Sometimes I Like to Pretend to Be a Grown Up.
When Chris and I were first engaged, we went through all the normal preparations that most engaged couples go through. Â We worked out the logistics of who would be moving where. Â We took a few shots of tequila and finally bared our financial guts to each other. Â We decided where we would open bank accounts, and whose name our new car would be in.
And then we sat back and said to ourselves, “Look how responsible we are!”
And then my dad said, “Did you get your insurance straightened out?”
And then I said, “Well, no.”
And then my dad said, “Then you’re still irresponsible.”
The man never beat around the bush.
Now, insurance was never too foreign to me. Â Throughout college, I worked as a legal assistant for a law firm who represented insurance companies in litigation. Â Later, when we moved to Connecticut, I worked for a major insurance company in their legal counsel’s office. Â I knew what coverage was good, what was crappy, and what would let you just get by. Â But, turns out, there was much more to insurance than just auto coverage (which is 95% of what I had experience in). Â There was also health, rental, homeowners (later down the road for us), and life insurance.
If you think this stuff is boring and insignificant, let me tell you about the first 3 years of my marriage:
- When Chris was in graduate school during our first year of marriage, he cut his finger so badly on a table saw that we ended up in the emergency room in the middle of the night and almost met our deductible in one visit. Â Had we not had health insurance, we would have been up a creek and out a couple thousand dollars right out of the marriage gate.
- When we moved into our first rental apartment together, it was in an old home that had been restored and turned into two separate apartments. Â One night, the basement flooded and while the homeowners insurance covered most of the damage, our belongings were replaced with our own rental insurance policy. Â We would not have been able to replace a thing on our shoestring, single income.
- When we bought our first house together in Connecticut, we quickly discovered after the first good rainfall that the concrete floor in our basement was cracked. Â If flooded. Â Then it molded. Â Then the wood that was over the cement warped. Â Homeowners insurance saved us thousands of dollars with that little catastrophe.
Insurance saved our hides on multiple occasions as a newlywed couple. Â And even as a seasoned couple now, I have seen the effects of having or not having insurance on our own family and on countless friends who have experienced hardship or unexpected surprises.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recommends you and your partner have the following discussions about insurance before you tie the knot:
Auto:Â Finding out youâre in love with a speed demon after saying âI doâ can be a shock to your psyche, and your auto insurance premiums. Â You may want to think twice about combining coverage, and educate yourself about named-driver exclusion clauses.
Home: How many of us really know how much âstuffâ we own? Without a clear grasp of our property, our most prized possessions might not be covered by our homeowners or renters insurance.  NAICâs free MyHOME Scr.APP.book app lets you quickly capture images, descriptions, bar codes and serial numbers, and stores them electronically for safekeeping. The app organizes information room by room and creates a back-up file for email sharing. Readers can search âNAICâ to download the app at iTunesÂŽÂ and Android marketÂŽ.
Health:Â The lowest premium isnât the only consideration when deciding between health insurance plans. To avoid a short-term decision that could result in long-term headaches, be sure to review provisions related to deductibles, co-pays and coinsurance, and pay attention to what is NOT covered.
Life:Â Now that âIâ actually means âwe,â you may want to revisit your life insurance coverage. To land on a new amount, consider future income potential, the cost of raising kids and any outstanding mortgage.
To help engaged couples get smart about insurance together without tearing each other apart, NAIC created The Insurance Survival Guide for Newlyweds, an adventure-laden infographic of facts and tips to ease the transition to joint insurance lives.  To promote this new campaign, the NAIC is also sponsoring a $50 Home Depot gift card giveaway today on Marriage Confessions.  To be entered to win, download the “Insurance Survival Guild for Newlyweds,” and then post a comment sharing what fact or tip you found the most helpful or surprising.  There’s even a fun “I Do Adventures” interactive game to make the insurance process more fun!
I realize that insurance is probably the most un-fun, driest topic you could talk about with your fiance (or on your blog…), but it really is so important to be prepared. Â Small, thoughtful precautions now will make life so much easier for you later. Â And besides, my dad was right. Â It’s just plain irresponsible to only think about wedding dresses and bridal bouquets. Â Marriage lasts a lifetime. Â You better protect it now.
