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Marriage brings about many life changes and provides certain benefits. For instance, married couples receive preferential tax treatment, hospital visitation rights, inheritance rights, and more. But marriage also changes your insurance status. Specifically, here are a few ways your auto and health policies may be affected.

How Marriage Impacts Auto Insurance

If you and your new spouse both have clean driving records, it’s a smart idea to combine your auto insurance policies because you’ll likely see a reduction in premiums. That's because insurers have found a link between marriage and safer driving. As a whole, married couples engage in less risky behavior, file fewer auto accident claims, and receive fewer moving violations. Thus, they are a lower statistical risk for insurance carriers and benefit from a price discount. This is even true for the riskiest insurance profile — young men.

Insurance in Clayton, GAHowever, if one party has a poor driving record with multiple citations, you might consider keeping your policies separate. Combining a low-risk and high-risk policy will likely increase rates for the driver with the clean record, since insurance companies look at the entire household when determining monthly premiums. 

How It Affects Health Insurance

If you and your spouse both like your individual plans, you can keep them with no financial penalty. However, if you want to join a family plan, you can. You can purchase new coverage through your state health insurance marketplace, even if you've missed the open enrollment deadline.

Marriage is considered a qualifying life event that opens a special enrollment period. Act within 60 days of your wedding, and you can enroll in marketplace coverage — and receive any subsidy or tax credit for which you qualify — without having to wait until the next year's enrollment period. This is a significant advantage. Many new couples choose to open a family plan, especially if they plan to have kids, since these plans offer discounts and are often the more affordable choice.


To purchase health or auto insurance as a newly married couple, contact A.W. Adams Insurance in Clayton, GA. They've been serving clients throughout Rabun County for more than 50 years. They also specialize in home, life, business, boat, and motorcycle insurance, making them a one-stop solution for all your coverage needs. Visit their website to learn more about their policies or call (706) 782-5100 to schedule a consultation today.

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