If you’re soon to be married, or if you’re a newlywed, congratulations! Although it may not be as your romantic as your wedding was (or will be), now is the time to review your insurance coverage. Many people don’t realize it, but being married automatically qualifies you for lower insurance rates. You and your new spouse now have the ability to combine your individual coverage into a single package. From a per-person standpoint, married couples enjoy lower insurance premiums than single people on everything from life and disability insurance to home and auto insurance.
Financial planners stress the importance of reviewing your personal situation whenever you are faced with a major change in life, such as getting married, having a baby, or retiring. However, many people limit their evaluations purely to their finances – looking mainly at things like savings, debt loads, RRSP contributions and investments. Insurance often gets overlooked, but it shouldn’t. Over time, your insurance needs change, and at no time is this more apparent than when you are going through a major life transition. You need to make sure your coverage reflects your current and future needs, and when your personal situation changes, your insurance should change along with it.
Disability and Life Insurance in Calgary
Once you get married and enter into a situation where you are sharing a mortgage and other financial responsibilities, you need to consider what might happen if you were injured and left unable to earn your current income. It’s unpleasant and nobody likes to think about it, but there are no guarantees in life and death could strike you or your spouse unexpectedly. It rarely happens to younger people, but it can and you’d be wise to be prepared.
Given this reality, life insurance is one of the most important types of insurance on the market. It provides vital protections that ensure you will never leave your loved ones and dependents scrambling to meet their financial obligations if something should happen to you. Newlyweds are strongly encouraged to purchase life insurance. Not only will you qualify for better rates as a couple, but the younger you are when you buy life insurance, the lower your premiums will be. Permanent life insurance, which provides a guaranteed return on your investment, is an option that makes sense for a lot of people.
If you or your spouse work in a profession that carries a higher-than-normal risk of injury, carrying disability insurance is also recommended. This type of insurance protects you in the event that you suffer an injury that leaves you unable to work, providing tax-free cash to help you maintain your current lifestyle until the injury heals and you can go back to your job.
Home Insurance in Calgary
Since you and your spouse are or will be sharing a home, you will enjoy lower insurance rates because you only have to cover a single house instead of two separate dwellings. In addition to combining your home insurance, you and your spouse can also merge your property insurance coverage into a single policy, which protects your personal belongings from theft and damage caused by incidents like fire or vandalism.
Couples Also Save on Vehicle Insurance in Calgary
While each individual driver will need separate auto insurance for their Calgary vehicles, the benefit of being married is that most insurance companies will offer you reduced insurance rates if you already hold other policies. Thus, by choosing the same company for your life insurance and home insurance needs, you can take advantage of built-in savings on both basic and comprehensive vehicle coverage packages.
Be Proactive About Your Insurance
There are other specialized forms of insurance you may want to consider now that you’re married. For example, critical illness insurance is a type of policy available to all Canadians, yet relatively few people take advantage of it. Critical illness insurance pays out tax-free benefits to policy holders who suffer heart attacks, strokes, or contact certain forms of cancer. This money provides you with a safeguard for covering living expenses, medical costs, and lost income.
Once you’ve updated your coverage to reflect changes in your personal situation, you should remain mindful of the future. You may need additional protection if and when you have children, and having a trustworthy insurance company on your side can make all the difference in the world.
At Lane’s Insurance we offer Alberta residents comprehensive, affordable protection, and we’re here to help you meet all your insurance needs. If you would like to learn more, or if you would like to talk over your personal situation with one of our friendly, knowledgeable insurance advisors, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are happy to offer all the advice and information you need to make an informed decision about your insurance coverage with no obligation.
