Joint Car Insurance for Unmarried Couples

Finding joint car insurance for unmarried couples used to be terribly difficult. Whether you were simply a man and a woman who lived together and shared the bills or were a member of a domestic partnership, car insurance companies did not take kindly to insuring additional individuals on one policy. This often meant that when two unmarried people shared a vehicle, each one had to purchase a separate policy despite the fact that the car was registered and usually owned by only one person. Times have changed, thankfully, and now it is quite simple to add on roommates domestic partners and even the neighbor who borrows your car once a week.

Sharing a car means finding the lowest cost car insurance possible for the worse driver. The better driver most likely has no problem getting car insurance, but often one driver has had a questionable history and now is looking toward the future of car insurance with grim possibility. No problem. If you generally start with the worse driver of the two you can get quotes that are not likely to increase much when the better driver is added. While there will be cases where both drivers are either impeccable or both drivers are basically clinging to their license with their fingernails, car insurance companies are still willing to treat you both with a fair and reasonable quote for your situation.

Joint car insurance for unmarried couples no longer means paying out high additional fees, either. There was a time when insurance couples were willing to insure two people who were not married and worked in something known as an "add on fee' or an "amendment fee.' This was basically a surcharge developed by the insurance companies that forced unmarried couples to pay higher rates based on the fact that they were not married, not their driving history. Of course, there was a little noise tossed about and some of the domestic partnership rights groups got involved and hammered home the simplest of points. Everyone deserves fair car insurance. Fortunately, the insurance companies were quick to listen and these additional fees were dropped and most insurance quotes these days are simply based on age and risk factors.

When you apply for car insurance as an unmarried couple, your quote might be based on the worse driver, but you should always apply under the primary driver's name. We will just assume, since the primary driver purchased the car, that their credit is better, their driving history might be better, and of course, the lending company considers them the primary account holder no matter how many people you attached to any single car. By using the primary driver as the initial applicant, the additional driver is usually added on at a lower rate. This is because they are not considered the primary responsible party for the condition of the car. The person who is responsible has to answer to the lending company. The only time this is a totally moot point is when the car is either leased or purchased under two names.