One of the prime things you learn while “adulting” is that you need insurance.
It might start with Texas auto insurance when you turn 16. Then there’s health insurance when you get that first job and renters insurance with your first apartment. Then you might “graduate” to becoming a homeowner. That means homeowners insurance. Life insurance becomes important when you start a family and want to protect your loved ones. And if you start your own business…
Well, let’s just say that you’re likely to own a lot of insurance policies in your lifetime, regardless of which roads you take. And that’s where the winning strategy of bundling can come into play.
What Is Insurance Policy Bundling?
Insurance policy bundling consists of purchasing one form of insurance coverage and realizing multiple benefits to getting another type of coverage from the same insurance company. So you “bundle” the two transactions into one. You’ll save time and money – a win-win all around.
Here are the top four benefits of bundling your auto and renters insurance coverage:
1. You’ll Save Time When You Bundle Policies in Texas
Who doesn’t love that as a benefit? Life is full of commitments, and there aren’t nearly enough minutes in the hour or hours in the day. And if you were to list your favorite tasks and responsibilities, talking to an insurance agent wouldn’t make the cut.
It’s even less enjoyable to have to make phone calls to every insurance company you can think of that sells renters insurance. So if you happen to be sitting across the desk from an insurance agent you trust and actually like, and you’re both discussing car insurance, it might come naturally to say, “Oh, by the way, I just moved into a new apartment. You don’t happen to also carry renters insurance, do you?”
What can it hurt? Worst scenario, your agent doesn’t carry renters insurance. At least you tried. And the upside is that, if your agent does handle the fuller line, you can take care of two needs rather than one with a single meeting and handshake.
What if the two insurance needs come at different times? You’re not sitting across from your agent this time when the need for renters insurance pops up. Which gets us to our next point.
2. Familiarity Breeds a Quicker Return Phone Call from Your Insurance Agent
If you’ve become a client to your Texas insurance agent and you’ve had every car you’ve owned insured by that same company－that rates a very quick return phone call when you leave a message. Your agent knows you. They know you’re serious when you call and tell them you’d like to discuss insurance. You have a track record, so to speak.
For every salesperson, there are window shoppers and there are buyers. They don’t get nearly as excited by the “just looking” customer as they do for those who’ve already bought from them.
Once you’ve “proven” yourself by having already bought a renters insurance policy, your broker is much more likely to give you attention when you say you’ve bought a new car and would like to discuss auto insurance.
Your insurance agent will also be further motivated to seek out additional discounts available on either (or both) bundled policies. For instance, you might learn that your teenage drivers can earn coverage discounts for good grades. Or that you can save on renters insurance as a non-smoker or if you install security alarms.
These are just a few examples of dozens of discounts that might be available to you. Discounts your insurance agent will remember to tell you when you’re an existing client.
3. You Can Take Advantage of Bundled Rate Discounts in Texas
Here’s where the rubber really meets the road. And speaking of roads, think about the first salesperson you contact whenever you’re in the market to buy a new car. If you’re savvy, you’ll start with whoever sold you your previous ride. If anyone is motivated to give you every available discount, it would be this person who has already earned commissions on your business and has every right to think they might make more.
Insurance works the same way.
Your insurance rates are set by the State of Texas, so you can’t appeal for a better rate than anyone else gets. Or deal with your brother-in-law’s best friend and know that he’ll treat you right. No, you can’t take advantage of personal relationships in that way. One way around that is to bundle insurance policies.
Through bundling, you can often earn significant discounts on both policies. This is known as multi-line discounts. The potential savings makes it worth your time to review all of your existing insurance policies before you go shopping for another form of coverage.
And always start a new insurance relationship with an agent who has already benefited from your business－at least as long as you still trust and respect that broker.
4. You Might Even Be Able to Share a Deductible with Bundled Policies
Here’s a quick primer on the meaning of deductibles. It’s the amount of money you agree to pay out of pocket for a claim before your insurance company pays the rest. So if you have a $500 deductible on your car insurance and the vehicle sustains $2,000 in covered damages, you’ll pay the first $500 and your insurance company will be responsible for the remaining $1,500.
Deductibles are a way of bringing your insurance costs down. The higher the deductible, the less you’ll pay in premiums for your policy. Makes sense, right? The more financial responsibility you agree to share, the less your insurer will have to pay. So of course they’ll adjust rates in your favor when the deductible is higher.
What happens to those deductibles when your policies are bundled? You just might be able to use one deductible for both insurance accounts. This is called a single loss deductible clause, and here’s how it works. If you have a $1,000 deductible and you sustain $2,000 in damage to your car and a fire at your apartment cost $1,000 in smoke damage, your $1,000 in deductible can be applied to both settlements. That means you’ll pay less out of pocket for both events.
Not every insurance company offers a single loss deductible clause benefit, but it’s sure worth asking your insurance agent about the possibility.
When you’re Asking, Ask an Independent Texas Insurance Agent
If you get your bundled policies through an insurance agent who works for one particular insurance company, you might get a good deal. Maybe. If it happens that the insurance company has policies offering good savings on the features you want for both types of coverage.
What are the odds of that happening?
Now let’s say you contact an independent insurance agent. This kind of broker doesn’t work for one insurance company. They work for several. Maybe a dozen or more. That means they can go shopping from their full portfolio of insurers and find the bundled deal that works best for you in terms of price and benefits.
Your independent agent will first ask questions and find out your needs. Then they’ll contact insurers, gather rate information, and crunch numbers. Your agent might offer two or three options, explain them all to you, and let you make the final decision. Your selection won’t come from just Company X. It can come from multiple major carriers based on the factors you and your agent discussed and the premiums you wanted to pay.
Find Affordable Insurance Policies in Texas Today
For Texas drivers, homeowners and renters, Baja Auto Insurance should be your starting point for bundling policies. Talk with your independent agent at 800-401-6870, go online for a free quote, or find the Baja Auto Insurance Texas office located near you.
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