One of the biggest myths in shopping for insurance is the insurance bundle discount. The insurance bundle myth is what a lot of companies use to make you bring all of your policies to them.
It is true that a discount is being offered on each policy but the overall rate of each policy might be higher than if you put each policy with a separate company. There are very few companies that will be competitive across the board on insurance policies for auto, home, life, health, boat, motorcycle and business insurance.
There is exactly zero companies that will offer the best rate for every customer on all of these insurance policies. It is pretty typical for an insurance company to be competitive on either auto or home insurance policies. Whichever policy they carry a higher premium on would be made up by the competitive rate on the other policy.
Customers should look at all of their policies separately to make sure that they are, in fact, getting the best overall rate on all policy types. This is the value of an independent insurance agency. An independent insurance agent can shop out all of your policies with various companies to determine the best company for you. You would still have one agent for all of your policies and only one person to call to ask any questions you may have, but you would allow them to make sure you are getting the best overall rates.
A lot of times your independent agent can offer you discounts on each policy for carrying multiple policies with the agency which is equivalent to a bundle discount but you would not be forced to have all of your policies with the exact same insurance company.
As I write this I currently have my auto insurance with National General, my home insurance with Heritage Insurance, my business general liability and workers compensation policies with The Hartford, my life insurance with AIG, and my health insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The overall rate along with claims satisfaction and ease of doing business should be the most important factors in deciding where to put your insurance policies.
It is also worth mentioning that you should talk with your agent regularly to make sure that your policies are still with the best companies for you. Insurance companies change rates quite often and what may have been the best for you a couple of years ago may not be the best option for you now.
Don’t get roped into words and phrases that advertisers use to make you feel safe and that you are getting the best value. Shop for yourself on your personal insurance and business insurance and see if they are truly the best options for you. Call your independent agent today and have them work for you.