When you’re in a relationship, you probably share lots of things. Whilst you might have worked out a way to coordinate your use of everything from the hot water to the duvet, have you thought about how you coordinate your insurance policies?

When it comes to your insurance cover, there’s power in working together as a couple.

Here are some things to think about.

Why coordinate, anyway?

When your financial and personal lives are intertwined, as they usually are when  you are part of a couple, it often makes sense to have your insurance working together, too. What happens to one of you often affects the other.

Sometimes the benefits of coordinating insurance are more administrative, for example  it can be easier to keep track of policies when they’re all in one place. Other times it just makes sense to work together on questions such as who owns which life insurance policy, so that any claim is made smoother.

How might you coordinate cover?

There are a few ways this might work.

Health insurance: With health insurance, you can sometimes take out cover as a family group or add a partner to your cover. In some cases, there’s a discount available, particularly if you have a larger family. Having your health insurance with one provider can make it easier to keep track of as well.

Income protection: When you’re planning the amount of income protection cover you might need, it makes sense to consider your partner’s income, too. When you go through the process of determining what’s appropriate, you can consider what your partner earns, and whether they could increase that if you were not able to work.

You will probably also need to consider how much money your household needs to have coming in, to meet your financial commitments and cover your living costs so that bills get paid and your current lifestyle is maintained[AM1] .

If you don’t earn as much as your partner, but carry more of the household load, your discussion might need to consider whether you would need to pay someone to replace what you do at home.

Life cover: Life insurance can offer important financial protection for your partner, should something happen to you.

If you have a mortgage, for example, you may want to have insurance to pay off all or a significant part of that loan if you were to die. That means a grieving partner is not left with a large debt to worry about. Thinking about who needs to receive the claim payment can help guide ownership decisions and make the claims process smoother. For example, you could consider owning each other’s life insurance policies. However, having someone else own your policy can come with some risks, particularly when it comes to administering your policy.

We can help you determine what a suitable ownership structure is for your needs and situation.

Review your cover together

It’s important to regularly review your insurance cover, and it often makes sense to do this with your partner, too. Your SHARE adviser can work through what’s happened in your lives recently, what your goals and individual circumstances are and what protection you’re looking for from your insurance.

Insurance is a key part of a healthy financial life and we’re here to help you find suitable solutions, whatever your individual needs.

Disclaimer: Please note that the content provided in this article is intended as an overview and as general information only. While care is taken to ensure accuracy and reliability, the information provided is subject to continuous change and may not reflect current developments or address your situation. Before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article, please use your discretion and seek independent guidance.