- Car Insurance
Multi-policy discounts, also known as bundling, are one of the most common car insurance discounts.
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A multi-policy discount is essentially a wholesale discount, as it’s offered to policyholders who purchase two or more policies with the same insurance provider.
When are Multi-Policy Discounts Offered?
With multi-policy discounts, you can save over 10% on average when combining insurance products. The biggest discounts are typically reserved for homeowners insurance and auto insurance, but it is also offered for life insurance, renters insurance, condo insurance, and more. The more insurance products the carrier sells, the more varied the savings will be.
Insurance Companies with Bundling Discounts
All the big auto insurance companies offer multi-policy discounts, encouraging you to sign up for their other products. Generally, if they offer a multitude of insurance products, they will also give you a discount for signing up.
- State Farm: Average Bundling Discount Size = Up to 17% off (homeowners, renters, condo, life).
- Progressive: Average Bundling Discount Size = 5% to 10% off (condo, homeowners, renters).
- GEICO: Average Bundling Discount Size = Varies (renters and homeowners).
- Allstate: Average Bundling Discount Size = 10% to 25% off (condo, homeowners, renters, life).
- Nationwide: Average Bundling Discount Size = Up to 15% off (condo, homeowners, renters, life).
- Farmers: Average Bundling Discount Size = Varies (condo, homeowners, business, renters, life, umbrella).
- USAA: Average Bundling Discount Size = 10% off (homeowners and condo).
- American Family: Average Bundling Discount Size = 20% to 29% off (condo, homeowners, renters, life, umbrella).
- Travelers: Average Bundling Discount Size = 5% to 15% off (condo, homeowners, renters).
Pros of Combining Insurance Products
There are numerous benefits to combining insurance products, the main one of which is the price. With savings of more than 10% on average, it’s a great way to bring the cost of your insurance premiums down.
If you combine this discount with other opportunities, such as multi-car and good driver discounts for auto insurance and safety discounts for home insurance, you could save thousands of dollars a year.
You can also simplify everything by combining all your policies with one provider. Not only will this make life easier for you, but it can also increase your worth to the insurer. They may value you more as a customer and be more inclined to offer you discounts and other benefits in the future.
Cons of Combining Insurance Products
You don’t lose anything by getting a multi-vehicle discount but there are some downsides.
The main issue is that it may be cheaper for you to get policies from separate providers. Just because you’re getting a 10% discount on your car insurance policy, doesn’t mean you’re getting the best possible price. If the price is 30% cheaper elsewhere, that 10% isn’t going to make much of a difference.
There is also no guarantee that you will get the coverage you need. By sticking with a single provider just because it offers a multi-vehicle discount, you could be sacrificing key policy features and coverage options.
For instance, all car insurers operating in your state will supply you with the bare minimum needed to meet state requirements. But that may not include rideshare insurance and roadside assistance; it may not offer discounts such as good student discounts, whereby drivers can save an average of 15% by maintaining a B average.
Do the Pros Outweigh the Cons?
Whether the pros outweigh the cons or not will depend on everything from your location to your demographic and your chosen insurance company.
It’s important, therefore, to compare the rates you’re offered and look at the details before diving in. If you’ve just purchased a car insurance policy and need homeowners insurance as well, don’t be tempted to sign on the dotted line with the same company.
See what other providers have to offer, speak with insurance agents, make sure you have the cover you need, and only accept when you’re sure you’re getting the best cover for the best price.
What About Multi-Vehicle Discounts?
Multi-car discounts are offered to policyholders who add more than one vehicle to their policy. For example, if you have several drivers and vehicles in your household, you can add them all to one policy instead of buying separate ones for each.
These discounts are much more straightforward, with many more pros than cons. One of the best things about these discounts is that they don’t only apply to cars. With many providers, you can also get boat insurance and motorcycle insurance by adding those vehicles to the same policy as your car.
Take a look at the list below to see which car insurance companies offer a multi-vehicle policy discount, how much it can save you, and what sort of vehicles it will cover:
- GEICO: Save up to 25% with multi-vehicle discounts on cars, motorcycles, boats, and RVs.
- Progressive: Save up to 5% with multi-vehicle discounts on cars, motorcycles, boats, and RVs.
- State Farm: Save up to 20% with multi-vehicle discounts on cars only.
- Nationwide: Savings vary and cover cars, motorcycles, sports vehicles, boats, and RVs.
- Farmers: Savings vary and cover cars, motorcycles, sports vehicles, boats, and RVs.
All of the above will provide you with complete auto insurance coverage options, including collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, uninsured motorist insurance, and more.
Bottom Line: Two Worthwhile Discounts
Multi-vehicle discounts and multi-policy discounts can shave hundreds of dollars off your home and auto insurance policy, leaving more money in your pocket for important expenses or for additional coverage options.
They should both be considered when applying for car insurance, life insurance, home insurance, and other basic forms of insurance. But they’re not the only discounts at your disposal. Each type of insurance offers a multitude of ways to save, many of which we have discussed already.
It’s all about reducing risk and liability, decreasing the likelihood that an insurance company will pay out while increasing their profits.
Combining several policies into one helps them by improving their bottom line; maintaining a clean driving record, taking defensive driving courses, and staying in good health helps to reduce the risk.
Keep this in mind the next time you apply for any form of insurance and secure as many savings as you can.
Source: pocketyourdollars.com