Auto Insurance for Families

Auto insurance is one of those financial products that you’ll need to know about when you plan on owning a car. Anyone who owns a vehicle is required by law to insure it in the state where it’s registered.

As you’re shopping around for coverage, you can look for a single-car policy or a more popular multi-car family plan.

An auto insurance policy for families is a group package that will cover all of the household family members and their vehicles under a single policy.

Not only are family plans very convenient, but it’s also possible that you could save money for packaging your insurance. 

Let’s discuss what you need to know about tailoring a family plan to meet your unique needs.

If you have a family and need better, more affordable auto insurance, start comparison shopping today by entering your ZIP code above!

Who is eligible for coverage under a family insurance plan?

You can’t meet someone on the street and ask them if they’d like to package their auto insurance with you for a lower rate. You will have to meet certain eligibility requirements before you can buy a multi-car policy like this one.

First off, everyone under the policy must reside at the address listed on the policy. Not only do you all have to be under the same roof, but you also have to meet the definition of a resident relative as defined in your auto insurance contract.

If you’re living in a shared residence with someone who’s not related to you, it’s not likely that you can buy a family plan together. Here’s who is eligible for a family auto policy:

• A household member who is related to you by blood
• A household member who is related to you by marriage
• A household member who is related to you through adoption
• A spouse or domestic partner living in the household

Who will be the named insured on the policy?

If you, your spouse, and your in-laws all live in the same household, it can create a cause for concern when it comes to how you should organize your policy.

One of the biggest issues that you’ll have is who you should list as the named insured. The named insured is the owner of the auto insurance plan and the person who is authorized to make changes.

Selecting a named insured is challenging for a major reason. By law, the named insured and the name on your vehicle registration has to match.

You can’t only list one of the household members as a named insured if each of the cars in the home has different owners.

You may have to update your registration or ask your agent how to navigate through this area of the policy to avoid having issues.

Will you all have the same policy number?

If you’re combining your insurance for a family policy, you’ll typically be issued a single policy number for all of the covered vehicles on the policy.

There may be scenarios where there will be multiple policy numbers if the carrier you’re dealing with sells single-car policies with the same type of family plan benefits.

If there are multiple policy numbers, make sure that you have the policies all linked for the discounts that you deserve.

Is there flexibility when you’re selecting your coverage?

You don’t have a choice when it comes to state mandatory coverage options. By law, you have to have the limits required by state officials.

There is flexibility to add additional coverage to one or all of the cars that are on the family policy. If you’re worried about flexibility, that won’t be a problem.

You’ll have a minimum level of protection if you take just the standard insurance on all of the household cars.

The basic policy will likely include liability protection and perhaps some other types of coverage like uninsured motorist (if it’s mandatory in your state).

If you want to add additional coverage to any of the cars, you have the option. You don’t have to carry all of the same coverage limits or options on all of the vehicles you’re covering.

What type of coverage can you purchase?

Running a household and rearing children certainly isn’t easy. As your family grows, you’ll have more and more assets to protect.

Whenever you have a life-changing event, you should consider reviewing the coverage that you’re carrying on your family auto insurance.

Here are some options that you can consider adding:

• Comprehensive – Repairs your car or replaces it after a fire, flood, theft, or another type of loss
• Collision – Repairs your car or replaces it after it’s involved in a collision
• Medical Payments – Pays for immediate and reasonable medical expenses for treatment needed after an auto accident
• Uninsured Motorist – Pays for your medical expenses and loss of income if you’re injured in an accident with someone who has no coverage
• Rental Car – Pays for a temporary replacement while your damaged vehicle is in the shop

How can you lower your auto insurance costs?

If you’re insuring multiple cars and multiple drivers, there’s a lot of room for your rates to rise. Just one ticket or one at-fault claim could land you into a high-risk class.

There are plenty of ways that you can save off of your premiums. Here are some tips:

• Take traffic school whenever you’re eligible
• Get good student discounts on teens and young adults
• Get credit for all driving experience
• Get a loyalty discount
• Get prior insurance discounts for having insurance without any lapses
• Raise your deductibles
• Assign your high-risk drivers to the least expensive vehicles

The key to getting the best deal on your family auto insurance package is to shop around. Comparison shopping can be a time-consuming task if you don’t know what tools to use to your advantage.

The most effective way to get the lowest quotes on auto insurance for families is to use a comparison-shopping tool.

Try our FREE online quote tool and compare at least three to four policies to find the best rates for you and your family. Enter your ZIP code below to begin!