The To-Dos after the I-Dos
Getting married is such an exciting time! All the planning, the celebrations, the pictures, and the honeymoon are all fun. Maybe a little stressful, but still fun! Something that might be a little less exciting about marriage is how your insurance will change.
If you’ve been on your parent’s insurance for as long as you remember, you may feel you have no clue how to handle your own insurance policies. Or, if you already have insurance policies in your name, you may not be sure about how your insurance needs may change after you’ve married your spouse. Don’t worry, we will help you.
Car insurance
Two are better than one, right? If you’re wondering what happens to your car insurance after you get married, you’ll be pleased to know combining your car insurance after you are married may save you some money! One discount to mention is multi-vehicle discount that you and your spouse could qualify for if there is more than one vehicle on the car insurance policy. Another reason why you should combine car insurance policies after marriage is simply for the convenience of both being under one insurance company. If you and your spouse were paying premiums separately to different insurance companies, it would just make things more stressful than needed.
To-Do: Combine car insurance policies
Benefits
- May get you a discount
- Convenience of having one policy
Home insurance
Buying or renting your first home together can be exciting, but also stressful. It’s hard to know what is better, to rent or buy. Whichever you choose, consider bundling your homeowners policy or renters insurance policy with your auto to receive a relationship discount! The more policies you have with Alfa®, the more you can save!
With either homeowners or renters insurance, you need to evaluate your coverage limits. When your spouse moves in, so does his or her things. This means you may need higher coverage limits to have enough coverage to repair or replace your belongings in case tragedy strikes.
To Do: Have a policy in place with appropriate coverage limits.
Benefits:
- You’re protecting your financial investment.
Health insurance
What should you do with your health insurance after you get married? You have options…but don’t delay because you must act within 60 days of the date on your marriage license. You can either…
1. Stay on separate, individual plans
You and your spouse don’t have to go on the same plan. If you’re both happy on your individual plans and it makes sense financially, you can stay on your own plans without adding the other to it.
2. Add a spouse on a family plan
When you get married, health insurance companies consider you and your spouse as a “family,” even if you don’t have children. So, from the date on your marriage license, you have 60 days to enroll in a family health insurance plan. You may be thinking, “what if my wedding date is far off from my insurance carrier’s enrollment period?” Don’t sweat it, when you get married, it’s considered a Qualifying Life Event (QLE) so you and your spouse can make changes to health insurance plans outside of the enrollment window.
To-Do: Within 60 days of wedding date, determine if you want to stay on separate individual health insurance plans or switch to a family plan.
Benefits
- You have flexibility to determine what works best for your family.
Life insurance
This is another big thing to discuss. It’s a sensitive subject, but it’s so important to talk about life insurance and calculate how much you need to maintain your lifestyle if your spouse is gone. Now that you are married, you’ve got to think about the good and the bad. In sickness and in health, right?
If you don’t already have a life insurance policy, get one. If you have one, consider increasing the limits. Making sure your spouse is taken care of in the event of a tragedy is very important. Even if one spouse is not bringing in an income, think about all the things you’d have to handle if he or she is gone. It’s likely you’d need money for a housekeeper, nanny, etc.
When you and your spouse decide to have children, this is another time to evaluate your life insurance needs. You want to make sure that if something happens to one or both of you, the children will be covered.
BONUS TIP: Another thing to note is your 401k. If your spouse is not the beneficiary on your 401k, it’s a good idea to change that. You might also want to update the amount going into your 401k now that you are married.
When you get married, the last thing you want to worry about is the insurance stuff. Our experienced and professional Alfa agents are ready to help you so you can get started living happily ever after.