Multi Car Insurance Explained

Car insurance is a legal requirement on British roads, but what might not be clear is the kind of insurance that’s right for your household. For those with more than one car to worry about, the cost-effective solution often comes in the form of multi-car insurance.

What is multi-car insurance and how does it work?

Multi-car insurance is, on the face of it, indistinguishable from other kinds of insurance policy. It comes in various forms, much like standard insurance. 

The defining difference here is that you’re covering more than one vehicle simultaneously under the same policy. 

Multi-car cover tends to last for a year, and you can either pay for it in one go, or in instalments. You can include any vehicle that’s registered to your household, and anyone who lives at your address and has a car registered there can be added to the policy.

Advantages of multi-car insurance

Multi-car insurance is often cheaper, and always more convenient. If you’re the sort of person that values time, it’s usually the best option. You’ll have just one set of policy documents to track down, and one policy number to read over the phone when something goes wrong.

Your whole household can be easily covered. Depending on the insurance provider, you might insure half a dozen vehicles or more. This makes it a good option not only for families, but for co-habiting houses full of students.

Finally, you’ll be at lower risk of coverage lapsing because of minor overlaps between disparate policies, and you’ll be at lower risk of neglecting to make a crucial payment.

Note that it’s worth shopping around for multiple discrete policies, just so that you can see what the cheapest deal possible is. That way, you’ll be able to pressure your chosen multi-car insurer into providing equivalent value.

What’s the coverage?

With a multi-car insurance policy, you’ll be covered against a range of threats. Specifically, you can be covered against third-party damages, against third-party damages, fire and theft, or comprehensively. The extent of your cover will go a long way toward determining the cost of your premium. 

Third-party insurance will see you covered against any liability you incur for damage to third parties. If you crash into another car, then you will be covered against any injury suffered, and for damage to the other vehicle – even if the collision was your fault.

Third-party, Fire and Theft will cover you against all of the above, along with losses that you suffer as a result of fire or theft (or both). 

Finally, comprehensive insurance will cover you against everything, including damage to your own vehicle. It’s the most thorough kind of policy, but it’s also the most expensive. When you’re insuring multiple cars, however, the rate you pay per vehicle will tend to be lower.