15% on average in total premiums by joining their coverage under a multi-car insurance policy if they have more than one vehicle. Some companies may offer similar discounts for unmarried couples, as long as they live at the same address. Also, same sex married couples have the same rights. Insurers cannot apply discounts and lower rates discriminately.
Some of the studies that carried out price checks came up with interesting results, which highlight the importance of shopping around. According to one study, GEICO, Nationwide and Progressive offer around 5% percent discounts for married applicants. But another study concludes that State Farm is the cheapest insurer for married couples, even though they don’t offer any special discounts. This goes to show giving a set amount of discount doesn’t necessarily make a vehicle insurer competitive. So, motorists should always shop around.
Married vs Single Drivers
Statistically, married motorists have fewer vehicle accidents in comparison with singles. They are more responsible behind the steering wheel as they have dependents now. They also drive less and have better financial stability. Safer driving and lower chance of accidents translate into better vehicle insurance rates for couples in comparison to single, widowed and divorced drivers.
Many auto insurance companies have a question about applicants’ marital status in their quote forms. All motorists need to do is tick the married box to get discounts automatically included in premium calculations.
Savings for Married Couples
Most companies offer better prices when two policies are joined together and it is easier to do so when you are married and each have a car. Single drivers don’t have this chance, although some unmarried couples may qualify for multi-car discounts with some companies. Vehicle insurers usually have different rules as to who can buy a multi-vehicle policy and it is easy for married couples to qualify.
If you have different carriers, you should take time and choose either one of them to start moving things over or get new quotes to see who else offers great quotes. You can get further savings by combining home and auto coverage. Even if only one of you owns the house the other one can often get the same discount offered for homeownership.
When It May Be Better to Keep Separate Policies
Often companies encourage couples to bring their policies together and they are likely to save by doing so. However, it isn’t always the case and there are circumstances in which it may be beneficial to keep them independently. One partner may have a chequered traffic record and some claims on their name. Then, it is possible that a bad driver’s record will increase joint policy rates more than the savings qualified.
In addition, having a bad credit score or owning a high-risk automobile can make joint policies more expensive. For example, if you have a bad driving record and your spouse has a high-risk automobile, you would increase your spouse’s premiums substantially. In such cases, arranging separate policies may work out cheaper even if each is listed on each other’s policies.
In the above example, it may be possible to exclude the bad driver from the policy with the high-risk car, depending on state rules and insurers. One negative point is that it is harder to exclude a spouse from a car insurance policy and it isn’t allowed in some states. Both could still share the car belonging to the spouse with a bad driving record since it is unlikely that adding a good driver on that policy would increase the rates.
The advantage of being married is that motorists can try different ways of insuring their vehicles. By getting quotes for different options, they would soon discover the cheapest way of insuring their automobiles. For example, they can try to insure the car they own jointly or under one spouse’s name and add the other as a listed driver and see the premium differences. The second option is normally allowed and may work out cheaper.
And it may make sense to keep separate policies from a financial responsibility point of view. When you have a joint policy you both are together or separately responsible for any liability claim. For example, if one of the spouses has an accident and there isn’t sufficient Liability car insurance coverage to compensate for the injuries caused to third parties, they can sue either policyholder in a joint arrangement for the damages. This could be a reason to keep separate coverage, especially when one of the partners is much better off than the other.
One of the best ways of looking at prices is to get a few quotes and compare them. For example, one company may offer good discounts for married couples but it may still not be competitive in comparison to other providers you get quotes from. For example, according to one study, State Farm doesn’t offer any married couple discounts and it is still cheaper for couples than Progressive, who offers over 20% discounts.
So, it is nice to get discounts but you should always look at various ways of insuring your family’s automobiles and see which option and company is the cheapest at the end.