In this article:
Marriage is a meaningful celebration of love—but it can also bring more mundane benefits, such as saving on auto insurance. On average, married couples pay less for car insurance than single people. However, in some situations, maintaining separate car insurance policies may cost less than adding your spouse to your auto insurance.
Will Being Married Reduce My Car Insurance Premiums?
Married people typically pay less for auto insurance because statistics show that single people are more likely to file car insurance claims. In addition to receiving a discount simply for being married, couples often benefit from multi-vehicle discounts insurers offer for insuring more than one vehicle on a policy.
Some insurers require adding your spouse to your auto insurance policy if you share a household. (In some cases, state law overrides these requirements and allows you to exclude your spouse.) If you're married but don't live at the same address, you'll need two separate auto insurance policies because your cars are kept at different locations.
What Is a Named Driver Exclusion?
Generally, anyone in your household who drives should be added to your car insurance, even if they don't regularly drive your car. However, there are some situations when married couples may not want to list one another on their auto insurance policies. For example, if you're a safe driver whose spouse has a history of moving violations, accidents or DUIs, putting them on your policy could increase your premiums.
Adding a spouse with poor credit to your car insurance could also raise your rates. Insurance companies in most states can use credit-based insurance scores when setting premiums. These differ from the credit scores lenders use, but they're based on similar information. Checking your spouse's FICO® Score☉ can give you an idea of where their credit-based insurance score stands—and whether it's wise to add them to your car insurance.
If you live together but don't want your spouse on your car insurance, you may be able to use the named driver exclusion and list your spouse on your policy as an excluded driver. Because auto insurance won't cover excluded drivers, your spouse shouldn't drive your car, even in an emergency. Excluding your spouse from your car insurance is a drastic option; carefully weigh potential savings against possible risks before making this decision.
How to Add a Spouse to Your Auto Insurance Policy
Adding your spouse to your car insurance policy is easy to do.
- Contact your insurance company. You can usually do this over the phone, on the insurer's website or by using the insurance company's app.
- Give them your spouse's information. You'll be asked for your spouse's name, birthdate and driver's license number. The insurance company uses this information to check your spouse's driving record.
- Provide vehicle information. Be ready to share the vehicle's year, make, model, body style, vehicle identification number (VIN) and any safety features or anti-theft devices it has. Insurance companies typically also ask for the car's current insurer, current odometer reading and estimated annual mileage.
- Pay the new premium. Your insurance company will revise your premium to reflect your new coverage. You usually have an option to pay your premium all at once or set up monthly payments. If you've got autopayments set up, make sure the payment amount is adjusted going forward.
- Cancel the old car insurance. Once you receive confirmation that your spouse is officially on your car insurance, they can cancel their existing car insurance. This can generally be handled by phone, although some insurers require a written request for cancellation. Your spouse will typically get a prorated refund of any unused premiums.
Stop overpaying for insurance
Answer some questions about your current plan and get matched to personalized quotes.
We’ll show you offers from our top insurance carriers and help you shop for better rates in the future.
From switching your policy to canceling and requesting a partial refund on your old plan, we help you do it all.
Get startedResults will vary and some may not see savings.
Other Auto Insurance Discounts Married Couples May Receive
Although the following discounts aren't limited to spouses, married couples often qualify.
- Multi-car discounts for insuring two or more vehicles on one policy can save you 10%, 25% or more. For instance, Progressive's multi-car discounts average 12%, Geico's average 25% and AAA offers multi-car discounts of up to 27.3%.
- Multi-policy discounts for purchasing multiple kinds of insurance from one company can mean significant savings. Known as "bundling," this typically involves buying home and auto insurance from the same insurer. Depending on the insurance company, you may also save by bundling auto insurance with homeowners or renters insurance, condo insurance or life insurance. State Farm says bundling home and auto insurance saves its customers an average of $1,073 annually; bundling auto and renters insurance saves an average of $684.
- Homeowner discounts differ from bundling discounts. Some insurance companies discount your auto insurance if you own a home, which they see as evidence of financial stability. For example, Progressive gives homeowners an average 10% discount on car insurance, even if they don't buy Progressive home insurance.
The Bottom Line
Should you decide to combine car insurance policies, remember that there's no need to stay wedded to your current insurance provider. Spend some time comparing quotes from various insurance carriers to find the best coverage for both you and your spouse.
Shopping for car insurance is fast and easy with Experian's auto insurance comparison tool. Just enter your information once and get quotes from dozens of insurance companies all in one place. Once you've found your perfect match, Experian verifies your premium with the insurance company and opens the policy. Experian will even cancel your old plan for you and request a refund.