Sara Routhier, Managing Editor and Outreach Director, has professional experience as an educator, SEO specialist, and content marketer. She has over five years of experience in the insurance industry. As a researcher, data nerd, writer, and editor she strives to curate educational, enlightening articles that provide you with the must-know facts and best-kept secrets within the overwhelming world o...

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Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insur...

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Reviewed by Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years

UPDATED: Jun 23, 2021

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The Brief

  • There are four different classifications for unmarried couples in life insurance: Registered domestic partners, cohabitating couples that are not domestic partners, couples that don’t cohabitate and are not engaged, and those that are engaged.
  • Unmarried couples need to prove a financial need for insurable interest to take out a policy. You will often need to show financial dependency on your significant other to obtain a life insurance policy for unmarried couples.
  • Life insurance for unmarried couples can be tricky to obtain depending on a variety of circumstances. It’s best to understand what policies different companies offer.

Life insurance can be a tricky ordeal on its own, but that can be doubly true for unmarried couples. When you can and cannot get life insurance depends on a number of factors including your living situation and dependency on your partner.

As with all life insurance, health and age play a major factor in your given rate. Because of that, it’s important to determine whether you want a shared insurance policy or not, depending on the health of your partner.

Aside from personal health, it’s also important to see how your life insurance with family history taken into account will change your policy. It is possible to buy life insurance for unmarried couples

This article will be going through different life insurance options to help you decide which works best for you and your partner.

If you are one of those unmarried couples trying to get affordable life insurance etner your ZIP code to get free quotes today.

What are the different kinds of life insurance for unmarried couples?

There are four categories that insurance companies use to classify life insurance for unmarried couples. It’s important to figure out how your relationship will be classified for insurance purposes.

  • Registered domestic partners
  • Cohabitating couples that are not domestic partners
  • Couples that don’t cohabitate and are not engaged
  • Couples that are engaged

Another important factor when determining your life insurance policy is how concrete your relationship is with your partner. Without a form of legal binding, entering into a life insurance policy may be tricky to get out of if you were to separate.

Due to your living situation, term life insurance may be the better bet. If you don’t know for sure that you will have a lifelong relationship with your partner, term life is the safer option.

Universal life insurance may work better for you however if you plan to enter into a legal bond with this person or otherwise stay with them for life. It’s up to you which life insurance policy works best for your relationship and insurance goals.

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When is the best time for an unmarried couple to get life insurance?

This is something that is best left to you, but there are some situations where it would be important to consider getting life insurance. For affordable life insurance, the earlier the better.

In the case of an unmarried couple, it’s important to understand where you are in your relationship and decide when to get life insurance. Moving in together or entering into an engagement are both great times to consider if life insurance is warranted.

Probably the most likely time a couple will get life insurance is when they have a child. With a child, it will be important to ensure they are taken care of in the event of a partner’s passing, so getting life insurance at this point makes sense to most people.

If you or your partner are pregnant and want to get great affordable life insurance, check out our guide on affordable life insurance for pregnant women.

How do unmarried couples get affordable life insurance?

When looking for life insurance it’s very important to shop around and do your research. This is especially true for an unmarried couple. One policy may work great for someone while being incompatible or outright unavailable for another.

It can be harder to get the perfect insurance that serves your needs as an unmarried couple but it certainly isn’t impossible. Make sure to do your due diligence by finding life insurance companies for unmarried couples.

Start your journey toward buying life insurance for unmarried couples by entering your ZIP code and getting a free quote today.