The Year is New – Should Your Auto Insurance be New Too?

Many changes can accompany a new year: marriage, divorce, childbirth, the start of a new business, retirement.

Each of these situations, and others like them, represent major lifestyle changes that can have a profound effect on your life.

And, as your life changes, so do your insurance needs.

Everything Changes

Because your needs change with the years, experts such as the Insurance Information Institute (III) recommend an annual auto insurance coverage review. This helps ensure you have the right coverage in the right amounts if you ever have an accident or suffer an automobile-related injury.

“Discussing your current insurance needs with your agent, broker or company representative to make sure your coverage is up-to-date is a great way to start the New Year off on a firm financial footing,” said Michael Barry, the III’s vice president of media relations.

So how has your life changed over the past year—and how does each of those changes affect the state of your car insurance?

Marriage/Divorce

If you’ve tied the knot in the past year, you may qualify for a discount on your car insurance policy. Most couples these days have two cars each, and adding your partner’s vehicle to your auto insurance plan automatically qualifies you for a multi-vehicle discount.

For anyone who has experienced divorce recently, speak to your car insurance agent and make sure your insurance company is aware of this change. Address and car ownership often change with divorce, so if you’re living in a new location and need a policy of your own, be sure to take care of this with your insurance company right away.

Childbirth

Though having a child won’t directly affect your car insurance, if you’ve had a child in the past year you’ll want to make sure you are using an insurer-approved car seat to keep the baby safe while you’re driving. Many insurance companies also provide free seminars on child safety, so ask your auto insurance agent if this is something available to you.

For those companies that don’t, many can connect you with clinics and events in the area that do offer these services. Discussions usually include what type of car seat to use as your child ages, how to buckle him or her up safely in the vehicle, and when it’s safe to allow children to ride buckled in the seat alone.

Teenager Driving

Though adding a teenager to your car insurance policy can boost your rates, adding your teen’s vehicle, if they have one of their own, can also earn you an auto policy discount. Just remember that the car they choose can also affect your premiums, so help them choose a safer vehicle with cheaper insurance rates when they’re ready to buy a car of their own.

If your teen has begun driving during the past year and is still in school, encourage him or her to work hard to keep those grades up. Most insurers offer car insurance discounts to families with young drivers who maintain at least a “B” average in school. Those who take driver’s education and/or a safe driver training class can also help their parents offset the increased cost of car insurance with additional discounts.

Job Change or Retirement

If you’ve lost your job during the past year, you’re probably not driving as much as when you commuted back and forth to work. Check with your insurance company, as the decrease in mileage may be enough to earn you a low-mileage discount on your auto insurance.

The reverse is also true: Traveling back and forth to a new job that’s further from home than your old one may cause car insurance rates to rise unexpectedly.

Retirement is a big change that many people don’t take into consideration when thinking about car insurance either. But since this life change occurs in your later years, it often carries with it auto insurance discounts for senior citizens, which can help lower insurance rates once you’re living on a fixed income. Insurers offer seniors these types of discounts because they tend to drive much more carefully—and less—than younger people, thus representing much less risk of accident or injury to their insurer.

Car Purchase

Buying a new car means changing your auto insurance policy to cover the new vehicle—and removing the old one. Depending on what type of vehicle you buy and how its car insurance quotes compare to your previous car, your vehicle insurance rates may well fluctuate with the purchase. Keep this in mind while shopping for a new car, and be sure to notify your car insurance agent as soon as possible if you’ve purchased a new car recently.

Keeping in Step

One thing is sure about life: it constantly changes. If you’ve experienced any of these major life adjustments during the past year, do yourself a favor and make sure your car insurance coverage is up-to-date. All it takes is one quick meeting or phone call with your car insurance agent to make sure you have the coverage—and protection— you need.

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