Why does marital status matter on e.g. insurance forms

[Backhills]

I've been married forever and just tick the box without thinking about it.

However, I will soon be a widow and have to start ticking a different box.

Why? And with GDPR, should they even be asking?

It's not just insurance, most finance type things seem to ask.

Will my premiums go up or down as a result?

It's one of the underwriting terms. Your marital status really does affect the claims ratios.

Like LadyPoison says, they do use it for calculating risk for insurance. My car insurance premiums actually went down when I married DH and put him on my car insurance (despite living in the same house and using the car for the same purposes etc).

Think they see you as more responsible if you're married, shows you've 'settled down' and therefore your insurance will be cheaper

I'm really sorry to hear that OP
Married people are more stable, reliable, less impulsive and accident prone When I phoned my car insurance to tell them I was now separated she said she was going to pretend she hadn't heard, as my premiums would increase.