The Best Home And Auto Insurance Bundles

For many homeowners or renters and drivers, insurance is a necessary monthly payment since it protects them from having to foot an overwhelming financial burden in the event of serious damage or loss. Of course, the more policies you have, the more you’ll pay for coverage each month. However, many insurance companies actually provide a discount when you pay for more than one type of insurance coverage through the same company — the practice is known as bundling.

Typically, you’ll automatically be bundled when you sign up for two or more policies at the same time. You can also add a policy at any time by contacting a representative at your insurance company.

CNBC Select rounded up some of the best home and auto insurance bundles to help you choose the one that’s best for your needs. We evaluated insurance companies based on policy coverage, accessibility and opportunities to save, among others (see our methodology below).

Who’s this for? Geico is a household name in the insurance industry. It offers car insurance with affordable coverage and some of the lowest average premiums for both minimum and comprehensive coverage. This insurer also has a wide range of other insurance products, including homeowners insurance and renters insurance, which can easily be bundled with auto insurance for more savings.

Geico also offers coverage for other types of properties, like condos and mobile or manufactured homes. Plus, this insurer is also available nationwide, making it highly accessible.

Who’s this for? Lemonade makes filing claims quick and easy. Policyholders just need to open up the Lemonade app and tap the “File a Claim” button. From there, the app guides you through the rest of the process. After your claim is approved, the funds will be deposited directly into your bank account.

For simple claims, customers can get paid almost instantly as long as they provided all the necessary information, according to Lemonade’s website. However, more complex claims would need to be more thoroughly reviewed by their team so the claim would take a little longer to settle.

Lemonade‘s car insurance coverage includes emergency crash assistance and roadside assistance for free. They’ll also give you a lower premium for improving your driving and for lower mileage drivers. According to Lemonade’s website, driving less means fewer carbon emissions so they’ll price your insurance based on how you drive.

One drawback is that Lemonade insurance coverage isn’t widely available; at the time of publishing, homeowners insurance is only available in 23 states and car insurance coverage is only available in Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas.

Who’s this for? It’s fairly standard for insurance companies to offer discounts as an incentive for certain activities, like bundling your home and auto insurance or being a safe driver. However, Farmers Auto Insurance offers a whopping 22 discounts on car insurance, which is far more discounts than many other insurers offer. It also offers many discounts specifically for homeowners insurance: You can get a discount for having security and safety devices in your home and bundling your policies, and there’s even a discount if you’re a nonsmoker.

In addition to bundling various insurance products, you can save money by enrolling in paperless billing and paying your premiums on time. Farmers Homeowners Insurance also offers a discount based on your profession — teacher, police officer, firefighter, member of the military, doctor, nurse, dentist and engineer are just some of the careers listed that could qualify for an insurance discount.

According to Farmers, customers save an average of  with its bundling discount.

Who’s this for? Much like Geico, Nationwide is a trusted name in the insurance industry. It stands out for offering one of the widest coverage networks. Nationwide auto insurance coverage is available in 47 states and the District of Columbia (all states except Alaska, Louisiana and Massachusetts); homeowners insurance coverage is available in 45 states (all states except Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Louisiana and Florida).

Customers save up to  with Nationwide’s bundling discount. This insurer also offers a slew of other ways to save. For instance, policyholders can receive a discount for having protective devices in their homes (fire alarms, smoke detectors, etc.). Home renovation credits are also available for getting work done on your home plumbing, heating, cooling or electrical systems. You can even save some money by having the age and surface type of your home’s roof evaluated.

Who’s this for?  USAA offers home and auto insurance coverage and benefits to military members, veterans and their immediate family members. Policyholders can save up to  when they bundle their home and auto insurance with USAA.

You can also save up to on your auto premium if you choose to make payments automatically. There are other discounts available for things like keeping your car in storage, having multiple vehicles and for being a teen driver with good grades in school.

There are also homeowners insurance perks that cater to the needs of military members and Veterans. Homeowners insurance can be used to cover the cost of uniforms and equipment, and policyholders get their deductible waived if their personal property is lost or damaged due to war.

A home and auto insurance bundle is when you purchase car and home insurance coverage policies from the same insurance company. Home and auto insurance bundles are often worth it because they typically come with multi-policy discounts and end up being cheaper than buying individual policies from separate companies.

To sign up for homeowners insurance, choose your desired insurance company and enroll for coverage. Your coverage amount will depend on what kinds of liabilities and items you’re looking to protect. This is the maximum amount you’d be reimbursed in the event of an incident. There are also some add-ons you can choose that are totally optional but will provide you with additional protection. However, selecting add-ons will increase your monthly premium.

