Does New York state law allow married couples to have separate auto insurance policies?

Brooke

Yonkers, NY

It is your option to have separate auto insurance policies, but most of the time; it is cheaper to be on the same policy. A New York insurance company will ask questions of you being married or if there are other licensed operators in your household as a basis in calculating your premium rates.

If you and your spouse have separate auto insurance coverage, you may want to do a cost/benefit analysis of each plan to see if you should continue to keep your auto coverage separate. For example, if your spouse’s auto insurance policy has a higher deductible and/or co-payments or fewer benefits than those offered by your plan, he or she may want to join your auto insurance plan instead. You may also want to compare the rate for one family plan against the cost of two single plans.

It is also advisable for you to examine your auto insurance coverage too. If you and your spouse own separate cars, consider pooling your auto insurance policies with one company. Many car insurance companies will give you a discount if you insure more than one car with them. If one of you has a poor driving record, make sure that changing companies won’t mean paying a higher premium.