Multi-car insurance

If your family has multiple vehicles, it can be hard to keep track of your ongoing insurance costs. Multi-car insurance offers discounted cover for every additional car you want to insure, with the convenience of a single policy.

See how multi-car insurance works and if it’s right for you below.

• What's in this guide?

  What's in this guide?

  1. What is multi-car insurance?
  2. How does multi-car insurance work?
  3. What is included in multi-car insurance?
  4. Multi-car insurance exclusions
  5. Is multi-car insurance right for me?
  6. Top tips when getting multi-car insurance
  7. Will multi-car insurance save me money?
  8. Pros and cons of multi-car insurance
  9. Frequently asked questions

What is multi-car insurance?

Multi-car insurance is like regular car insurance, but allows you insure up to ten cars on the same policy. You’ll also generally receive discounted cover for each additional vehicle you add to the policy.

How does multi-car insurance work?

Multi-car insurance lets you insure multiple cars on the same policy, provided they are registered to the same address. The more cars added to the policy, the more discounts are applied, though most providers cap the number of cars that can be added on the one policy.

Each car can have its own level of cover, excess and no-claims discounts, but are listed under a single policy, helping to minimise paperwork and admin. While additional cars can generally be added to a multi-car policy at any point, your policy renewal date will usually be 12 months after the last car was added to the policy.

Multi-car insurance is predominantly for private use only, however some insurers may allow you to cover your work vehicle alongside your private use car. Drivers won’t automatically be allowed to drive every car insured under the policy. Instead, they’ll need to be added as a named driver for every vehicle they intend to drive.

What is included in multi-car insurance?

Multi-car insurance works much the same as standard single car insurance policy, so any features and benefits will vary depending on the specific provider. You will need to research what is offered on a particular policy to find the insurance that is right for you.

Multi-car insurance exclusions

Common multi-car insurance exclusions are much the same as standard single car insurance exclusions, which include:

• Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Driving your car that isn’t roadworthy.
• Modifying your car without informing the insurer.
• Driving without a valid licence or driving an unregistered car.
• Driving you car while it’s overloaded.
• Driving your car with damaged tyres.
• Driving your car in street races or competitions.
• Hiring out your car.
• Failing to report all accidents.
• Failing to update any personal details.
• Failing to pay for your premiums.

Is multi-car insurance right for me?

If you own more than one car, selecting a multi-car insurance policy could help save you money compared to taking out single policies for each car you own. However, there are situations where multi-car insurance may not be cheaper, or may not offer the correct level of cover for each car.

Insurance providers calculate premiums based on how likely a driver is to be involved in an accident, so insuring a riskier driver on the same multi-car policy as a safer one may end up increasing the overall cost of insurance. Before deciding if multi-car insurance is suitable for you, you’ll need to think about the age of each driver and their experience as well as what the car is worth and how it might perform.

People that might benefit from multi-car insurance include:

• Someone that owns more than one car.
• Couples that each own their own car registered at the same address.
• Families with more than one car and more than one driver.

In some circumstances, insurance providers may offer multi-car insurance even if one driver lives at a different address, such as a son or daughter studying away from home.

When considering multi-car insurance, you should always ask for a quote, and then compare it to the cost of getting individual car insurance policies for each of your vehicles.

Who offers multi-car insurance?

Many car insurance providers also offer multi-car insurance, though the level of discount and number of cars that can be insured will vary by provider. Some popular multi-car insurance policies include:

• Aviva multi-car insurance
• Direct Line multi-car insurance
• Churchill multi-car insurance
• Saga multi-car insurance
• More Than multi-car insurance
• Admiral multi-car insurance

Top tips when getting multi-car insurance

If you’re planning to insure several cars under one policy, a few simple tips may help with your decision:

• Cover levels. Check whether you can insure each car at different cover levels.
• Features and benefits. Compare the features and benefits of multi-car insurance with separate car insurance policies.
• Policy document. Check the terms and conditions to understand how you might be affected if one of the named drivers is involved in an accident. Will it affect your no-claims bonus?
• Affordability. Can you afford to pay the insurance premiums for all the cars in one go? Consider your cash flow as you’ll be getting one bill at renewal rather than separate and likely smaller bills for each car.
• Shop around. Do your research to see whether you’ll save any money with a multi-car insurance policy. In some situations, you may end up paying more despite the discount applied for adding another car to the policy.

Will multi-car insurance save me money?

Multi-car insurance can help reduce the cost of car insurance, especially for those looking to insure two or more vehicles. For families looking to get cover on multiple cars for drivers of similar experience, age and driving history, multi-car insurance is also likely to be cheaper. But this is not always the case, and there are many situations where multi-car insurance will not be the best option.

For example, if you’re an experienced driver in your 50s with a great driving history, your premiums should be fairly low. But if you decide to add your teenage son to a multi-car policy, your overall premiums are likely to rise based on your son’s lack of driving experience and subsequently his much higher risk. In this situation, it might be better to insure each car separately as having them under one policy could mean you end up paying more, even after the multi-car discount.

Pros and cons of multi-car insurance

Frequently asked questions

• Do I have to insure all cars at the same time?

  No, you won’t need to insure all the cars at the same time. Cars can be added to a policy whenever you decide. The renewal date will generally be based on when the last car added to the policy has been covered for 12 months. Some insurers will allow customers to keep different renewal dates for each car on the policy but it’s worth checking your options carefully.

• How many vehicles can multi-car insurance cover?

  This will vary depending on the insurance provider. Usually, insurer providers will insure up to five cars on a multi-car insurance policy however, some may insure more than five cars.

• What are the benefits of multi-car insurance?

  There are several benefits to getting multi-car insurance. Here are just a few:

  • Completing one application for all the cars you want to insure rather than individual applications for each car.
  • Discounts for each additional car added to a policy.
  • One renewal date.

Esther Wolffowitz

Esther Wolffowitz is a publisher at finder.com. She is a specialist in insurance and wants to help UK consumers make better decisions. In her spare time, Esther enjoys discovering new restaurants and food markets in London.