Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

When it comes to your auto insurance, there is some bias toward unmarried folks. That's because insurance providers typically see married couples as more responsible with less risk of filing a claim. Not to mention, there are some savings to be had when purchasing multi-car policies. If you combine your car and homeowners insurance policies, you can reduce your premiums even more.

Unfortunately, not all marriages have happy endings, and divorce can come with a bigger price for insurance. However, how much you will pay for an auto insurance policy after a breakup could depend a lot on what type of driver the other person was.

For example, if you and your spouse had a combined insurance policy and he or she had a bad driving record with several moving violations, your rates probably were much higher. If your significant other was a good driver with a pristine record, the price was likely lower. After breaking up, your rates could be affected one way or the other, depending on who had the better driving history. Of course, there are other factors that impact how much you pay for car insurance.

What you need to do

When you get married, you have the option to join policies or keep them separate, and you could weigh this decision based on the other person's record. If you get one policy, you will need to alert your insurance company after a divorce or breakup and remove your ex from the policy.

You will need to let your provider know of any changes in address, the number of licensed drivers in the home, or to your financial situation, as well as if the number of miles you typically drive has changed. Once you have your own car insurance policy once more, you will no longer be eligible for multi-car or driver discounts.