Bundling home and car insurance is an easy way to get lower premiums on both policies. When you purchase both home and auto insurance from the same company, you may qualify for a multi-policy discount. It lowers both your home and auto insurance rates.
When bundling, insurance carriers provide a discount to policyholders who take multiple lines of coverage with them, says Clayton Fischer, an agent with Blue Marlin Insurance in Coral Gables, Florida. For instance, he says, insurance companies may offer exclusive options like 12-month auto policies–as opposed to six-month auto policies—when bundled with homeowners insurance.
"Biggest perk of the 12-month auto policy is preventing rate increases every six months," he says. "It’s also a feature to help policyholders have a single point of contact regarding insurance coverage."
Many insurance companies in South Carolina provide discounts for bundling, but the discounts and rates can vary substantially, sometimes by hundreds of dollars. So, it's critical to evaluate the overall savings and individual policy rates to find the best bundling discount for auto and home insurance in South Carolina.
- Cheapest home and auto bundles in South Carolina
- The companies offering the cheapest home and auto bundles in South Carolina
- Biggest home and auto bundle discounts in South Carolina
- How do home and auto bundles affect car insurance rates in South Carolina?
- How does bundling home and car insurance work?
- The pros and cons of home and auto insurance bundles
- Should you bundle home and auto insurance in South Carolina?
- Methodology
- FAQs: Home and auto insurance bundling
Cheapest home and auto bundles in South Carolina
The total cost of a home and auto bundle depends on the base prices for the underlying home and auto insurance coverages. The discount is applied to each policy. The table below shows the average rates for home and auto insurance and the total premium with and without the bundle discount.
In South Carolina, State Farm offers the cheapest car and home bundles, followed by Auto-Owners.
| Company | Home premium | Auto premium | Bundle premium | Without bundle premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm | $2,076 | $1,664 | $2,766 | $3,740 |
| Auto-Owners | $1,976 | $1,627 | $3,140 | $3,603 |
| Allstate | $1,356 | $2,669 | $3,473 | $4,025 |
| Travelers | $4,772 | $1,486 | $5,581 | $6,258 |
The companies offering the cheapest home and auto bundles in South Carolina
State Farm
Our take: State Farm topped the list of auto insurance companies in a recent ranking, with customers giving it extremely high satisfaction scores. The company is also the top pick for home insurance, with customers giving it high marks for customer satisfaction, ease of service and its various policy offerings. State Farm is the biggest property and casualty insurance company in the nation.
Auto-Owners
Our take: Auto-Owners car insurance customers rank the company well for high renewal rates and affordable monthly premiums. Its home insurance customers generally score the company well for customer service and discounts. Auto-Owners works solely through agents and doesn’t offer online quoting but offers many other online services.
Biggest home and auto bundle discounts in South Carolina
At 26%, the largest discount for bundling home and auto insurance can be found at State Farm. On the other hand, of the companies evaluated, the smallest multi-policy discount belongs to Auto-Owners, at 13%.
| Company | Home and auto bundle discount |
|---|---|
| State Farm | 26% |
| Allstate | 14% |
| Auto-Owners | 13% |
| Travelers | 11% |
How do home and auto bundles affect car insurance rates in South Carolina?
The table below shows South Carolina auto insurance rates before and after applying a bundling discount. The most affordable rate with the multi-policy discount belongs to Travelers, but State Farm and Allstate offer the greatest discount.
| Company | Auto premium before bundling | Auto premium after bundling | $ difference after bundling | % difference after bundling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelers | $1,486 | $1,338 | $148 | 10% |
| State Farm | $1,664 | $1,374 | $289 | 17% |
| Auto-Owners | $1,627 | $1,431 | $195 | 12% |
| Allstate | $2,669 | $2,211 | $457 | 17% |
How does bundling home and car insurance work?
The concept of bundling is pretty straightforward. You buy more than one type of insurance from the same company and, in exchange for the increased business, the insurance company may give you a discount. And there’s an additional benefit to the insurer in offering bundles: Customers who bundle are more likely to renew with their insurer.
You typically get discounts on both car insurance and home insurance when you bundle coverage. The discount isn’t equal for each coverage type. Each insurer has its own discount formulas. Companies may offer a greater discount on one than the other.
The pros and cons of home and auto insurance bundles
The greatest benefit of bundling your home and car insurance is a less expensive premium.
But keep in mind that you won't always save money when you bundle. You could find a provider with a low price on one of the two policies, which could result in better savings than a bundle. Here’s how that works:
- If you currently pay $1,000 for car insurance from one insurer and $1,200 for home insurance from another, that's a total of $2,200.
- But let's say you decide to buy your home insurance from your auto insurer. The cost for the new home insurance policy is $1,500, or $300 more than your current cost.
- Your total rate under the bundle would be $2,500, a $300 increase.
- That means you'd need a bundle discount of at least $400 or so to lower the total bundle rate enough to save money compared to the price you currently pay for separate policies.
That's why you should compare home and auto insurance bundle quotes to what you're paying for separate policies. Rates on bundles aren't always lower.
Should you bundle home and auto insurance in South Carolina?
Prior to signing up for an auto and home bundle, it’s important to shop around. Bundling your car and homeowners insurance has many advantages; you only have to deal with a single company and with a single bill, and you typically get a discount on both policies. Yet bundling isn’t always the best deal.
Some companies have cheap car insurance rates but less competitive home insurance rates, and vice versa. You might pay less overall by choosing two different companies for your insurance.
Shop around and evaluate South Carolina car insurance rates on an individual basis and with a bundling discount to make sure you’re getting the best deal before you purchase.
Methodology
In the spring of 2023, Insurance.com analyzed rate and discount data from Quadrant Data Services. The rates, from 2022, are the most recent available to Insurance.com and are based on a 40-year-old male driver with a 12-mile daily commute, good credit and a clean driving history. Rates were fielded for a full-coverage policy (100/300/100 with a $500 collision and comprehensive deductible). Homeowners insurance rates are based on $300,000 in dwelling coverage with $300,000 in liability and a $1,000 deductible.
FAQs: Home and auto insurance bundling
Below are answers to common questions about bundling home and auto and other multi-policy discounts that can save you money on your insurance coverage.
How do I cancel my insurance and bundle with another company?
You should have your new policy ready to go first, as you want to avoid a lapse in coverage. Once you have the new policy start date, give your car or homeowners insurance company at least a 30-day notice of your cancellation. You can set the start date of your new policy for the day your old policy ends. By doing so, you'll ensure that your former company will stop billing you by the time your new policy is in effect. You'll also prevent any coverage gaps between the canceled policy and the new one.
Is there a limit on how many policies can be bundled?
Typically, you can purchase as many insurance policies as you want from the same company. However, that doesn’t mean you can take advantage of a bundling discount with every policy you buy. There may be a limit on the number of policies you can bundle with one company. For instance, you might only qualify for a bundling discount on the three most expensive policies. You should speak with an agent from your insurance company to learn more about the possible restrictions.
Which insurance companies bundle home and auto insurance?
Almost every insurance company offers a bundling discount, often called a multi-policy discount. Multi-policy discounts aren't just for auto and home. They often include other home insurance policies like renters and condo, as well as motorcycle insurance and in some cases life, RV, boat, and others.
