If you own more than one vehicle, you should look into purchasing a multi-car insurance policy. A multi-car policy allows you to purchase car insurance for two or more vehicles on a single policy, usually at a significant discount ranging from 10% to 25%.
Everything you need to know about multi-car insurance and how to get the cheapest quotes is right here.
What is a Multi-Car Insurance Policy?
The term “multi-car” refers to having more than one car insured on a single auto insurance policy. In some areas, you can insure up to six vehicles on the same policy, although the maximum number of vehicles is normally around four. Remember, this only applies to automobiles, vans, and trucks. Additional motorcycles, trailers, and so on do not qualify for “multi-car” status. (You’ll need motorbike insurance or travel trailer insurance for these, not car insurance.)
What is the Purpose of a Multi-Car Insurance Policy?
A multi-car insurance policy functions similarly to a single-car policy in most ways. When you fill out the quote form, you’ll tell us about the automobiles you own and who drives them. Some car insurance companies inquire who the principal driver is for each car, which vehicle is the primary vehicle for each driver, or both. When you apply for car insurance, the company will automatically incorporate any multi-vehicle discounts into your quote.
Some coverages apply to all drivers on a policy, while others only apply to one car. Liability coverage, for example, is shared by every car (and every driver) on your policy. Meanwhile, each vehicle’s comprehensive collision coverage can be customized. This way, you can have full coverage on your new Acura without having to pay extra for coverage on your young driver’s 15-year-old Toyota Camry.
| Coverages shared among cars | Coverages set for each car |
| Liability (bodily injury and property damage) | Comprehensive |
| PIP/Medpay | Collision |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist | Emergency road service |
| Rental reimbursement |
Which Car Insurance Providers offer the Best Multi-Car Discounts?
We checked nine top insurance firms and discovered that they all provided a discount for insuring multiple vehicles. Some providers provided a particular percentage discount for insuring more than one car, while others merely said that a discount is available.
Geico had the best savings of the firms that offered a specified percentage discount: customers can save up to 25% by insuring their automobiles through the company. State Farm also offered a substantial multi-car discount of 20% off.
| Insurer | Discount |
| Geico | Up to 25% |
| State Farm | Up to 20% |
| Progressive | 10% |
| Travelers | Up to 8% |
We also discovered that Allstate, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, and USAA offered multi-car discounts; however, the insurers did not specify the amount.
Furthermore, you should take these percentage savings with a grain of salt because the offered discounts may not always begin with the same base price.
Imagine Company A offers you a 30% reduction off the base price of $400 per month for two car insurance. Meanwhile, Company B only gives you a 10% discount, but its monthly basic price is $300. Company B will have lower effective pricing in this situation.
| Base price (2 cars) | Percent discount | Net price | |
| Company A | $400/month | 30% | $280 |
| Company B | $300/month | 10% | $270 |
A multi-car discount is not the only option to acquire a lower car insurance policy. Other incentives, such as those for safe driving or customer loyalty, may make one insurer a better offer than another. The best method to ensure you’re getting the cheapest multi-car insurance deal is to seek quotes from various insurance providers and then choose the one with the lowest pricing.
Other Benefits of a Multi-Car Insurance Policy
Another advantage of a multi-car insurance policy is the opportunity to stack insurance coverages. Stacking coverage allows you to take benefit from the complete amount of your coverage at any moment in places where it is available.
If you have two cars and stack your $50,000 uninsured motorist (UIM) coverage, you effectively have a $100,000 UIM policy insuring you at all times – usually at a lower cost than a non-stacked policy with the same total amount.
Stacking certain coverages varies by state, but the most frequent possibilities are UIM and personal injury protection (PIP).
A multi-car insurance policy also simplifies the payment process for your insurance. There is simply one regular payment to make and one policy renewal date to remember. This advantage does not immediately save you money, but it can save you time and effort.
