Why You Should Bundle All Your Insurance Policies with One Agent

Life moves fast, so your insurance needs change often.

When you’re just starting off in your teens and 20s, you probably need just a car insurance and maybe a renters insurance policy. Then maybe you buy a home and get a home insurance policy. Maybe you start a business and need business insurance. Then your business grows and you need other kinds of business insurance. Or you get a dog and decide you need pet insurance. Then you start a family and decide to get life insurance and umbrella insurance.

No matter what course your life takes, it’s not difficult to accumulate several insurance policies.  But if those policies are spread out among more than one agent or carrier, you’re making your life more difficult than it has to be. 

But don’t worry, at Berry Insurance, we want to make life easier for you. In our 100 years of business, we’ve been able to help thousands of personal and commercial clients get better coverage and prices by bundling their policies. But whether you bundle all your policies with us, or another agency, it will probably help to make things easier for you, and even save you some money.

If you aren’t convinced, read on to learn about the benefits to having all of your insurance policy with one agent or carrier.

It can save you money

We all want to save money anywhere we can. But what if we told you that by keeping insurance policies with separate companies, you are throwing away money every single month?

It’s true! One of the easiest and most effective ways to save money on your insurance policies is to bundle them with one carrier.

You see, insurance companies want more business, so as an incentive, they offer multi-policy discounts for the more policies you place with them.

Depending on the types of policies you are bundling, you can save anywhere from 5% to 25% of your total insurance cost.

For example, if you bundle your personal insurance, a carrier might offer a 6 percent discount on your auto policy for bundling with renters/condominium insurance and 10 percent for bundling with home insurance. The supporting policy would also be eligible for a multi-policy discount, which can vary in percentage depending on the carrier.

You will avoid gaps in coverage

Insurance is complex. Different types of policies can overlap, so it’s impossible to get a full picture of your coverage without looking at all of your policies.

When working with just one agent who has a broad view of your policies, they can see where you may have either gaps or overlap in coverage.

If your agent can only see one policy, they won’t have enough information to protect you by identifying any gaps. 

For example, if you drive a company car insured under one agent, and only a home (but no auto policy) under another agent, there could be a gap in personal auto liability coverage.

And this doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll try to upsell you on policies you don’t need (especially if you work with a trusted agent). They may also save you some money by removing redundant coverages. 

For example, if someone has both a home and a second home or investment property, the liability coverage could extend from the home to the second property. But if those policies are with two different agents, the homeowner could be paying for the liability coverage on both policies.

 You can usually extend the liability from your home to that other residence. But if the client didn't know, the other agent might have added liability to the 2nd home also.

Or, if you own a business and have a business owners policy with one agent, then get an equipment floater policy to cover policy with another agent, that equipment could actually be covered under both policies.

Application/renewal process is quicker

When it comes to the mundane tasks of life, we don’t want them to take up too much of our time.

So we know you want getting or updating your insurance to be quick and easy.

Much of the information you will need to provide for your insurance policy will be the same information you will need to provide for other insurance policies, so if you work with multiple agents, you will be repeating yourself … over and over again.

If you work with one agent, they will already have all of your information on file, so it will streamline the process when it comes to applying for or renewing your insurance.

You will have one point of contact

Imagine having an insurance claim. You were just in a car accident or your home or business was damaged. You’re frazzled. Then you think  … “Wait, which agent do I need to call? Is it Mike? Sandra? Mary?”

Now what if you have a claim that involves more than one type of insurance (like a tree falling on your house and car, or an accident at work injuring employees and damaging property)? It would get pretty confusing and take a lot of extra time if you needed to go through the claims process with more than one agent.

Or what if you need to make a change to your insurance policy information such as your name, email, address, or phone number. If you make one of these changes you will need to remember to call ALL of your agents. Yup, that means three separate calls to Mike, Sandra, and Mary.

That is simply a waste of time.

By working with one one agent you’ll have one name to remember, one person to get to know, one person to call if you ever need insurance help.

Plus, since you will be talking to that person more frequently, they will actually get to know you. They’ll know your personal or business info. They’ll know your needs and preferences. They’ll know how you prefer to communicate.

Having someone who knows you well will make your insurance processes so much more pleasant and seamless.

Simplify your insurance and save by working with one company

One of the best ways to reduce stress in life is by simplifying. So why not do that with your insurance policies?

Working with an independent insurance agent who can provide you all the policies you need for your business or personal life (like us at Berry Insurance) will save you time, money, and ensure you have complete protection.

But, if you’re going to work with only one agent, that means you’ll have to put extra care into selecting who to trust with your insurance. Imagine having an incompetent agent handling ALL of your policies? Yikes.

We have a resource to help you make sure that doesn’t happen! Before considering your options, check out this article: What to Look For when Selecting an Insurance Agency or Company.

And if you’re in Massachusetts like us, check out our top 10 favorite MA insurance agencies (besides our own).