Should you bundle your personal insurance together?

I don’t know about you but my main motivation is to make my life easier. Daily tasks and chores can bog us down and bring the difficulties we are trying to avoid. I have found myself on occasion running around, burrowing through old paperwork seeing if a certain bill has been paid and the amount and when? I have plenty of apps that show me my accounts transactions but still, it all seems to pile up and become a mess. I hear all the time ads about bundling your insurance together to get discounts but have wondered if there is really any savings in bundling. Let me show you all of the different sides to bundling your home and auto and other personal insurance products together so you can make a better decision.

Bundling insurance brings different types of insurance policies together under the same insurance carrier or provider. You can put your Homeowners insurance and Auto insurance or your renters and auto or even have your car and motorcycle and even another recreational vehicle insurance policy bundled together all with the same insurance carrier. Bundling insurance policies together brings the opportunity for discounts and other advantages.

A discounted rate and reduced cost is the main reason people put together their insurance policies with one provider. So, they can get a credit on their premium rate. Every insurance carrier has some sort of multi- something discount. When you have two or more products with the same provider they discount the premium rate. This not only is an incentive to pick that carrier but it also aligns policies that are commonly together in life any way like your home and car. Claims like fallen trees or other liabilities may overlap.

As far as how much money you will save?

The truth is each insurance provider is different. The best strategy is to shop each product separately and then bundle them together to compare all of the rates.  You might be surprised by the results. You could find two separate policies less expensive or you may also find a really great discounted rate. Every state is different, even each zip code can affect the rate and discounts available. If it sounds like a lot of work just find an independent insurance agent in your area whose job is to shop the rates, they will also have insight on discounts.

Having insurance policies with the same carrier is also about convenience and ease of use.

Ideally, you want to be able to contact one central location for billing issues, coverage questions, or claims. That would make life easier and provide a simple way to manage all of your insurance policies. In my opinion customer service is all about the person you have on the phone at that time anyway but companies who are in favor and advertise about bundling usually have a customer service team and system to easily tell that you have multiple insurance policies and to help you with most issues.

Be sure to ask about affiliate companies, sometimes the insurance carrier you are dealing with will use a third party to insure a policy and if that is the case the customer service aspect is different and you will be dealing with that company’s customer service processes and not maybe the carrier you thought you were working with.

Insurance carriers like to have all of your personal insurance policies and they create many incentives and discounts to get you to do so. Some advantages deal with coverage limits. If you wanted to increase your coverage or add optional coverages the discount could offset the cost or they can even include an increased set of coverage when you are a multi-line customer. Carriers can also offer you some protection when things change or forgiveness on particular claims or billing issues. Carriers like to cancel your insurance if they find risky activities like too many auto violations or too many of the same type of claim. Having multiple insurance policies with one carrier can decrease the chances of them dropping you right away.

I hope considering these aspects can make your life a little easier while you consider bundling your home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, renters insurance, umbrella insurance, or any other type of personal insurance policy together. If you’re really looking to make your life easier, contact one of our friendly agents today and see how you can save.