How to Get the Cheapest Multi-Car Insurance Quotes
If you just want to acquire multi-car insurance as soon as possible, call your insurance agent or go online and add your new vehicle to your policy — it will only take a few minutes. However, purchasing a new car is a good opportunity to search around for numerous quotes from car insurance companies because rates are continuously changing, and your existing carrier may not offer the lowest price now that you have multiple cars.
Car insurance providers have sought to simplify the process of obtaining quotes online, particularly for numerous automobiles. However, the procedure still requires a significant amount of repetitive data entering. You can expedite the procedure by gathering the necessary data ahead of time:
Preparedness information for purchasing a multi-car insurance policy:
- Car identification numbers (VINs)
- Estimated weekly or annual mileage for each car
- Who drives each car the most?
- Each driver’s license and a Social Security number.
You can save even more time by recording longer numbers, such as VINs and driver’s license numbers, digitally and pasting them into the appropriate fields, rather than transcribing them by hand.
How many vehicles can I insure under a single insurance policy?
Every insurance company we contacted allows you to insure several vehicles, but not every company will allow you to insure the same amount of vehicles on an online quote. Geico allows you to add the most cars (nine) of any major insurance company, however, every business requires at least four cars on your policy.
| Insurer | Maximum number of cars |
| Geico | 9 |
| Progressive | 8 |
| Farmers | 5 |
| Allstate | 4 |
| Liberty Mutual | 4 |
| Nationwide | 4 |
| State Farm | 4 |
| Travelers | 4 |
If you need to insure ten or more vehicles, you may be able to add more vehicles to your policy by dealing directly with an agent or obtaining a commercial car insurance policy.
Can I include other family members’ vehicles in my policy?
Adding a vehicle to an existing insurance policy normally necessitates the ownership of the vehicle by you or your spouse. If the car is owned by someone else, that individual must obtain his or her own policy for the vehicle. However, with some insurers, you may still be qualified for the discount.
For example, if your adult child lives with you and has his vehicle insured with the same carrier as yours, some insurers will apply a multi-car discount to both policies. Other carriers will not permit this; the best suggestion is to contact your insurance agent and see if this is an option.
Is it possible to insure a car and a motorcycle under the same policy?
No, because the motorcycle would require a motorcycle policy rather than an auto policy. However, there is a benefit to insuring both of these vehicles with the same car insurance company: you may be eligible for a multi-policy discount of up to 20%.
A home and vehicle insurance bundle deal are still available.
It never hurts to ask for a bundling discount if you also cover your home with the same insurance company when you contact for second car insurance cost quotes. In some situations, insurers will place a limit on the number of discounts you can apply to your policy. According to Gusner, car insurance providers will usually allow you to have both a multi-car discount and a house and auto insurance bundle discount. According to an Insurance.com pricing analysis, car insurance savings for bundling auto and home coverage with one insurance carrier averaged around 12%.
Is it possible to have two car insurance policies?
This one is simple: can you have two car insurance coverage on two distinct vehicles? There is no doubt about that. It is usually not an issue to keep different coverage for your automobiles.
Yes, if you are considering two insurance policies for the same car with two different insurance providers. Insurance companies will not issue two insurance for the same vehicle. While it is permissible to transport two policies in the same vehicle, there is no benefit and it is a waste of money. Because you cannot file a claim with each insurance provider for the same accident, the benefits of having two policies are essentially nothing.
Can a child at college be covered under a multi-car policy?
If your child attends college in your home state and brings his vehicle, you can usually retain him on your family’s insurance policy as long as your home address remains his principal location. However, you should contact your auto insurer because your premiums may vary depending on the insurance rates in the ZIP code where your kid will live while attending school.
She also recommends speaking with your insurance company to determine what changes may be required if your child attends school out of state.
Once your child has graduated, your insurer is unlikely to want to continue insuring the vehicle as part of your policy.
Does My Car Insurance Cover Other Drivers?
Within specific limits, you can add additional drivers to your policy. This is determined by your insurance policy, the car insurance company that issued it, and the state where the accident occurred. You’ll also be covered if the other motorist has non-owner car insurance.
