There are multiple ways of insuring your car. The most common way is to go for single driver insurance, and younger drivers sometimes opt to put an older and more experienced driver — usually their parents — to try to bring the premium down. It sometimes makes insurance premiums cheaper because providers assume that you won’t be driving as often.
However, most young drivers will agree their parents are rarely ever behind the wheel. But what about multi-car insurance policies and how much money does it save? Are they the better option, and what is the best to insure a multi-car household? Keep reading to find out.
What Is A Multi-Car Insurance Policy?
A multi-car insurance policy does what it says on the tin – insures multiple cars in the same household on the same policy. Generally, this does mean that the cover for all vehicles is on one policy with the same start and end date. That isn’t always ideal, especially if each person in the household with a car already has a policy. They would have to cancel their policies early — which often comes with a fee — and then restart a new one with the rest of the household.
Some insurers give the option for drivers to be on a multi-car insurance policy, but that it be linked rather than one policy. That means that although drivers can still access the multi-car discount, they can have different benefits, offers, and start and end dates.
How Does It Work?
Most insurance providers will only insure people living under the same roof. Some do offer multi-car discounts to immediate family members that have flown the nest. Most insurers also allow policyholders to set different start dates. For example, if your policy ended today and another member of the household policy ended two weeks later, you can set their individual start date to commence then.
Sometimes a limit is set to the number of cars that you can insure, but that’s usually always high enough to cover a big household. And, each motor will still get the all-important no claims discount. The overall discount varies – but you can typically find up to 25% off for a multi-car insurance policy. There are so many car insurance discounts for a multi-car policy – including ones tied into other discounts. For example, you might be able to get a multi-car discount and a Good Student driver discount.
Is It The Better Option?
There are arguments for and against. There are now so many car insurance discounts, from the Good Student discount to the no DUI discount, that it’s hard to know the best discount to select. As mentioned above, some insurers will let you have multiple offers per policy, but most will only accept one.
Let’s start by looking at the positives. Insuring all drivers under the same roof on one policy means the policies are easier to keep track of – making paperwork easier to manage. If one person on the policy had to claim, there isn’t a ton of paperwork to go through; it’s one set of documents for the entire policy.
As mentioned previously, each driver has their own no-claims discounts that won’t be affected if another driver on the policy has to claim. No-claims bonuses come in handy when it’s time to renew a policy. The older you are and the fewer claims you have, the cheaper your premium should be.
Certain insurers provide multi-car insurance for members of the household that spend time away from home – such as going to college. Although their car might not be there all year, they still have the same level of cover, and you still have the perk of multi-car insurance discounts.
The negatives are not necessarily negatives – just factors to consider that might make you look at other insurance options as well. Typically on a multi-car insurance policy, there are mixed skillsets between the drivers. You might have been driving for 20+ years with a clean driving record. Someone else on the insurance policy, a teenager, for example, might have only a year of experience on the road and already have points for speeding. Everyone else on the policy would suffer as a result.
It’s essential to look at how the policies are linked and whether a claim would increase the overall premium for everyone. Referring back to a young driver on the policy – if a young driver gets into an accident claims on the policy – the price of the premium might sky-rocket.
Not all insurers will offer the same discount for a multi-car policy, so ensure you shop around to find the best deal. You might also like to consider other options and discounts to see if they’re better than a multi-car discount. Insurance comparison websites are a great way to view each offer and find the best deal.
