Single vs. Married – Who Pays More for Car Insurance?

If there is a singular truth about car insurance, it’s that different issues have different effects on the amount that you pay for your premiums. What you might pay in one state may be different in another. When you toss in all the variables, it’s tough to find accurate averages because of the sheer number of factors that affect premium prices.

However, if there is one factor that can reduce the amount you spend on your car insurance premiums, it is getting married.

Is it cheaper to get car insurance if you are married?

InsuranceQuotes.com reports that being married may save you on car insurance premiums in most states compared with being single.

How Being Married Helps

When considering the totality of factors that go into calculating premiums, which includes your driving history, where you live, the type of car you drive, monthly instalments, getting married offers many drivers a break on their premiums.

Do single people pay more for car insurance?

For example, a married 20-year-old may save upwards of 21% on their premiums compared to a single person with identical stats and living in the same community.

So, why is that?

The reason is simple, married drivers are statistically less likely to get into an accident compared to single drivers. Insurance companies do not calculate the exact reason why someone is married is somehow less likely to be in an accident, they only look at the results.

There is more proof thanks to information provided by the National Institutes of Health which did a study in 2004 and found that singles were about twice as likely to be in accidents compared to married people.

This includes men under the age of 25, the group that most often gets the highest premium rates.

However, as the studies suggest, the older a person is, the less likely that being married will affect their rates. By the time a person reaches their 30s, the difference between being married and single is about 2%. Therefore, it is important that if someone who is married wants to take full advantage of the discount, they need to be 29 or below to get real savings.

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Other Effects

For couples who are married, they may wonder if having kids offers a discount on their car insurance premiums. The answer is yes, but that assumes you take the steps necessary to drive safer. This is because the reasons why the accident rate goes down for parents is because they usually purchase a bigger, safer vehicle and drive more responsibly.

What happens when you get separated?

And, if you get divorced, you become single again which means that your premiums go up. However, the average increase is roughly 1.21% which may almost be negligible. Still, you may be able to save more money if you bundle different policies together, such as home, auto, and boat under one insurance company.

Remember that your rates may or may not be affected by getting married, having a baby, or getting divorced. This is because there are other factors that have a greater effect on your car insurance premiums, such as age, gender, the type of car you drive, and your driving record.