Car insurance commentators have noticed an increase in car insurance premiums affected by a clients’ marital status. The trend seems to affect single and divorced drivers adversely. It can only be assumed that clients with a marital status of single or divorced are more prone to having an accident while driving leading to some car insurance companies adjusting their clients’ premiums based on the clients’ marital status.
Car insurance premiums are calculated by actuaries that develop statistics to establish specific insurance risk trends. It is interesting to speculate on the reasons for this increase linked to marital status and whether they are coupled to these risk trends.
Some may speculate that a divorce process is a very emotionally draining experience that can cause a driver to lose focus and concentration and end up in a regrettable car collision. The underlying factors for many car accidents are often emotional anxiety and depression frequently associated with emotionally taxing life events.
Another reason suggested is that the divorced group of clients pose a greater risk for car insurance claims as opposed to married couples due to the fact that they are more likely to socialise and have a similar behaviour as a single person. A divorced person would probably go out more frequently in the evenings, which increased the risk for having a car accident. These factors may contribute towards a client being automatically placed in the high risk category as soon as their marital status changes.
Married people – and more so, those with children – tend to be more responsible, spend more time with family and as a result, have fewer car accidents. This reduced risk profile would result in cheaper car insurance premiums. Another reason could be the fact that married people split finacial responsibilities evenly, provided both have a source of income.
The divorce process is emotionally draining and can become pretty complex. As with various other financial services products like home loans and personal loans, couples often have one insurance policy for their cars and separating car insurance policies is just one of the many admin intensive tasks that needs to be undertaken.
When separating car insurance policies it is important to note any differences in premium and if there is an increase due to your recently changed marital status. Now is probably a good time to shop around for a better deal. Keep in mind however that a change in physical address may also affect your car insurance premiums.
