Premium on marriage for vehicle insurance

Beginning 2007, married non-smokers may have to pay less for motor insurance.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) of India has set December 31, 2006, as the deadline for moving to a "de-tariffed" regime.

This means that the onus of setting tariffs based on scientific factors will be on general insurers.

While the most obvious factors likely to affect premiums are vehicle type, engine size, use of vehicle, city of operation etc, driver specifics like smoking habits and gender and marital status may come into play as well. Simply put, a married non-smoker is likely to be charged less as compared with an unmarried smoker.

According to Edgar P Balbin, senior manager, chief of party, BearingPoint, studies in mature global markets reveal that a married person is likely to drive more carefully than an unmarried person.

"This apart, marital status has an indirect bearing on use of a vehicle. While an unmarried person may want to use the vehicle for pleasure, the use of a vehicle by the married person may be need-based. A married person may always want to come back home early to be with the family. Some companies do use marital status as a factor for determining tariffs," he adds.