Car Insurance Save on car insurance: Get a girlfriend Written by: Emmet Pierce | Reviewed by: Michelle Megna Michelle Megna Michelle, the former editorial director, insurance, at QuinStreet, is a writer, editor and expert on car insurance and personal finance. Prior to joining QuinStreet, she reported and edited articles on technology, lifestyle, education and government for magazines, websites and major newspapers, including the New York Daily News. | Updated on August 5, 2015 Why you should trust Insure.com Quality Verified At Insure.com, we are committed to providing honest and reliable information so that you can make the best financial decisions for you and your family. All of our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. We maintain strict editorial independence from insurance companies to maintain editorial integrity, so our recommendations are unbiased and are based on a comprehensive list of criteria. Jesse Levey recently saved $200 a year on car insuranceby having a girlfriend. The 31-year-old Californian, who works in marketing, recently got the pleasant surprise when he added his girlfriend to his auto insurance policy. “They ran the quote and said it was $200 less per year,” he says. “She has a good driving record, but so do I. She is going to be using my car some of the time. We live in the same place.” It turns out that one unexpected benefit of love and commitment is cheap auto insurance. Girlfriends with benefits Girlfriends can lower a car insurance rate because they’re often “less risky” than their boyfriends. Insurance companies generally see women as safer drivers, and couples are better risks than single people. “It typically happens because the insurance company views the woman as a better risk or because the company offers discounts to family policies, which may include unrelated people who share the same home,” explains Robert Houlihan, chief product officer at Mercury Insurance. Houlihan notes that getting married could bring down one’s car insurance price even more. Generally, a couple must live together to receive reduced car insurance quotes on a shared policy. Shawn Christie, an insurance broker in Colorado Springs, Colo., says about 10 percent of his male clients see their rates drop when they add a wife or domestic partner to their policies, sharing the same vehicle. Going the wrong direction Of course, the “wrong” significant other could actually increase your rates. Before sharing a car insurance policy, ask your partner about his or her driving history, says David Snyder, vice president and associate general counsel for the American Insurance Association. “It has often been said when you marry someone, you also marry their family. You may be marrying their insurance rating as well,” points out Snyder. And it’s not just tickets and accidents that push up car insurance rates. Bad credit can ding you, too. If your partner is slow to pay his or her bills, says Christie, it could result in higher auto insurance rates. “Companies have found that if you pay your bills, statistically you drive more responsibly,” he explains. Calculating car insurance rates Snyder stresses that each insurance company has its own way of pricing “risks.” Calculating rates for adding a driver “is a blending of many factors,” he says. If your domestic status changes, you should contact your car insurance company to find out if you are entitled to cheaper car insurance rates, says Houlihan. “Anytime you are changing anything in your profile, it is always a good idea to check with your agent.” In case you missed it Best Car Insurance Companies of 2023 Car insurance rates by state: The most expensive and cheapest states for car ins... Full coverage auto insurance: What it costs to get covered A complete guide to car insurance for seniors A complete guide to adding a teenager to your car insurance policy What to do after a car accident that’s not your fault Total warfare: What to do when your auto insurer totals your car Car insurance claims: Who gets the claims check? Buying and insuring a used car: Most and least expensive models to insure in 202... The Best Car Insurance for Bad Credit of 2021 The best car insurance companies for speeding tickets Car insurance after a DUI Guide to Car Insurance Discounts Proper insurance coverage for college-bound children How to read (and actually understand!) your auto insurance policy Car Insurance Companies New driver insurance grace period: What you need to know How much do insurance agents make Autonomous cars: 5 delightful and 5 distressing things Busted! Part 1: How insurance companies spot bogus claims Insurance options for rideshare drivers 10 things that are illegal but shouldn’t be 1/1 Get instant quotes now ! Please enter valid zip Get quote