Bundling usually wins. We will tell you when it does not.
A captive agent can only ever bundle you with one company. We can price the bundle and the split, and hand you both numbers.
What a bundle is actually worth
Putting your home and auto with one carrier earns a multi-policy discount, normally applied as a percentage off both policies. It is real money and it is the reason bundling is the right answer most of the time. But the discount is only one of three things a bundle buys you, and the other two get less attention.
One event, one deductible. Some carriers waive or combine deductibles when a single incident damages both the house and a car. A tree comes down across the roof and the driveway and you pay the larger deductible rather than two. It is not universal, it is easy to miss when comparing quotes, and it is worth asking about by name.
One renewal, one conversation. Two policies with one carrier renew together, adjust together and get reviewed together. When something changes — a renovation, a new driver, a move — it is one call instead of two, and nothing falls between two companies.
When the bundle loses
Here is the part a captive agent cannot tell you: sometimes it does not win. A multi-policy discount is a percentage off two policies, and if one of those policies is badly priced to begin with, a discount on a bad number is still a bad number.
It happens in predictable places. A home near the water that most carriers price defensively but one specialist prices sensibly. A driver with a recent at-fault claim or a licence issue, where one company is punitive and another has moved on. A teenage driver, which can swing auto premium enough to outweigh any home discount. An older roof, which some carriers treat as a reason to decline and others simply rate for.
In each of those cases the best home carrier and the best auto carrier are two different companies, and the split beats the bundle even after you give up the discount. We only know which by running it both ways, which takes us one conversation and costs you nothing.
Why this is an independent agency question
If you ask a company that sells one brand whether you should bundle with them, you already know the answer. The comparison only means something if the person doing it can write both outcomes.
We represent more than twenty carriers. When we say the bundle is the better deal, it is because we priced the alternative and it lost.
- We price your home and auto together and separately
- You see both numbers, including what the discount is actually worth
- If a split wins, we write the split — there is no reason for us not to
- If you already bundle, we check whether your carrier has drifted
Price the bundle and the split
Give us the house and the cars and we will run it both ways.
Bundling questions we hear a lot
Is bundling always cheaper?
No, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling one company's products. Bundling wins most of the time because the discount is real and applies to both policies. It loses when one of your two risks is something a particular carrier prices badly — a coastal home, a teenage driver, a claim on your record, an older roof. In those cases the best home carrier and the best auto carrier are two different companies, and the split beats the bundle even after the lost discount. We run it both ways and show you the two numbers.
How much is a multi-policy discount usually worth?
It varies by carrier and by state, and it is normally applied as a percentage off each policy rather than a flat amount, so the saving is larger the larger your premiums are. Rather than quote a range that may not be yours, we would rather price your actual home and auto with and without and let you see the difference.
What is a single deductible, and does it matter?
Some carriers waive or combine deductibles when one event damages both your home and your car — a tree through the roof that also lands on the driveway, say. Instead of paying two deductibles you pay the larger of the two, or sometimes just one. It is not universal and it is easy to miss when comparing quotes, so it is worth asking about by name.
I have my home and auto with the same company already. Is there anything to do?
Possibly quite a lot. Being bundled does not mean being priced well — it means one company is quoting you on both, and companies drift. If it has been three years or more, or if anything has changed at the house or in the household, it is worth re-shopping. That is the point of an independent agency: we can check without you having to start over anywhere.
Can I bundle things other than home and auto?
Usually. Umbrella, motorcycle, boat, recreational vehicles and rental properties frequently qualify for the same multi-policy treatment, and an umbrella in particular tends to require that its underlying home and auto sit with the same carrier. If you own several things worth insuring, that is an argument for looking at the whole picture at once rather than one policy at a time.