You’ll pay a monthly premium for the policy to ensure ongoing protection for when you end up having to file a claim (but hopefully, you never have to file any claims). If you never have to file an insurance claim, your monthly premium will just be another monthly “bill” that you pay.

If you do need to file a claim, though, you’ll typically pay an upfront deductible. A deductible is a portion of the total cost that you must pay before your insurance covers the rest. Usually, the larger your monthly premium, the smaller your deductible will be.

So while insurance doesn’t necessarily mean it’s totally free to cover losses damages, or personal liabilities, it can still significantly reduce your out-of-pocket cost.

Car insurance covers damage, theft and bodily injury in the event of an accident. You pay a monthly or bi-annual premium based on your coverage and policy type needed. In the event of an accident, you can file a claim and your insurance company uses various criteria to assess how much of a payout to give you. Car insurance companies tend to offer lower premiums to drivers with clean records (like safe driving and no history of accidents) since they’re less likely to file claims for damage.

Car insurance has five main types of coverage you can incorporate into your policy. At the very least, you’ll need liability coverage, which protects against damage and bodily injury. Here’s a brief breakdown of some of other options:

• Liability coverage: This is the most basic coverage. There are two types of liability coverage: one protects a policyholder against personal injuries (bodily injury liability) and the other offers protection for property damage (property damage liability).
• Collision coverage: This covers repairs stemming from a collision with an object rather than another vehicle.
• Comprehensive coverage: This coverage protects your vehicle in the event of damage caused by a non-vehicular collisions or instances. Examples of covered events include theft, weather-related damage and vandalism.
• Personal injury protection: This coverage pays for your medical expenses and any lost income resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured motorist coverage: This covers your vehicle against hit-and-run accidents.

Homeowners insurance typically covers damage to the structure of your home but it can also apply to surrounding structures, like your fence or garage. Some policies can also cover stolen or damaged personal property, bodily injuries sustained by a visitor while on your property, vandalism and damage from fires and some other natural disasters.

And while homeowners insurance can also cover high-value items like jewelry and fine art, you’ll usually need to tack on extra coverage to protect these items at an additional cost.

Keep in mind that the process for filing an insurance claim may vary slightly depending on the company. Typically, you’ll provide some sort of documentation or proof related to your claim — photos of the damage, receipts, etc. This will help the company assess the damages.

Once your claim is approved, you’ll be paid but the timeline for payout will also vary from company to company.

Though you hope you never have to use it, insurance can really come in handy if your home or car ended up sustaining damage. It can often feel like another hefty bill you have to pay, but bundling home and auto insurance policies can often help lower your cost since many insurance companies offer discounts on bundles.

To determine which home and auto insurance bundles are the best, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. insurance companies that come with policies to suit an array of needs.

When narrowing down and ranking the best homeowners and auto insurance companies, we focused on the following features:

• Cost: While monthly premiums can depend on the amount of coverage an individual needs, location, the value of your possessions and other variables, some insurance options offer policies with lower monthly starting costs.
• Policy coverage: Standard policies tend to include coverage for structural damage, personal property loss or damage, personal liability and medical payments to others. Some companies may also include water damage, water backup and high-value items as add-ons for extra coverage.
• Coverage amount: It is common for insurance companies to provide different coverage amounts for different concerns. The maximum amounts vary from company to company. We have noted maximum coverage wherever possible.
• Policy discounts: Insurance companies typically allow policyholders to earn a small discount for signing on to bundle homeowners insurance with other policies such as auto insurance, RV insurance, boat insurance and more. Some companies may also offer an additional discount for having certain safety features in one’s home, including smoke detectors and burglar alarms. A rate reduction may be applied for those whose policy remains claim-free for a certain amount of time.
• Availability: For some insurance companies, policy availability will depend on the city or state, as not all companies offer nationwide policies and discounts for policies.
• Claim filing: Many insurance companies allow policyholders to file a claim via their app or through their online accounts. In loss of use cases, policyholders may be required to retain receipts to submit alongside their claim.
• Streamlined signup process: We considered whether insurance companies offered a convenient, fast online signup process.
• Customer support: Every insurance company on our list provides customer service available via telephone, email, secure online messaging and/or through an app. We also opted for lenders with an online resource hub or advice center to help you educate yourself about homeowners insurance policies and claims.

After reviewing the above features, we sorted our recommendations by best overall, best for quick claim approval, best for discounts, best for wide coverage and best for military members and Veterans.

Note that the premiums and policy structures advertised for homeowners and auto insurance are subject to fluctuate in accordance with the company’s policies.

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