If you’re going through a divorce, the last thing you want to deal with is more stress. And for a lot of people, insurance is synonymous with stress. You’re already going through enough, and maybe you just want to know what to expect through. What should you know about your home insurance and car insurance if you’re getting divorced? We’ll explain.
What to know divorce and insurance.
Where to start?
It can be hard to know where to start when it comes to your insurance situation when you’re going through a divorce. What should you do insurance-wise? You might not know where to start when it comes to your insurance situation when you’re going through a divorce. What should you do insurance-wise? You might not know where to begin. Here are a few tips for handling your insurance:
- Take a look at all of the insurance policies that you and your spouse had.
- Figure out the policies that you’ll need and make notes of the changes you need to make.
- Take some time to handle health insurance for your whole family.
- Determine if you’ll need any additional coverage.
So, take it step by step. Review your policies and remind yourself of what coverages you have and take some notes.
Home insurance.
When it comes to home insurance, this is (of course) the policy that protects the structure of your house. But what happens if one of you is moving out, leaving the other with the house? The spouse who remains will likely want to change the policy so that it only lists their name. So, that’s something that needs to happen. Another thing that needs to happen is a review of the insurance policy. Some things to look at…
- Is the structure of the home insured for its replacement cost value?
- Likewise, are your belongings insured for their replacement cost value and not their actual cash value.
- Is your deductible set where you want it?
- Have you bundled your home and auto insurance?
- Does your coverage still fit your needs? (Have you gained any valuables, etc.?)
Anyways, it’s important to make sure that the coverage for your house still fits.
Auto insurance.
You’ll also have to handle your car insurance. It’s essential to keep the proper coverage for your vehicle, of course, as it’s what protects your car from damage and protects you from the fallout of damage that you could cause to someone else’s car…or someone. Anyways, you’ll need to make the appropriate adjustments to the policy. If you are not going to be living in the same household, you may need to get separate car insurance policies. As a part of the divorce, you’ll need to take your spouse off of your car insurance policy. You also may want to consider other coverages, such as rental reimbursement, towing, or roadside assistance, as you review your car insurance policy.
Health and life insurance.
Health insurance should be addressed in the final divorce decree. It should be made perfectly clear who’s paying for what, particularly if there are children involved – it needs to be perfectly clear as to who will provide coverage. (Typically whoever had the coverage for the kids before the divorce will carry on with providing it.) You also may want to establish who will be paying for medical expenses that aren’t reimbursed.
As far as life insurance goes, it’s important to review these policies to be sure that they’re still doing what you need them to do. It may be necessary to change beneficiaries. If you depend on your ex-spouse’s income for living expenses, you’ll need to make sure you’re still named as a beneficiary. (But check with an attorney before making changes to your beneficiaries.) The divorce decree should also explain who’s going to carry life insurance, how much, the beneficiaries, and the accrued cash values.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to close all joint accounts – this can help you avoid credit snafus later on.
Divorce is, of course, something that is emotional and stressful, and insurance is probably the last thing you want to deal with. Take things one day at a time, one policy at a time. And let us know if you need help getting your insurance quotes. If you give us a call, message us, or fill out our online form, we’d be happy to help.