8 changes to make to your insurance when you get married

Getting married is one of the biggest life milestones a person can go through. Between planning the wedding and adjusting to married life, you probably haven't given insurance much thought.

But your change in relationship status has big implications for your policies, including health insurance, life insurance, homeowners insurance and even car insurance.

Here are 8 key insurance moves newlyweds should make after the honeymoon. Consider it a wedding gift.

Marriage is considered a qualifying life event, so you'll be able to make changes to your health insurance coverage within 60 days of the wedding. You can add your spouse to your plan, add yourself to theirs or choose a new plan together. 

If you each have plans, see which has the network, benefits, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs that work for you.

Whether you just bought your first home together or they moved in with you, it's important that you're both listed on your renters insurance or homeowners insurance policy.

It ensures their belongings and liabilities are covered on your policy and will help streamline the claims process in the event of damage or loss.

Plus, except for Hawaii and Massachusetts, insurers are allowed to consider marital status when setting homeowners insurance rates. Married couples are typically considered less risky, so many providers offer them lower premiums.

If you're combining your belongings or you received some lavish wedding gifts, it's time to reevaluate whether your homeowners policy is enough..

"Take an inventory of all of your belongings so you can get adequate personal property coverage," Cady North, a certified financial planner at North Financial Advisors in Washington, D.C., told CNBC Select. "Often, people are either underinsured or overpaying for homeowners insurance."

Go through your home and take photos and notes about all your possessions. There are also home inventory apps like Nest Egg and Sortly that do the heavy lifting by letting you scan barcodes or create new ones for items in your inventory.

However you track your belongings, make sure you keep the information in a secure place outside your home. You may need it when you have to file a claim.

This change also marks a great time to shop around for new homeowners or renters insurance.

Let your current insurer know about your life update. Then, get quotes from at least three other insurers with the same limits and deductibles — you might find a better price elsewhere.

Most homeowners policies have low coverage limits for valuables, typically about $1,500. So, if you spent serious money on your engagement ring or wedding bands, you'll need additional coverage to protect them from damage or loss.

You can schedule jewelry on your homeowners or renters insurance policy, but that means you'll have to meet a deductible and you might even face a stiff premium hike if you file a claim.

A separate jewelry insurance policy will cover your rings outside of your homeowners insurance, and many policies cost just a few dollars per month. Jewelers Mutual even covers preventative maintenance like stone tightening to prevent damage before it happens.

Not only are you merging your lives, but you'll want to combine your car insurance policies, too.

Most providers require every driver in a household to be on an auto insurance policy. While you can exclude someone if you swear they will never drive your car, some states (and some insurers) don't let you exclude spouses.

In addition, you can usually get a healthy discount for having more than one car on a policy. Geico, for example, offers a multi-vehicle discount of up to 25%.

If you already have a joint policy, it's still worth notifying your insurer and getting rate quotes from several competitors. Married people pay 12% less on average for car insurance, according to Experian, because single people are statistically more likely to file claims.

"It's a good idea to do some shopping because you're in a new market," North said.

Marriage is often the tipping point for other big milestones, like buying a house or having a child. If you depend on two incomes and one of you should pass away, life insurance can help keep your family financially afloat.

You may already have group life insurance through your job. Check to see if it's available to you and how much coverage you can get. If you already have an employer-sponsored policy, make sure your spouse is listed as your primary beneficiary.

Employer-sponsored life insurance is usually only one to two times your annual salary. That's probably not enough if you have significant financial obligations, like a mortgage payment or future college tuition for any children.

"When kids start coming into the picture, you probably need to start thinking about having a much larger policy," North said.

Getting coverage is cheaper the younger you are, so it makes sense to buy it now. A term life insurance policy, which is in force for a set period, can cost less than $30 a month for a healthy 30-year-old.

Ladder and Bestow both made our best term life insurance list for affordable policies with online approval and no need for a medical exam.

If you're unable to work because of illness or injury, a disability insurance policy can provide a portion of your income.

While it's often overlooked by young people, North said, it shouldn't be.

"It's probably more important than life insurance," North said. "Statistically, you're more likely to become disabled and unable to do your job than you are to die at a young age."

There are two forms of disability insurance: Short-term disability insurance is typically provided by an employer and pays out up to 70% of your income for a few weeks or months

You typically buy long-term disability insurance yourself. It can also replace up to 70% of your salary, but pays out for years or even until you reach 65.

One of our top picks for disability insurance is Breeze, an online platform that allows you to comparison shop for disability and critical illness insurance from top brands like Guardian and Mutual of Omaha.

At CNBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. For this story, we interviewed Certified Financial Planner Cady North, Founder and CEO of North Financial Advisors in Washington, D.C.

North specializes in financial planning for women in their 30s and 40s.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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