Looking for Multi Car Insurance?
Multi car insurance is essentially a loyalty scheme and can be a great way to save money on your car insurance, but not always.
Sometimes offering considerable savings and a lot less aggravation, it’s easy to see why multi car policies are so popular, however they don’t work for everyone. Here’s our guide to multi car insurance, what to look out for, when they’re a good idea and when to insure separately.
Multi car insurance – what you can’t do
First off, let’s dispel a few multi car insurance myths:
Being on a multi car policy does not mean that you are automatically insured to drive all the cars on that policy. The policies are essentially separate; only the named drivers on a policy can drive that car.
It’s multi car insurance, so it’s only for cars. Currently insurers won’t let you bundle different types of vehicle together, for example cars, vans, lorries, motorbikes - they all need to be insured separately.
Well not on a multi car policy anyway. If all your cars are for social, domestic and pleasure or business use then that’s fine, but if you need private hire or public hire insurance, for example if you operate a taxi, then they can’t go on a multi vehicle policy. For this you will need taxi insurance.
No claims discounts and multi car insurance
The rules on this differ from insurer to insurer, so always ask the question and read the small print carefully:
Each policy to be treated independently. If someone on the policy has an accident only their policy will be affected.
Your no claims to be jeopardised if someone else on the policy is involved in an accident.
Why multi car insurance doesn’t work for everyone
Multi car insurance is designed for individuals with multiple cars or families or groups at the same address, who could all benefit if they all use the same insurer. In some instances they don’t all have to live at the same address, for example, if a son or daughter is away at uni, they can still be included on a family’s multi car policy.
Where multi car insurance doesn’t work so well, is if there are big differences in the risk and types of cover required. For example, if one of the vehicles is a modified performance car, then the risk and the cost to insure is higher, consequently this one vehicle will push up the price for all the vehicles on the policy. The same applies to drivers; if someone on the policy has a conviction, this can raise the overall price for everyone.
Similarly, although being on a multi car policy may lower the cost of insurance for a newly qualified driver, the greater risk that they represent will increase the cost for the more experienced drivers. In this instance, depending on the insurer, it may be worth insuring vehicles separately and for the younger driver to add the more experienced drivers as named drivers on their policy, which should lower their costs, without affecting the other drivers.
One renewal date, one payment
Ok, so it takes some initial planning, but once set up, an additional benefit to multi car insurance is having just one renewal date and payment to worry about.
How this is set up varies from insurer to insurer, however many will apply the discount from the very first vehicle included so long as you give the details and dates of additional vehicles to be added.
Often multiple vehicles and dates are managed by applying temporary cover to vehicles until the last vehicle comes onto the policy and then insuring all of them for 12 months from that date.
Multi Car Insurance – Useful FAQs
No
Think of it like a loyalty discount – you can all have the type of cover you need and the level of excess you can afford. It’s just that by all choosing to take out cover with the same insurer, under the same policy, you may qualify for a discount.
This depends on the insurer, but it can be.
Yes
The depends on the insurer, but many cap multi car insurance policies at 5-6 cars.
No
You just have to be living at the same address.
Depending which insurer you use it can be, although you might also want to ask about collectors’ insurance or cherished car insurance.
Multi car insurance is primarily designed for domestic use. If you are a business you need to look into Motor Fleet Insurance.
No
Prices can vary dramatically from between insurers. It may seem like a nuisance, but the best course of action is to compare prices for individual vehicles and drivers, add them up and then compare multi car insurance prices. This is really the only way to know for sure that a multi car policy will save you money.