If you own a home, car, or other expensive assets, you likely have multiple insurance plans to protect them. Many insurance companies allow policyholders to bundle these policies under one account, offering the following benefits:
- Simplified policy management
- Centralized customer service
- Insurance security
- Discounted premiums
- Combined deductibles
Instead of securing various coverages through separate providers, bundling everything with a single company typically makes for a cheaper and more convenient insurance experience. Multipolicy accounts often include two or more coverages such as home, auto, rental, boat, or life insurance.
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How Does Bundling Insurance Work?
Though bundling insurance should prove relatively straightforward, you must meet your insurance company’s eligibility criteria and choose from their matching coverage options.
Who Can Bundle Insurance?
As long as you have more than one asset needing insurance and your provider allows multipolicy packaging, you should qualify for bundled coverage. Simply request a quote for two or more distinct insurance policies through the same company. If those coverages fit your insurer’s bundling criteria, they may offer you a multiline discount.
Not all insurance companies offer bundling discounts, and most will only allow you to combine specific coverages. Furthermore, bundling may not prove advantageous to people with poor credit or previous claims leading to high insurance premiums. Merely qualifying for an insurance bundle does not necessarily mean you will save money.
Which Insurance Policies Can You Bundle?
Insurers often allow policyholders to bundle the following coverages:
- Auto and Homeowners: If you pay more for your homeowners coverage than your auto insurance, you can combine the two for one of the more popular bundling discounts.
- Homeowners and Umbrella: Umbrella policies increase liability coverage in million-dollar increments, providing comprehensive protection in conjunction with a conventional homeowners policy.
- Health and Dental: This standard multiline package simplifies billing and access to physical and oral healthcare.
- Renters and Auto: Similar to auto and homeowners bundles, but for people who pay rent on their dwellings.
- Life and Disability: These coverages often work hand in hand to financially protect your family if you lose income due to disability or death.
Which Coverages Are Typically Bundeled?
Of all these coverages, policyholders most commonly combine auto and homeowners insurance. Most homeowners own at least one vehicle, and most insurance companies encourage and reward these individuals for incorporating both coverages. Because of the prevalence of these assets and incentivized discounts, bundling these essential protections under one insurance carrier proves a logical savings opportunity for many people.
The Advantages of Bundling Insurance
Bundling insurance helps policyholders save money, conveniently manage multiple policies together, and makes it easier to file claims. Along with combined deductibles and insurance security, multiline policies help your insurance agents learn more about you, allowing them to identify gaps in your coverage and make educated recommendations.
Cost Savings
Of all the benefits of insurance bundling, most customers turn to multipolicy deals to maximize their potential savings. Though final rates vary depending on your insurer, packaging home and auto insurance policies together often results in 10% to 25% premium reductions. Generally, larger policies tend to reward the highest bundling discounts.
Convenience
Not only does bundling insurance save you money, but it can save you time. Keeping track of bills and renewal dates with multiple policies can quickly become confusing and result in more time wasted sifting through files or logging in and out of accounts. By bundling coverages, you would work with one insurance carrier and abide by a generic billing cycle.
Working from a single account also makes changing and reviewing protections easier. You can often access all these policies by logging into one app on your phone or signing into your insurer’s online portal. Anytime you talk to an insurance agent on the phone, they can access and discuss all your coverages without you needing to follow up with another carrier.
Easier Claims Process
If an unexpected peril damages multiple assets covered under a bundled policy, you only have to dial one number to file each insurance claim. This saves you time typically spent waiting on hold or answering the same questions from a previous call with a separate insurer.
For example, imagine a tree falling on your property, crushing part of your garage and the car parked inside. With bundled home and auto coverage, one insurance agent could handle the entire affair. Attaching your auto insurance to a more expensive homeowners policy also adds a layer of insurance security because your provider will have less incentive to drop you for repeated auto claims.
The Disadvantages of Bundling Insurance
However, the benefits of bundling insurance might not apply to everybody. Some potential drawbacks of multiline policies include:
- Less coverage flexibility: By selecting from your insurer’s multipolicy options, you agree to their rules and coverage limits, making it harder to modify one policy without compromising the other.
- Not always cheaper: The convenience of bundling insurance through a single carrier can discourage policyholders from shopping around for better deals. Just because you can get a discount by bundling policies doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t find more affordable individual coverage through another company.
Who Should Bundle Insurance?
Most people who need insurance will benefit from bundling coverage. Individuals with the most to gain include:
- People with multiple assets: If you own a home, at least one car, and other valuables such as boats or RVs, bundling insurance coverages can help you conveniently manage and protect these assets under one account.
- People on a budget: If you require multiple types of insurance, bundling policies can help you secure premium discounts and cut down on out-of-pocket deductible charges.
- People with relatively clean records: If you have accrued many traffic violations or filed multiple claims, your car insurance premiums may cost more than your homeowners rates. These people and others with poor credit could end up paying more for bundled insurance than they would with low-cost individual coverage.
How Much Can You Really Save By Bundling Insurance?
Though multipolicy discounts vary situationally, customers save 17% on average by bundling their insurance coverages. Typically, premium discounts start around 10% but can climb as high as 25% for specific multipolicy deals.
The chart below details standard discounts offered by some of the largest insurance companies in the nation, listed anonymously:
Average Savings | |
|---|---|
Insurer #1 | Up to 25% off |
Insurer #2 | Up to 23% |
Insurer #3 | 20% |
Insurer #4 | Up to 20% |
Insurer #5 | 20% for new customers |
Insurer #6 | Up to 10% off for auto and 15% off for homeowners insurance |
Insurer #7 | Up to 10% |
Insurance providers use these discounts to encourage policyholders to purchase additional coverage, ultimately benefiting both parties. Your final savings will depend on where you live, your personal claims history, and the company you choose to work with.
How To Determine Which Insurer to Bundle With
If it sounds like you could benefit from bundled coverage, follow these steps when selecting your insurance provider:
- Get quotes from multiple insurers. Request bundling quotes online or contact an independent insurance agent to guide you through your options, ensuring you get the coverage you need for the best available discount.
- Ask about affiliate discounts. Also known as third-party discounts, these come when your primary carrier outsources one of your bundled coverages. Though this can still save you money, you would lose the convenience of working under one account.
- Continue shopping even after securing insurance. Homeowners and auto insurance rates change constantly. Continue searching for better deals to maximize your savings.
Alternatives to Bundling Insurance
If bundling insurance has no effect on or raises your premiums, consider the following options:
- Find the cheapest possible individual car coverage. If you have a poor driving record, bad credit, or live in a state with high car insurance rates, you might save more by securing separate, low-premium car insurance.
- Choose protection over price. Insurance coverage is highly individual, and some companies might not bundle the coverages you need to protect your family and assets. Do not settle for insufficient insurance coverage just because of a multipolicy discount.
- Increase your deductible. Though raising your deductible means more out-of-pocket costs following an accident, it will lower your monthly premium.
Putting It All Together
Bundling home and auto policies conveniently saves policyholders through premium discounts and combined deductibles. By sourcing both coverages through one insurer, people can save time filing claims, organizing policies, and paying bills. Giving one insurance agent access to all your coverages helps familiarize them with your needs and allows for well-informed account management.
However, bundling may not make sense for people with high car insurance rates or particular coverage needs. Request multiple online quotes and talk with a trusted insurance expert before settling on a multiline policy. Most importantly, purchase all the coverage you need to adequately protect yourself and your family before factoring in potential multipolicy discounts.