What does it mean to "bundle" insurance policies?

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Bundling insurance policies simply means buying multiple types of insurance–such as car, motorcycle and home insurance–from a single carrier.

Why bundle? Many insurance companies give a discount on premiums if you buy more than one type of coverage from them. More than three-quarters of customers, 77 percent, bundle at least two of their insurance policies, most often their home and auto insurance, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. National Auto Insurance Study.

Some insurers offer other benefits besides premium discounts. MetLife Auto & Home’s GrandProtect program, for example, lets customers pay a single deductible if property insured by multiple policies is damaged. For instance, if a fire destroys your car, boat and home and they’re all insured through MetLife, you would pay the highest deductible from your those policies, and the other deductibles would be waived.

Bundling policies also makes managing insurance more convenient because you only have to contact one company for multiple products. Bundling allows your insurance agent to advise you on the big picture of your insurance needs.

But bundling isn’t always the best way to go. In some instances, you can get a better deal by shopping around to find the lowest car insurance and home insurance rates from different insurers. Some companies are better at insuring cars than homes, or vice versa, so you might want to go with the best company for each type of insurance instead of bundling.

Before bundling insurance policies, get insurance quotes and compare bundled and unbundled rates to see which option is best for you. Make sure the deductibles and coverage are comparable among the choices before selecting the best deal, and don’t forget to consider insurance companies’ financial stability and customer service reputation.

For more, see How to ‘bundle’ auto and home insurance policies to save money.