When a marriage ends in divorce one of the items couples need to address is updating their insurance policies.

Customarily a husband and wife will both be listed on policies as a named insured and thus, are joint owners, of insurance policies covering shared assets such as their home, vehicles, vacation property, boats, and recreational vehicles. When these assets, and subsequently the insurance policies covering these assets, are divided both parties will need to be in agreement and authorize changes to the insurance policies.

Both parties authorizing changes is an important protection for each individual – it prevents confusion or chaos that may result if one individual makes changes without the other owners knowledge and consent.

Typically the way this is done – using a two-car auto policy as an example – is the agent will set up a new auto policy for the spouse who is relocating insuring them and their vehicle and, at the same time, will obtain that individual’s signature on a form authorizing removing them and their vehicle from the existing policy.

The most important step is to keep your insurance agent informed throughout your divorce. A good agent can alleviate an already stressful situation by providing expert guidance on concerns to keep in mind, raise questions you may not have considered, inform how changes will affect your rates, determine the appropriate timeframe to update your policies, and walk you through any required paperwork.

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