If you have more than one car in your household, opting for a multi-car insurance policy to cover all vehicles - instead of single policies for each - might save you money. Find out more with our guide to multi-car insurance.
Multi-car insurance is exactly as the title suggests - it’s motor insurance that covers more than just one car on one policy. If your household has multiple cars, it can be a worthwhile option because choosing this type of policy can be simpler to manage. It may also provide a discount. With some insurers, households that insure more than a single car can benefit from what's known as a multi-car discount.
You can qualify for multi-car insurance if you want to insure two or more cars. So, if a family of four people own and drive four cars between them, opting for multi-car insurance can be a sensible decision - if it’s right for you.
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How does multi-car work?
Multi-car insurance is usually simple and straightforward. It’s just a type of car insurance that covers a number of vehicles, instead of just a single policy for each. As long as the cars are registered at the same address, they can be included on a multi-car insurance policy.
It works just like standard car insurance. Policy holders can choose their level of cover, selecting from Third-Party Fire and Theft or Comprehensive.
Each car in the policy can have its own independent level of cover, if you prefer, with different levels of excess too. If you all want Comprehensive cover, that’s fine. If one driver prefers to select a different level of cover, they can do that too.
If you have a car with its own insurance cover in place already, and with several months left to run, it may be better to see out the policy and then add the vehicle to a multi-car package when its current cover has expired. You can do this with all the other vehicles in the household until they’re all on the same policy.
Who is eligible for multi-car insurance cover?
Anyone who lives in the same house as you should be eligible for multi-car cover. So, that’s usually a husband or wife, son or daughter - or all of them, of course. But they don’t have to be family. If you share a house with a friend or colleague, you and your housemate could be covered under multi-car insurance. If you’re a University student sharing accommodation with two or three friends, you can all look at getting multi-car insurance together.
It’s especially suitable for families with more than one car and driver in the home, couples who each drive their own car, and someone who drives more than one car.
Why choose multi-car insurance?
Firstly, it’s simple to manage. You get one policy to cover all the vehicles being insured, so all details are on one document instead of several. Every car can keep its own renewal date, but if you want all renewal dates to be aligned across all the vehicles, speak to your insurer. This certainly makes things a lot more convenient at renewal time, and it may be a case of getting some short term cover in place on other cars in order to get one renewal date set up.
Each car will have its own separate no claims discount too. A separate no claims discount for each car is important, because this means your own no claims discount won’t be affected if another vehicle covered by the multi-car insurance policy suffers damage and the owner needs to make a claim.
You can also usually save money with multi-car insurance, with some insurers providing a discount if you include more than one car on your policy. In fact, some insurers offer a level of discount per vehicle - and some multi-car policies allow you to include three or more cars. That can add up to a significant saving for a family of drivers.
Getting a multi-car discount
Many multi-car insurance policies provide a discount for policyholders but before making the decision to take out this kind of insurance, take the time to compare prices. A multi-car insurance policy may not be the cheapest option; compare the cost of a policy covering all the cars in your household with separate policies for each vehicle - and see what provides better value.
Don’t forget, it’s not just about insuring the cars, it’s about the drivers of those cars too.
Families looking at a multi-car insurance policy will usually include at least one older, experienced driver and at least one younger and less experienced driver - maybe even a newly-qualified one. In that scenario, the more experienced driver may well see his or her premium increase, although the less experienced motorist could see his or hers reduce. It’s up to those drivers considering multi-car insurance to calculate whether price changes are worth it.
The type of cars being insured are an obvious factor in the price of insurance too. The insurance group a car is assigned to has a bearing on the price of every policy and premium; if one member of the household drives a high-performing car that’s likely to have an effect on pricing.
Smaller cars - including models like the Fiat Panda, Kia Picanto, Toyota Yaris and Vauxhall Corsa - are in lower insurance groups and therefore cheaper to insure. If a member of your household drives a car that belongs to one of the lower insurance groups that can help with an overall saving.
How to get a multi-car discount
The Multi-car insurance discount* is available to new and existing customers wanting to insure up to three additional cars with the RAC. To take advantage of the 10% multi-car discount, please call 0330 159 1468 and provide us with the policy number of the policy already in place at the address.
Call 0330 159 1468 for more details or to get a quote for RAC Multi-car Insurance.