Things Every Couple Should Know About Insurance Before Getting Married

Featured Vendor: James Ralph Agency

For better or for worse. This phrase is probably familiar with soon-to-be newlyweds, but taking time to plan for ‘”the worse” could prove to make the worst of times a little better.  James Ralph, the owner of James Ralph Agency, shares how insurance can help protect couples before and after the I Do’s.  Here are several essential things every couple should know about insurance before getting married.

Let’s face it.  Weddings can be a bit costly.  Investing in weddings could cost today’s couples well over $20,000 or more. 

As a result, many couples may want to consider having wedding insurance to protect their investment.

Let’s Talk Insurance

Wedding insurance can cover liability and casualty exposure.

Ralph stated, “If someone trips and falls and someone gets hurt.  Lose a ring. Minister doesn’t show up.  The venue closes down with no pre-warning. Anything that should cause the wedding not to come off like it should or if there is any liability exposure that should have someone to file suit.”

After the wedding, they should discuss and review their various insurance policies.

These policies might include health, life, disability, renter’s insurance, or others.

Wedding Insurance

Wedding insurance costs will vary.  When comparing several wedding insurance policies, Ralph found a wedding liability policy (covering things such as slips and falls, etc.) for a one-day wedding event with up to 500 in attendance for just $82.50. 

On the other hand, casualty wedding insurance might cover:

• A videographer fails to provide a wedding video.
• The venue goes bankrupt and closes without notice.
• The tailor loses the groom’s tuxedo.
• The caterer doesn’t show up with the food.

Ralph continued, “Weddings are very expensive.  It’s almost like a house.  You have to protect that event, which is a special event.  Most venues require liability.  You can add on casualty.”

He shared that wedding insurance is similar to commercial insurance in terms of what it covers. 

He continued, “The venue most likely will require you to have insurance because if you mess up their building, they are going to charge you for it.  But you can also add to it for the property that you have, such as the dress and the rings.”

Honeymoon Travel Insurance

No one wants mayhem to ruin their honeymoon.  For this reason, honeymoon travel insurance (trip insurance) provides protection that helps calm anxious minds.  A travel agent can help purchase this type of coverage.

Things to Consider

Now that the couple is legally married, they may have the opportunity to save money or even increase their coverage benefits significantly.

Likewise, as a single person, the individual may not have thought about purchasing life insurance, or perhaps they had coverage through their parent’s policy.

However, they may want to reevaluate their situation now that they are married.  Because the new spouse may depend on the other spouse’s income, considering purchasing life insurance or increasing coverage amounts may be something that appeals to them.

“If they just bought a new home, they need homeowner’s insurance.  The same with cars, they may have had their own, but now that there is a wedding, you have to let the insurance know that there is another person on the auto plan,” states Ralph.

He continues, “There is more than just purchasing additional insurance.  There is also changing the insurance.  For instance, who is the current beneficiary on their policy?  Once you get married, it might become your spouse.”  

Similarly, he shared that the couple should also update other insurance policies.  For instance, if the couple lives in an apartment and has renter’s insurance, it is important to update the policy to include the new spouse and their list of valuables, such as high-end jewelry, furs, or expensive electronics. 

Likewise, check to see if adding the spouse to an existing health insurance policy is beneficial.

For instance, if one spouse has full health insurance coverage through their job that covers all health care expenses and the other spouse has limited coverage, it might be beneficial to add the spouse who has limited coverage to the other spouse’s policy. 

Not only could the couple end up with more benefit protection, but they may also save money if they decide that only one insurance policy is needed and cancels the other policy.

Types of Life Insurance

Regarding life insurance, Ralph shared the difference between the types of life insurance. There is temporary insurance, which is term insurance, and permanent insurance in the form of Whole Life or Universal Life.

“Term is temporary. Whole life insurance is permanent.  You buy temporary insurance in case someone should die and the house is paid off by the insurance policy. For temporary, it could be as long as their child becomes an adult.”

He continues, “Term insurance is for a temporary need.  The only permanent need I know of today is death.  So, there is always a need for a permanent policy.”

One thing to keep in mind is that as you age, term insurance premiums increase or the policy’s face amount may decrease.  Therefore, it is typically most affordable to purchase it when you are young and healthy. 

Whole life type policies generally are more expensive and accumulate cash value over time.

“Personally, I don’t look at life insurance as an investment.  I think if you want to invest, you should invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and get a financial planner.  Life insurance is a form of protection just in case something happens.  That’s my personal opinion”, Ralph stated.

Renter’s Insurance

Protecting your personal property is very important, especially if you are in an apartment or because there are so many variables out of your control that could damage your property.  In some cases, the apartment management will not be responsible for your loss.  So, what are you to do if the apartment above yours has a fire and damages your brand new 86″ HD smart TV?  Renter’s insurance could make all the difference.

“One thing that disturbs me is whenever I see an apartment building catch on fire on TV, and I find out that that person did not have insurance.  Insurance for apartments is not as expensive as you think it is.  They lose everything.  You just need to be protected,” stated Ralph. 

Best Time to Perform a Review

So, when should a couple begin their insurance audit review?

“You need to start right away, but you can’t make any changes until you get married because legally, you can’t add that person to your policy.  Once they say, I DO they can add.  I wouldn’t wait too long after the I Do’s.  I wouldn’t wait until the honeymoon because something could happen that would be different if you were married versus if you were not married. However, you can add a beneficiary to your policy at any time,” stated Ralph.

He shared the following example to illustrate the point. Suppose the couple did not update their policy and inform the insurance company that an additional person was living in the household. In that case, if there was a car accident, there could be an issue when they make an insurance claim. It all depends on the policy and how it was written.

Additionally, adding another car to an existing policy may be less expensive than having two completely different policies.

Types of Insurance Agents to Consider

Furthermore, Ralph explains that their two types of agents.  There are captive and independent agents.   He is an independent agent.

Ralph explained, “A captive agent is someone like an Allstate agent, State Farm agent, or Nation Wide.  Independent agents are agents who represent several companies.  They are not obligated to write for a particular company.  I feel good about independent agents because we can really shop around.  I’m not knocking captive, but I think in a business environment, you have more flexibility between carriers and different types of policies.”

Buy-Sale Agreement Life Insurance

One often-overlooked insurance that couples who own businesses should consider is buy-sale life insurance.  This type of insurance helps to facilitate the transfer of ownership of an existing business from a deceased partner’s spouse to the surviving business partner.

Ralph gives this example.  Ralph shared, “You just got married.  You have a business and your spouse is involved in the business.  Both of you own that business.  What happens if something happens to one of you?  If the partner dies, their spouse will now become your partner.  The buy-sale agreement buys the surviving spouse out of the business.”

These are things that couples may want to take under consideration, especially if the spouses have no interest in inheriting the business in case their spouse passes or is incapacitated.

Final Thoughts About What Every Couple Should Know About Insurance.

So, what is the takeaway for couples?  First, have a meaningful conversation with each other about your insurance status.  Then talk to an insurance agent to uncover unmet and unprotected needs.  These are just a few things every couple should know about insurance before getting married.