5 insurance tips for moving in with your significant other

December 14, 2020

Moving in with your significant other is an important and exciting life change that creates issues many people forget to consider, like how to protect your assets.

Understand what home insurance covers

Home insurance covers:

• The home itself.
• Liability in case you are found legally liable for damages to another person and/or their property.
• Your personal possessions (the contents of your home).

This only applies to the person who owns the home and some additional occupants, such as children or parents of the insured. It also applies to the insured’s spouse or common-law partner.

Who owns your home?

Even though you plan on spending your life together, who owns your home is important when determining how best to insure it and its contents.

• If you both own your home, you can have one joint home insurance policy. Your home and both of your possessions will be covered.
• If one of you owns your home and the other is moving in, only the homeowner’s property will be covered, so the partner who is moving in needs to be added to the policy as an Additional Named insured for his/her possession and liability.

Consolidate your insurance policies

Going over your individual insurance policies and figuring out how best to combine them is important for making sure you have all the necessary insurance.

• Read the fine print on your insurance policies and make sure you have the coverage you need.
• Consider moving all or most of the insurance policies both of you have to one insurer so you can bundle them and get a discount. This includes home and renters insurance and also your car insurance.
• You will be able to add the person who does not own the home as an “Additional Named Insured” to the home insurance policy.

Car insurance

• Consider transferring your car insurance to the same insurer you use for your home insurance to get a discount.
• If your driving habits change once you move in together, you may want to amend your car insurance.
• If one of you will be driving less, consider adding that person to the other driver’s insurance as an occasional driver.
• Some insurance companies will offer discounts for multiple car insurance policies even if you are not married.
• Sometimes having two separate car policies is a better setup and sometimes it is preferable to get one policy for both people. Ask your insurance advisor which situation best applies to you.

Shop around

Different insurers have different rules about insuring cohabitating couples. Some may be able to give you what others cannot. It is important to get details and quotes from several insurers so that you can get the coverage that meets your needs.