Many people decide to purchase both auto insurance and homeowners insurance from the same company. But why would you need to put your home and car insurance together at the same company? Apart from the obvious convenience of getting a discount on premiums, you can find some major hidden benefits from having both types of insurance together.
Insurance companies want your business, all of it, so they offer incentives and discounts to get you to put all your insurance in one place. For them, it's easier to maintain and to sell to existing customers. But are there real advantages for you apart from a price break?
Save Time By Using One Insurance Company
Having multiple policies in one place can cut down on time spent filing claims, should you be unlucky enough to have to do so. For example, a typical break-in and theft of non-attached items from a car would involve both your auto insurance and your homeowners insurance. Any items you bring into the car, like CDs, books, a jacket, toys, a suitcase, etc. that are not a part of your car, would be covered by the home insurance. If the built-in stereo is stolen, it's covered under the auto insurance.
Therefore, in the scenario above with the missing non-attached items, the car insurance will deal with the physical damage to the car and the home policy will deal with the rest. If both your policies are in the same place, one explanation to one claims person would take care of everything. You would not need to find the contact information, wait for returned calls, recount the story multiple times, and remember different file numbers for one incident.
Save Money And Cut Down On Paperwork With One Insurance Company
Having home and car insurance together will also cut down on paperwork, time and money. Only one bill, instead of two may also help diminish bank charges or the cost of mailing payments, and makes it easier when the time comes to budget. It also just makes things easier to deal with; knowing things are simplified and all together. Combined insurance can also ensure that there are no gaps in your coverage.
Some companies even offer extra coverage as incentive to combine insurance. There are higher limits on certain types of coverage than would be usual with a simple homeowners policy. There are even additional things offered like lock replacement and rental reimbursement, which can be very valuable should you need them, and typically are not offered in standard policies. Benefits such as these are definite perks and should definitely be considered when looking to purchase home and auto insurance.
Only One Renewal Schedule When You Deal with the Same Insurance Company
For simplicity's sake, consider getting your home and car insurance on the same renewal schedule, to save time and possibly money. It's much more efficient to have both quoted at the same time than to do each one separately at two different times in the same year. Chances are, while you're shopping around for rates, you'll find a combined policy that has all the benefits you need.