Considering "Bundling" Your Home And Auto Policies? What Happens If You Have A Claim?
If you've been searching for ways to reduce the price you're paying to keep your home, auto, and health insured, you may be considering consolidating your existing insurance policies with a single company for a volume discount. While this can often reduce your premium, sometimes by a significant amount, you may worry about what will happen if you need to file a claim against your home or auto policies. Can you be dropped from both insurance policies after a claim against only one? Read on to learn more about when it can make financial sense to bundle your home and auto policies, as well as what can happen when (or if) you file a claim on one policy.
Can bundling your insurance save you money?
There are a number of costs that go into the average personal home or auto policy. In addition to the specific rate assigned to you based on your risk, the value of your home (or auto), your claim history, credit score, and other factors, you may be assessed for additional costs for administrative or maintenance fees. Bundling your policies with the same company can help save them (and you) money by consolidating accounts and reducing the number of separate communications that must be made.
In other cases, bundling your policy can cut costs by reducing the price of both policies after a period of no claims on one or the other. By establishing your trustworthiness with a single insurance company, you'll be able to take advantage of low premiums compared to those offered to other customers.
What happens to your coverage if you file a claim on one part of a bundled policy?
For those who don't have a sterling driving record -- or who have filed a claim against a homeowner's insurance policy due to storm damage, theft, or another incident -- a bundled policy may seem like a double-edged sword. If you're rewarded on both policies for a lack of claims on one or the other, can you be penalized on both policies if you file a claim against only one?
Fortunately, the existence of a bundled policy will have no impact on your insurability. Whenever a claim is reported against an insurance policy, this claim will go on a central database associated with your Social Security Number. As a result, bundling can often make financial sense -- since there is no guarantee you won't be dropped from an insurance policy even after filing a claim against another company. Contact a company like Keyes Insurance Services Inc for more information.