You’ve probably seen some insurance commercials that talk about bundling your home insurance and auto insurance. Maybe you’re wondering what’s so great about bundled insurance policies. Can bundling your home and auto insurance really help you save money on your home insurance? Bundling comes with numerous advantages, but there are also some things you have to consider when asking yourself if you should bundle your home and auto insurance. We’ll explain what you need to know.
The definition of bundling:
In insurance, bundling means buying multiple lines of coverage (home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, etc.) from the same insurance company. In this case, we’re mostly talking about buying home insurance and auto insurance from the same company.
The pros of bundling:
1. Discounts.
Most insurance companies offer a discount if you buy more than one policy from them. The amount of money you could save varies depending on the company, so you’ll have to do some investigating. Now, the debate about bundling is whether you’ll save more by getting multiple policies from the same company (and getting a discount) or by getting your home and auto from different companies after finding the lowest rate for each. We’ll go into that a little more later.
2. Convenience.
If you get both your home and auto from the same carrier, you’re only dealing with one company. There may even be a way to pay for both coverages on one bill, which means fewer things to juggle. You also may be able to file a single claim if you face a loss that damages both your house and your car. You have to look into the details of the particular plan you’re considering, of course, but there might be some features that make everything easier for you.
3. The company may have a single deductible requirement.
A brief definition of deductible: your deductible is the amount you agree to pay if you file a claim. The insurance company pays the rest of the claim (up to the policy’s limit.) So if you have a loss of $4,500 and your deductible is $1,000, you’d pay $1,000 and the insurance company pays $3,500.
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The thing is, both your home insurance and auto insurance have separate deductibles. Let’s say that you have a really bad storm and a tree falls on your house. One of the limbs of that tree falls on your car. Without bundling, you would have to pay both your home insurance deductible and your auto insurance deductible. But if you bundle, it’s possible that the insurance company will only require you to pay one deductible instead of both. (Although you will most likely have to pay the larger deductible if one is set higher than the other.) You’ll have to check if this is something the carrier you’re considering will do.
4. You can bundle more than just your home and auto.
Sure, why not throw in life insurance, too? Depending on the company, you could bundle home, auto, life, and more…and watch your savings add up.
5. Renters can bundle, too.
Don’t own a house? No problem. You can still bundle your auto insurance and renters insurance. However, keep in mind that the discount you could receive may be smaller than the savings you’d see from home insurance because renters insurance is less expensive. Nonetheless, it’s definitely something to consider.
Things to consider about bundling.
1. Make sure that you still have enough coverage.
If you make the decision to bundle, it’s important to make sure you have enough home insurance and that you have the auto coverages you want. Remember to read through your policies and understand what is and is not covered. You need enough home insurance to completely rebuild your home if it was destroyed by a fire, including costs like the building materials and the contractors’ labor. You also need enough insurance to replace all of your belongings and cover your liability.
2. Check that you’re getting both lines of coverage from the same carrier and not a third-party company.
Some carriers will actually go to a third-party company to get one of the lines of coverage for you. While you’re still “bundled” as far as your coverages go, you’d be dealing with two different companies. And that could defeat the purpose of the convenience that bundling is supposed to provide.
3. Shop around.
Bundling can help you save money on your insurance, and chances are that it will. However, it’s not a certainty. You still may be able to get a better rate on your insurance by getting your home and auto separately. You need to shop around to see what option works best for you. Also, don’t forget to get different quotes for bundled policies – like we mentioned above, the discounts vary from company to company.
Pro tip: When you’re shopping around for your insurance, make sure that you’re considering the coverages offered by each policy as well as the price. Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples when you consider each policy and don’t sacrifice coverage for price.
Speaking of shopping around, our team of insurance experts can help you out. We would be happy to help you shop for the best rate for your home and auto insurance, and we can also help you bundle if that’s something you’re interested in. All you have to do to get home insurance quotes is fill out our online quote form or give us a call today.