Nashville insurance insight: Why bundling is a smart choice

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On rare occasions, it really is best to put all your eggs in one basket. Exhibit A: insurance coverage.

This shouldn’t be news to any homeowner, renter or driver in Nashville, but: Bundling several insurance policies with the same provider almost always benefits you, in a number of different ways.

 

Bundling: What’s in it for you

 

SAVINGS

What we usually focus on when we’re talking about the benefits of bundling, and for good reason — savings can be pretty substantial if you use the same insurance company for some mix of auto, home, renters, umbrella or other insurance policies.

The dollar figures and percentages will vary based on the policies you’re looking at, your risk status and some other factors. But let’s look at a few general examples.

One of the insurance providers I work with here in Nashville, Nationwide, offers up to a 20 percent discount on a home insurance policy when it's bundled with auto insurance. Same goes for renters insurance there. They offer pretty significant multi-policy savings for all kinds of bundling — motorcycle insurance, boat insurance, and on and on.

Same goes for Travelers and MetLife Auto & Home (other companies I work with at Tucker Coverage). With Travelers, you might save up to 13 percent on your auto policy by bundling it with home insurance, or up to 15 percent on your renters insurance by bundling it with, say, an umbrella policy. MetLife offers 30 percent off home when auto is included. 

Those are more across-the-board figures, but here in Tennessee specifically, we tend to sit pretty favorably on the bundled-insurance-savings map. This research cited by Lifehacker shows the average home/auto bundle savings in every state across the country, and while the national average is 15.97 percent, Tennessee’s is 17.3 percent. (Our neighbors in Georgia had the highest in the nation, at 22.3 percent.)

 

STREAMLINED DEDUCTIBLE

A lesser-known potential benefit of bundling: With some plans and some insurance companies, you might benefit on the deductible front, too. If, say, a tree comes down on your garage and damages your home and your car, leading to a claim that involves your home and auto policies, you may only have to pay the deductible for one. (Usually the larger.)  

 

LESS LIKELIHOOD OF LOSING COVERAGE

When you have repeated claims, there’s always the risk of your insurance company dropping you, which can be frustrating, and costly. If you have several policies with the same company, they may be less inclined to go that route. Customers with multiple policies are valuable to insurers, which is a big part of why they entice you with those discounts in the first place.

 

MORE FAMILIARITY, LESS AMBIGUITY

Part of what I do as an independent insurance broker is provide a level of consistency and continuity — you can always come directly to me with your insurance needs. I think familiarity and dependability is a huge value when it comes to insurance, and research bears that out.

Even if you don’t work with an independent insurance agent like me, bundling can give you a bit of that benefit, by collecting your insurance dealings with the same professionals in the same place. An insurance study from J.D. Power noted that home and renters insurance customers who bundled their policies were significantly happier with their service, across all age groups.

 

Things to consider/look out for when bundling insurance

 

While I almost always encourage bundling policies, there are exceptions — including the fact that it’s not always an available option. Sometimes clients have a claims or driving history that preferred carriers won't accept, which limits you to piecing together an insurance portfolio. It's just another example of how a good driving record saves you money, not only on your auto insurance, but by allowing you to bundle other coverage with the best carriers. 

Whether you're bundling or seeking out individual policies with different carriers, here are some things to keep in mind during your insurance-shopping decision process:

 

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YOU WANT THE RIGHT COVERAGE, NOT JUST THE CHEAPEST

 

The bottom line isn’t the most important thing when you’re shopping for insurance, and I say that as a neighbor who knows a lot about insurance and hates seeing people get stuck in a bad financial situation.

The key: ensuring that you have adequate coverage to protect your assets, and shopping smart from there. We’re looking for the most appropriate coverage at the best rates, not bare-bones coverage at the cheapest rates.

 

GETTING TOO COMFORTABLE CAN COST YOU

 

Things are always changing, when it comes to insurance rates. I don’t recommend periodically changing your insurance carrier for change’s sake, but I do recommend exploring insurance options on a regular basis, to make sure a better scenario isn’t hiding out there.

Even your well-priced, bundled premiums might creep up over time. You might ultimately decide to stick where you are for one reason or another, but it never hurts to see what’s available to you. And I’m always happy to explore new insurance rates for you.