Is it necessary to have your car insurance and registration under the same name?
Typically, the individual who owns a car will insure it in their name. This makes sense because the individual who has a financial interest in the vehicle will profit from the insurance policy as well. However, sometimes the owner of a car may not want to insure it in their name. This occurs when they are not the primary driver of the vehicle and refuse to pay for insurance coverage.
Can I add someone who does not live with me to my car insurance?
Insurance companies typically do not allow persons who do not live in the same household as you to be added to your policy, however, this varies depending on the circumstances. However, if they do not live with you, you will most likely be unable to add them to your auto insurance policy.
What happens if I do not include my child on my auto insurance policy?
If you do not add your child as a driver to your car insurance policy after they obtain their learner’s permit or driver’s license, you may have difficulty submitting a claim or maintaining discounts if something goes wrong while they are driving.
Do I need to add my child to my car insurance policy?
No, you are not required to include your child on your car insurance policy. However, if your teen lives with you and drives one of the family cars, they can continue on their parent’s car insurance policy for as long as it is in place.
Can you insure a car that does not belong to you?
You cannot in most situations insure a car that you do not own. Unless your insurance agrees to accept something other than car registration as insurable interest.
Can you have two car insurance policies on separate vehicles?
You can have two car insurance plans on different vehicles, but you will wind up paying more for insurance. Many insurance firms provide multi-car discounts to policyholders who insure multiple vehicles.
Is it Cheaper to Have Three Cars on One Policy?
If you insure multiple vehicles under the same policy, you will be eligible for a discount for each additional vehicle insured under that policy. You will get a discount right away when the policy starts, and additional discounts will be applied for each automobile that you insure. If you add members of your family and friends to your policy, you will be eligible for additional savings.
Are There Limits to How Many Drivers Can Be Added Onto Multi-Car Insurance Policies?
Each insurance provider has its own set of guidelines on who can and cannot be added to a car insurance policy, as well as the maximum number of drivers that can be covered under one plan. In most circumstances, spouses and children who reside at the same address where the cars are stored ought to be added (presuming that they are allowed to drive). However, there may be instances in which certain drivers are not included in the list. There are various scenarios in which your housemates or significant others who live with you should also be included as drivers.
Is It Cheaper to Insure Multiple Cars?
Yes. The majority of drivers can save money by purchasing only one vehicle. On the other hand, if you have existing insurance and you add another automobile to it, you can be eligible for a discount of up to 25 percent. Multi-vehicle discounts are some of the most common ones offered in this industry because so many households have more than one automobile. If you have a large number of vehicles that need to be insured, it is typically more cost-effective to insure them all under a single policy than to purchase several individual policies.
Can I Customize the Coverage Levels for Each Car on My Policy?
Certain coverages can be tailored to each individual vehicle. Because the limits of your liability and uninsured motorist coverage are predetermined at the level of the policy, you will not be able to tailor them to the specific needs of individual drivers or vehicles covered under the policy. On the other hand, if you have collision and comprehensive coverage, you typically have the option of selecting a different deductible for each vehicle.
Can I Get a Discount for Having Multiple Cars on My Insurance With Progressive’s Multi-Car Discount?
When you have more than one vehicle listed on your Progressive auto insurance policy, you may be eligible to receive a discount known as a multi-car discount. As long as the vehicle in question is kept primarily at your address, all you have to do to qualify for the multi-vehicle discount is add a vehicle to your policy that is owned by your spouse, a member of your family, or a roommate.
Conclusion
Most states require drivers to have some form of liability insurance. State requirements for carrying specified levels of a collision or comprehensive coverage, on the other hand, are not mandated. In most cases, drivers must cover each vehicle with the same amount of liability or uninsured motorist coverage under a multi-car insurance policy.
You are often free to insure each car with varying levels of accident and comprehensive coverage. However, keep in mind that the occurrences and amounts you are insured for may differ if each car has separate coverages.
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