Multi car insurance policies

Is your driveway cluttered with cars? If so, you could find it cheaper and less hassle to get them insured under a multi car policy

Many insurers offer discounts when you place two or more cars under one insurance policy. As well as saving you money, this could also save time and stress by having just one renewal date a year.

How does a multi car policy work?

We all know that bulk buying in day to day purchases can save us money, but did you know it can also save you money on your car insurance? This is because many insurance providers offer discounts to steer customers away from competitors. The good news is that with a multi car or dual car insurance policy you can get all the benefits of separate policies such as separate no claims discounts and excesses.

Multi car insurance is designed for households with more than one car, and you can usually cover up to a maximum of five cars on one policy. You can think of it as a family car insurance policy, where each additional vehicle on the policy earns a further multi car discount from the insurer. While some insurers will only cover cars registered to the same address, the best multi car insurance policies will also allow you to cover cars driven by your immediate family, even if they live elsewhere.

Claims on multi car policies are usually dealt with similarly to single car policies. All multi car policies are different so it’s important to check with your insurer, but the best multi car insurance policies will not penalise one driver if another makes a claim. If someone else on the policy makes a claim, for example if your partner makes a claim on their car, your no claims bonus will not be affected.

What if all cars have different renewal dates?

If you have more than one car in your family or household, it’s likely their insurance policies will expire at different times. But some insurers will allow you to bring each car onto one multi car policy without having to cancel a current policy and facing a cancellation fee.

With Admiral’s multi car policy, available through uSwitch, you can start your policy with one car but benefit from a multi car discount straight away. Simply state the second car’s policy renewal date and it will automatically be brought on to the multi car policy when ready (just remember to tell the current insurer you don’t wish to renew your existing policy).

Is multi car insurance right for everyone?

Multi car policies can help to cut insurance costs for households with more than one car. This includes families, couples or friends living together with more than one car, as well as immediate families with cars at different addresses (for example older children living away from their parents or at university).

Like with any insurance policy, one size does not fit all. While multi car insurance policies can offer significant discounts, it’s not always cheaper than insuring the cars separately with different providers.

This is because the cost of getting a car insured depends on a huge range of factors such as the age and experience of the driver and the cost and performance of the car. This could mean that one car is dragging up the overall cost of the quote when they could get a cheaper quote with another insurer separately.

For example, a 50-year-old woman with 30 years’ driving experience and a squeaky clean licence is in a prime position for one of the cheapest insurance policies available. Her 18-year-old daughter on the other hand, recently unleashed onto the roads, will be considered a far higher risk for the insurer, consequently dragging up the overall cost. Read our guide on getting cheap insurance for young drivers if this applies to you.

The type of car is also taken into consideration. If you have a high performance car in one of the highest insurance groups, you might find that taking it to a separate insurer will be cheaper. For more information on this take a look at our guide on car insurance groups.

Despite this, many households with more than one car will find they can make significant savings with a multi car insurance policy. It’s best to check on a price comparison website like uSwitch for standard quotes for each car as well as getting a multi car quote.

Things to consider with multi car insurance policies

As always, it’s crucial that you consider all options and scan the small print before signing up to a policy.

You might not always save money with a multi car insurance policy, especially if one driver could get a better deal from a specialist provider. This may be the case if one of the policyholders is a young or inexperienced driver, their car has modifications or they have a history of claims or driving offences.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that by bringing all of the cars’ renewal dates into line with one insurance provider, you may face a big bill at renewal time each year.

Like a standard car insurance policy, you need to inform your insurer if you change your car or if your circumstances change – for example if you get a new job, move house or receive a conviction for driving or other offences (and remember this goes for all drivers on a multi car policy).