Best and Cheapest Multi-Car Insurance Policy

If you’re unsure of how to organize and prioritize your car insurance needs when you have multiple vehicles to worry about, please keep reading. 

We go over the details of second car insurance and multi-car insurance, and we have tips on making multi-car insurance comparisons and getting quality multiple car insurance quotes.

Multiple car insurance, often called multi-car insurance, is an auto insurance policy with coverage for more than one car listed on the policy. While insuring multiple cars is likely more expensive than covering one car overall, most providers will reward you with a multi-car insurance discount.

When getting auto insurance, you can add multiple cars to your policy. The insurance company or agent will ask you how many vehicles you want covered. If you’re getting quotes online, there’s usually a simple option that allows you to add another vehicle to the desired policy. 

Whether in person or online, you’ll need to know the year, make, model, and how often you drive the additional vehicles to add them. 

But, you can’t just add any car to your insurance. Your carrier will likely require that the car be kept at your address listed on the policy or that an immediate family member regularly drives it. For instance, companies usually allow you to keep a car that your student takes to college with them on your plan.

And, once you add the vehicle, just like that, you have multi-car insurance. Most companies will allow you to insure between four and six cars on one policy. They usually allow a similar number of drivers on a plan, too. 

Families often have more than one car. Your insurance company typically asks that all licensed drivers in a household be listed on your plan, so everyone is covered no matter which car they drive. If you have more than five or six family members in your household, your multi-car insurance provider will probably work with you to make sure they’re all listed and covered.

The cost of multi-car insurance will vary greatly by company and person. Car insurers analyze several factors about a potential policyholder when determining their rates. The factors that affect multi-car or second car insurance costs are: 

The make and model of your car influence your premiums. Older, cheap cars may cost less to cover than new, expensive vehicles. Conversely, some trucks and SUVs with advanced safety features can have lower premiums than baseline models without them.

Having teen drivers on a second car or multi-car insurance policy will raise premiums. Males under the age of 25 have the highest auto insurance rates. Someone with several young drivers on their multi-car insurance plan will probably have higher premiums than one person insuring two cars or a married couple with no kids sharing their car insurance.

Car insurance in urban areas usually costs more than in rural areas. Insurance companies tend to believe that the traffic density and chances of accidents are higher in cities. So, they may charge more for coverage in urban areas when seeking multi-car insurance quotes. Crime rates may also be a factor.

Note that since all the cars are on one plan in a multi-car insurance policy, the insurance for all the vehicles expires at the same time. You’ll have one renewal date for all your vehicles’ coverage, which can simplify the renewal process.

Most insurers offer multi-car discounts when you insure more than one car with them. The size of the discount will vary by company, but it’s typically between 4% to 25%. While insuring two cars will cost more than covering one overall, it’s often advantageous to insure two cars on one plan rather than having two on two separate plans because of the multi-car discount.

Most carriers offer multi-car discounts, and you’re usually eligible for one as soon as you add a second car to your policy. The multi-car discount percentage you get will vary by company, but you may be able to get up to a 25% discount on your premium.

You don’t need a family or other drivers in your household to insure multiple cars. Insuring two cars for one driver is easy, and it still usually results in a multi-car discount.

You can easily add a second car to your insurance policy, whether you want coverage for a newly-purchased car or add an old, existing car. Again, the cost of adding a second car will vary based on several factors about yourself and your vehicle.

When getting second car or multi-car insurance, your policy will state who the covered drivers are. These drivers are typically you, your relatives, and anyone you allow to use your car temporarily. So, insurance for one person with two cars or more can still cover more than the one driver on the plan.

When getting multi-car insurance, know that you can adjust some coverages for your vehicles while others will remain fixed across all your cars. Your liability and uninsured motorist coverage limits will not fluctuate, but you can change your collision and comprehensive coverage amounts and deductibles.

Since your collision and comprehensive coverage depend on the physical value of your vehicle, this amount will vary based on the car they apply to in the policy. Thus, the deductible will vary, too.

For instance, let’s say you add a vintage Chevrolet Camaro to your plan while your originally insured car was a standard Ford Fusion. The Camaro would likely cost more to repair after an accident, so it will need a different amount of collision and comprehensive coverage than your Fusion.

Liability limits will not change no matter what cars you add to your multi-car or second car insurance. Every state in the country (except New Hampshire and Virginia) mandates their drivers to carry some amount of liability insurance to drive legally. The amount you need varies by state. The liability limit you choose when you get your policy will stay the same no matter which car you drive in your multi-car policy. 

For example, you may find a line in your multi-car insurance policy that reads, “if this policy covers two or more autos, the limit of coverage applies separately to each,” or something similar. 

Uninsured motorist coverage also won’t vary from vehicle to vehicle. But, if your state and multi-car insurance provider lets you, you can stack your UM/UIM coverages in a multi-car insurance policy.

With multi-car insurance, you can vertically stack your UM/UIM coverage if your state or company allows it. In this instance, stacking your insurance is the ability to combine your UM/UIM limits across your vehicles in a claim. 

For example, let’s say you have two insured vehicles on one plan. One has $20,000 of uninsured motorist coverage, and the other has $30,000. If you’ve vertically stacked your uninsured motorist coverages, you may be covered for a UM claim up to $50,000 in an accident in either one of the vehicles. 

Getting multi-car insurance quotes is easy as long as you find the right company or agent to work with. At Clovered, you can fill out our simple auto insurance quote form, and all you have to do is wait for one of our licensed agents to get back to you with your multi-car insurance options.

You can also call us directly at 833-255-4117. We’ve helped thousands find coverage for their vehicles, and we can help you entirely online or over the phone. 

Depending on the number and type of vehicles you want to insure, the prospect of multi-car insurance can seem daunting. To prevent paying an arm and a leg, here are some things you should look for when making a multi-car insurance comparison:

As we mentioned earlier, the extent of a multi-car insurance discount will vary by company. When planning to insure multiple vehicles, especially high-value, expensive cars, you may want a carrier with a larger multi-car discount to offset your inevitable high premiums. 

Pay attention to the driving records of the drivers you want to list on your policy, too. If someone you want to be covered has a DUI or several other traffic infractions on their driving record, their offenses will drive up premiums. Sometimes, it may make more fiscal sense for that person to get their own policy. High-risk drivers normally pay much more for coverage. Having one on your multi-car insurance plan may not be worth it.

If you know that someone in your household will be leaving soon and taking a vehicle with them, you may want to okay this with your provider before getting multi-car insurance with them. If the car can stay covered in its new location, check the impact this can have on your premiums. In some cases, a family member taking a car to a more remote location can reduce premiums on the plan.