everything you need to know about multi-car insurance

As the name suggests, multi-car insurance provides all the same benefits as a single car insurance policy, except it covers multiple cars instead of just one.

The benefits of multi-car insurance:

A multi-car policy is well suited to households with more than one car. This could include multiple drivers within the same family, couples who live together but have their own car, or someone who owns and drives multiple cars. Up to five cars can be covered by one policy, with the same documents and renewal date required for each car under the policy.

Any vehicles covered by the policy must be used privately by their registered named drivers.

The main advantages of a multi-car policy are:

• The same insurance provider covers all the cars belonging to the household.
• Only one set of paperwork is needed.
• The same policy renewal date for all cars.
• You can select different amounts of excess for each of the cars under the policy.
• Individual car owners on the policy will still receive their own no claims bonus each year.
• Most insurers will offer a discount each time you add a new car to the policy, meaning that it could be a more cost-effective option.
• Some insurers will still provide cover for drivers who temporarily live at other addresses, such as university students who live with their parents between academic terms.

How does the renewal work?

 Fortunately, most insurers anticipate that households with more than one car will hold multiple existing insurance policies that are all due for renewal at different times. Because of this, you’ll be allowed to add each car one by one onto your multi-car policy as and when its current policy expires, to avoid facing a cancellation fee.

The 12-month period will usually begin on the date of the final car insurance renewal, with temporary short-term cover being used to insure the other cars in the meantime. Once the last car has been insured for 12 months, the policy will renew for the next year.

Things to bear in mind:

 As with all insurance products, policies will differ from person to person and so it is important to shop around for the best deal for you. Though many people find multi-car insurance to be the most convenient as well as a cost-effective option for them, several factors can sometimes have an adverse effect on your premium:

• The age and driving experience of the drivers covered by the policy. For example, new, young drivers tend to have greater premiums because they are considered higher risk. Therefore, a multi-car policy that covers a parent with a perfect driving record and their teenager who has just passed their test may skew the price of premiums and make it a less cost-effective option.
• Most but not all multi-car policies will allow individual drivers to maintain their own no claims bonus, regardless of whether another driver covered by the policy needs to make a claim. All policies are different, however, so ensure that this is the case with your insurer before committing.
• The types of car that are being covered by the policy. If the cars you wish to be covered, fall under vastly different car insurance bands (e.g. a very expensive,high-performancee sports car along with an older family hatchback) then separate policies may be a better fit.