Considering Your Insurances
Get the Protection You Need for Your New Life Together
Barbara Waltz is one of the founders of 24/7 Quote Us, an online resource blog and insurance quote comparison guide. Now she’s sharing her thoughts about what protection newly married couples should consider with the OurWeddingDay.com community.
So much excitement and preparation goes in to planning a wedding that many couples overlook a major detail of their new life together: Insurance. I know that a conversation about insurance may not sound terribly thrilling in comparison to other wedding plans, but your marriage may affect the insurance you already have while inspiring you to consider what additional insurance you may need. Besides, the steps are relatively simple and could save you a great deal of money while ensuring you and your new spouse are effectively covered.
The basics.
Consider what types of insurance you need based on your day-to-day lives: Do you own or rent? Do you have a car? Do you have children? You may not need certain kinds of coverage, and you don’t want to just waste money in an attempt to be “extra safe,” so it is important that you discuss in advance what you are actually looking for.
Once married, let your insurance companies know about your status change from single. Many insurance companies offer discounts to married couples since they are thought to be more responsible fiscally and in their daily actions. Some companies will also offer a discount if you have more than one type of insurance with them, as well as combining plans with your spouse.
Feeling good.
We all take our personal health and that of our loved ones very seriously, and having good health insurance coverage allows for some peace of mind. Many couples have their insurance through group health plans from their workplace. If this is the case with you and your spouse, it still may be possible to save a bit of money by dropping one of the plans and moving to the others’ company. But before doing this, weigh the options and make sure you are not giving up any coverage that will be missed.
Some couples find that only one of them has a group plan, and the other has no coverage or is on an individual health plan. The majority of group plans allow you to add a spouse or family member to the plan at a slight increase in premiums.
When neither partner has any coverage an individual medical insurance plan should be considered. Although they tend to cost a bit more than a group policy, as there are fewer people paying in to mitigate the insurance company's risk, they can still be affordable.
If you are a younger couple and have coverage through a parent's plan, that coverage will likely cease once you’re married or soon after, and thus a replacement should be found immediately.
Safe at home.
With the addition of another person into a house, there are a few things to consider. First of all it is important to look at the current policy in place. As the current policy was likely set for just one person and their possessions, it probably falls short in coverage and should be increased. If you or your new spouse still has another policy elsewhere, it should be canceled even if you are keeping the location to rent out. (Once you begin to rent a location you are no longer properly covered by homeowners insurance and instead should consider landlords insurance.)
Behind the wheel.
Outside of the general practices mentioned earlier, there is not all that much to change with your auto insurance. It should be noted that younger couples will enjoy a much lower rate than they are used to. This is due to young men, usually considered a high risk to insure, being mitigated by their marriage and therefore see well reduced premiums.
With just a few short hours of work you can save a good amount of money over the course of a year and much much more throughout your new life. Think of what that extra money and confidence could provide! It makes the insurance conversation sound a lot more sexy, doen’t it?