No matter what, you probably save
even if you do nothing at all, the hectic fact of being married is likely to have a positive impact on your rates once your policy is up for review. Zebra, an auto insurance comparison engine and the digital auto insurance agency, projects a premium savings of 10-12 percent when all other factors remain the same.
Why is this the case? According to Frankie Kuo, a specialist in car insurance at Value Penguin, "insurers find that married people are less likely to file a claim compared to individual controllers with a comparable profile, so they consider it less risky to make sure."
When the policy mix makes sense
To nab an even more pronounced discount, consider combining your car and your loved one into one policy. This makes more sense if both have impeccable driving records and there are no recent gaps in insurance coverage, explains Esurance.
Remember, in addition, in addition to lower rates, having two cars in the same policy can often earn multiple car discounts from insurers. On the other hand, even if your home only has one vehicle, you can still earn discounts to share a policy.
"Even if a family only has one car, we recommend a single policy that covers both drivers as it ensures that both drivers are insured without incurring the additional cost of a second policy," says Eric Madia, vice president of products for Esurance.
Lastly, combining your auto insurance policy with the policies of existing owners or tenants of the same company could lead to greater discounts overall.
Take a combined policy test-Drive
Many factors determine the insurance premium, and driving is just one of them. In some states, insurance companies use credit scores as an element in determining rates. So you can have some options to do, based on your independent driving and financial histories.
For example, what if your spouse has a decent driving record but a poor credit score? Or what if you're a great money manager, but your lead foot recently marked a speeding ticket?
You must first get a quote to add your spouse to your insurance or vice versa, says Jean-Marie Lovett, president of the independent insurance agency MassDrive Insurance Group in Boston. Asking for a quote does not force you to go ahead with the change. (If your spouse is a speed ticket champion ticket holder, however, you might have to list him or her as a excluded driver in your home.) More on that in a moment.) Lovett says it's a Good practice to get quotes for two drivers in one policy.
If putting the policies together does not help you save on the premium, you can only list your spouse in your policy and defer to your own individual insurance, Lovett says.
When it comes to credit scores, one of the smartest things you can do is to place the person with the best credit score as the primary name insured. "Your credit is the one that will be portrayed to the insurance company," Lovett says, "and it will be the credit score that the insurance company will qualify out of."
Keep in mind that this is only true in states where it is legal to use credit scores as a rating factor. Some states, such as Massachusetts and California, do not allow practice. In that case, says Lovett, the person with the best driving record should be the primary insured.
Still not sure if you combine policies? It can help you know the value of your cars. "Maybe your spouse has a good driving record," says Lovett, "but a junker for a car."
"If you have a 1995-2005 vehicle, you should discuss whether to have collision coverage, or increase the collision deductible to $ 1,000," she continues. "Cars that exceed the 10-year mark tend to have a significant drop in value, and want to weigh the cost of the hedge