Every insurer advertises a bundle discount, usually somewhere between 10 and 20 percent for putting your auto and home policies with the same company. The discount is real. What the advertising leaves out is that it is a discount on that company's price, and that company's price for one of the two lines may not be competitive at all. A 15 percent discount on an overpriced home policy can still cost more than two separate policies from two cheaper companies.
We found this out by pricing it both ways at renewal, and the answer was not what the advertising suggested.
What we compared
We got bundled quotes from three companies, each for both auto and home with matching coverage. Then we got the cheapest standalone auto quote and the cheapest standalone home quote, from whichever companies offered them, and added the two together.
| Option | Annual total |
|---|---|
| Bundle, company A | $3,140 |
| Bundle, company B | $3,380 |
| Bundle, company C (our existing insurer) | $3,510 |
| Cheapest auto + cheapest home, two companies | $3,050 |
The split beat our existing bundle by $460 and beat the best competing bundle by $90. Company A's bundle was close enough that the convenience might have been worth $90, and we will come to that.
When the bundle wins
Bundles tend to win when one company is genuinely competitive on both lines for your particular profile. Some companies price homes well and cars badly, or the reverse, and it depends on your state, your house and your driving record. The only way to know is to ask for both sets of numbers. Bundles also win on paperwork: one renewal date, one agent, and in a claim that touches both policies (a tree on the car in the driveway), one adjuster.
When the split wins
The split wins when the two lines are priced by different specialists. In our case, a company that mostly writes auto insurance was far cheaper for the cars, and a regional company that mostly writes homeowners was cheaper for the house. Neither offered a competitive price for the other line, and the bundle discount could not close the gap.
The trap in the middle
A bundle discount also makes it harder to leave. If you find a cheaper home policy elsewhere, moving it costs you the bundle discount on the auto policy, which changes the math. Insurers know this. It is worth doing the full comparison every two years regardless of how good the bundle felt when you bought it, because the renewal price drifts and the discount stays the same.
What we chose
We split. The $460 saving was real and the convenience was not worth that much to us. If the gap had been under $150 we would probably have taken company A's bundle for the simplicity. Two years later we ran the comparison again: the split was still cheaper, by less, and we stayed.
The checklist
- Get every quote with identical coverage limits and deductibles, or the comparison means nothing.
- Ask for the bundle price and the standalone prices from each company. Some will only volunteer the bundle.
- Check for other discounts that might matter more: claims-free, paid-in-full, home security, defensive driving course.
- Put the renewal date in the calendar with a note to do this again.
