The Car Insurance Companies That Charge More If You’re Single

Sure, there are financial perks to being partnered up. You can split living expenses. You might get a tax break. But, regardless of your relationship status, the price of a product is usually the same—unless that product is car insurance. The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) calls out the insurance companies that charge more for single people.

Of course, insurance prices fluctuate. And while it makes sense to change prices based on driving history, other criteria is questionable. The CFA conducted a study in 10 cities, obtaining rate quotes from major carriers and opting for minimum liability insurance only. They found that, at most major insurance companies, rates are almost always higher for customers who are single, separated, or divorced. Often, widowed drivers are charged more, too.

The CFA reported:

In the ten cities studied, four of six major insurers – GEICO, Farmers, Progressive, and Liberty — increased rates on state-mandated liability coverage for widows by an average of 20 percent. The fifth insurer, Nationwide, sometimes increased rates for widows. The sixth insurer, State Farm, did not vary the rates it charged because of marital status. All State Farm price quotes for a driver in a city were the same, regardless of whether the driver was single, separated, divorced, widowed, a domestic partner, or married….Farmers, Progressive, Nationwide, and Liberty always charged single, separated, and divorced drivers the same price, and this annual premium was almost always higher than the premium it charged married persons. GEICO’s premium quotes, though always lower for married drivers, varied unpredictably, with single, separated, and divorced drivers often being charged different prices.

It’s important to note that the CFA used specific criteria when asking for these quotes. They assumed the driver was a 30-year-old female with no history of accidents or violations. Just based on their study, there’s no way of knowing how the prices fluctuate when that criteria changes. They do point out that insurance company’s defend this practice in general, though:

Auto insurers say that married people deserve lower rates than others because they tend to drive more responsibly. They, and their advocates, frequently cite a study released in 2004 by the National Institutes of Health showing that single persons had higher driving injury rates than married persons... However, this study, undertaken by several academics, was based on data collected in New Zealand around 1990 involving only 138 injuries, a substantial minority of which involved driving motorcycles. And the difference in injury rates was only about one percentage point.

You’ll definitely want to give the full post a look. The CFA lists how much these prices fluctuate in different cities, too.

New Research Shows That Most Major Auto Insurers Vary Prices Considerably Depending on Marital Status | The Consumer Federation of America via MoneyTalksNews

Photo by Pictures of Money.

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