24 Comments
Katie L
Did you know that if you live in a log home like I do, your home insurance is more expensive and changes based on how close the nearest fire station is? Ugh!
Cali
As a newlywed I really appreciated the hr reminder about changing my beneficiary!
jamie
we just finished our dave ramsey finacial peace university class. the week he talked about the insurances was AMAZING. i would highly recommend taking the 9-week class!
Ashley @ A Recipe for Sanity
I already have Rob as my beneficiary, but once I read this and looked at the info, I talked to him about us getting life insurance once we get married next November. We would definitely need coverage since we’re both used to two incomes, and if something (God forbid!) happened to one of us, we would definitely have a problem.
Nikki
This was a great reminder that I need to get life insurance again! Now that I have quit my job to stay home with my son, I lose that coverage. I should probably get on that…
Kari
This is great advice! One thing I don’t have to worry about after I get married in June is our health insurance as we both work for the same district and have the same coverage – but everything else was so helpful! Love the app to inventory the house too, so smart!
laurenbtrain
The app is really interesting!
Lee Ann
Don’t forget an umbrella policy … you never know what unexpected situation may arise. It’s a little more peace of mind.
Lauren S
My husband and I have been talking about getting additional life insurance (we both have small policies through work). Maybe this will be the push I need to do it.
Pamela @ Little Red House
Ditto what Jamie said – I highly rec Dave Ramsey’s FPU class (or at the very least read his materials). As for the article, I wasn’t aware such a thing as named-driver exclusion clauses existed (not that I have ever had need for one). Interesting.
Maggie
Great advice. I was surprised by the statistic of how many couples purchased a home together before they were married!
Lauren
I love the idea of the app – My husband and I have been married for almost 5 months and we just finished Financial Peace University. We just had a tree fall on our house on Halloween (Pretty sure that was a trick and not a treat… and now we are fighting with our homeowners insurance about how much they will cover.) Next insurance up on our list – Life insurance! Thanks for the tips Katie!
emily
I really never knew anything about a named-driver exclusion; I will definitely be looking into that one more closely!
Natalie E
We’ve been saying we need to inventory our house for several years now (doh!) so I’m excited to hear about this app! Maybe that will be the last push we need to actually do it. Unrelated, but also…17 tons of gold melted down annually for wedding rings?? Crazy!
Stephanie
My husband and I did a good job talking about most types of insurance but we missed the mark on life insurance. I didn’t think it was a big deal until we had kids. I guess I was wrong!
Ariane
The tip that I found most useful is the guide is that a renovation investment of $5,000 or more can change a home’s replacement value and the amount of coverage needed.
Katie B.
How important life insurance is. It can be a bit morbid to discuss but it’s so important. We realized we had to consider our mortgage but that we also wanted yo help each other out with student loans in case either of us died. Great post!
USAKiwi (Kylee)
I found it surprising that life insurance doesn’t automatically go to your spouse as a beneficiary!
Lisa Brown
i found interesting that 24% of married millenials purchased their first home together before they were married.
Lisa Brown
email: jslbrown_03 at yahoo dot com
Jessie C.
I found that WreckCheck app is helpful to have it on the phone though I hope I never have to use it. tcarolinep at gmail dot com
Jennifer Marie
I like the idea of the wreckcheck app. I hope I do not need it, but what a great tip.
Michelle
That app is really useful- I will play around with it as soon as I get home!
I never knew about the named driver exclusion policy or the fact that where you decide to move could impact your insurance rates. It makes sense, but just never occurred to me. That’s something else to consider along with whether it’s a good neighborhood and the school ratings.
This is a great post- thank you!
Kristi
I was not aware of the named-driver exclusion clauses. I will have to educate myself on that now!
I would also like to say it’s a good idea to look into supplemental insurance, for example, Aflac. I know they offer cancer policies and medical polices that help you pay for additional out of pocket costs that your major medical does not cover.