Status divorced versus single

[kriskwery]

Various forms (especially online) ask your marital status. I resent ticking a box that says 'divorced/separated' as I have been divorced some dozen years now and feel truly 'single'. However, could anybody penalise me for saying 'single'? I really don't see what the heck it's got to do with, say, buying a car breakdown service as I was today!

[BadBob]

I think most of it is simply used by companies for marketing purposes. In insurance it can make a difference to your premium but other than that I dont think there is much of a legal argument they could use if you said otherwise.

[KEJ2000]

I agree with BadBob. For auto insurance, the premium is slightly higher for single people, because the [stupid] stereotype is that single people are bigger risk-takers than married people, when driving. ...I don't know how they factor in the formerly married, which only proves that the whole formula is ludicrous!!! Also, a person's status could matter if you volunteer to participate in medical studies, or psychological studies (as the normal person, to which the others are being compared!), because marital status is sometimes one of the factors / variables they consider when analysing their data, to see which groups were in better health than the others. There may be a couple other examples which I have not remembered yet. Most of the time, though, it is no one's business except your own, and you can't be "punished"...

[Hoppynose]

I think it helps the company do credit checks as if you are female and divoced you may be registered under a married name and also maiden name. I didn't like it at first but I have no regrets about the marriage or divorce - I do find other people find it uncomfortable if you say you're divorced tho' - but it's part of my life and I don't feel ashamed about it! Regardless of how single I feel now!