Multicar insurance

If you have more than one car in your immediate family or household, it's definitely worth checking, and having different renewal dates or levels of cover needn't be a blocker. For some, discounts for adding multiple cars could save £100s, or even £1,000s, but for others it could actually be more expensive. 

What tends to happen is multicar policy newbies get offered hot deals to suck 'em in, but that advantage can disappear at renewal. There are two ways to arrange multicar insurance. One option is a single ‘multicar’ policy, where all the cars are insured on the one policy. The other option is linked policies, where each car is insured separately – still with the same insurer to benefit from an existing customer discount, but has its own policy number.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of multicar insurance?

Advantages:

• You can still usually insure everyone in your household on the one policy, making it easier to keep track of.
• You'll only have one renewal date for all cars on the policy.
• Multicar can accommodate policyholders who need fully comprehensive insurance, or third party, fire and theft insurance.

Disadvantages:

• If one person on the policy makes a claim, it will usually affect the price for everyone at renewal.
• One policy for multiple cars will mean one big bill each year (if you pay annually), rather than multiple smaller bills spread throughout the year.
• Multicar policies usually only cover cars – if you need van insurance or motorbike insurance you'll need to usually get that separately.