Like many other changes in a person’s life, getting married could potentially alter their automobile insurance. Husbands and wives often have the option of combining policies, depending on their provider. Doing so may result in a difference in coverage costs, and even additional discounts depending on their living situation or driving records. Additionally, the couple would have the convenience of having each of their automobiles insured by the same company.

It is important to note, however, that if a person’s spouse has a poor driving record and intends to merge policies or if the newlyweds intend to find a provider as a couple, then it may prove difficult to find low cost policies together. One spouse’s driving record may negatively alter how much does insurance cost for the spouse with the better record. Generally, all licensed drivers in a single household are used to rate any vehicles covered under a plan. If a spouse’s driving record is particularly bad, the husband or wife may choose to coordinate a named driver exclusion agreement with their provider, stipulating that they will not be using any of the vehicles listed on their coverage agreement.

One option is to find an entirely new insurer together. By getting car insurance quotes and doing a comparison as a couple to investigate various providers, newly married individuals may be able to find coverage at a price more suitable to their budgets. Insurers will offer a wider range of discounts for growing families.

How Families Affect car insurance

When a family begins to grow, auto insurance rates will most likely begin to change as well. Because a lot of how a premium is set is based off of the type of vehicle a person drives, being the parent in a family could have its advantages. Typically family cars such as mini-vans and SUVs offer more protection than the average sedan, and driving one can often amount to a decrease in insurance costs. Additionally, married persons are statistically considered to lower risk drivers than those who are not. Combined, the qualities that make up a couple with a family typically lead to lower rates.

Being married, and particularly having children, typically means that a driver would wish to increase the levels of protection on their policy. By increasing one’s limits above what is required by the state, a person would be able to drive knowing they would be better protected in the event of an accident. By increasing the limits on a person’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP), they would be better prepared in the event that they or any of their family was to be injured in an accident. Typically this can all be done with little more than a few extra premium dollars.

As children age, however, there are multiple reasons why insurance rates could increase. Young drivers typically coincide with higher premiums. Because every driver who lives in a single household is figured into the calculations of a policy, having a child who either has their learner’s permit or has recently received their license could produce a policy with an inflated premium. Consumers can refer to resources such as the Established Family’s Guide to auto insurance provided by the state of Ohio for details about securing the coverage needs of families.