You want to get the best coverage for the best price when it comes to insurance. So, pursuing that goal may lead you to compare quotes often and change insurers as you find better coverage and rates. That’s one of the best strategies to ensure you get the lowest-priced premiums.
But did you know that many insurers reward loyal customers with lower rates? We’ll help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of staying with a company for a long time to make an informed decision on whether it would be.
Then, we’ll review loyalty discounts in the form of bundling multiple lines of insurance and how you can apply both longevity and bundling savings.
Finally, if you’re wondering how Progressive insurance’s loyalty discounts compare to State Farm’s, we’ll share some of the most popular loyalty programs to consider when comparing insurance companies.
Longevity Discounts for Insurance
If you’ve been a good long-term customer, it makes sense that an insurance provider would want to keep you. As long as they can continue to collect your premiums and you can continue not to make claims, it’s a win for them.
In return, they’ll try to retain your business by offering a discount to keep you from switching. The discount is a way of saying thank you.
How much is a loyalty discount?
Some insurance companies offer a loyalty discount of 10%. Some loyalty discounts are more, and others are less.
What lines of insurance offer longevity discounts?
You might be able to get a longevity discount on your car insurance, home insurance, and other lines of coverage. Any time you can earn a discount on more than one type of coverage, your savings increase.
Are there any disadvantages to loyalty discounts?
It seems crazy to think there could be a disadvantage to saving money, but there might be. Your loyalty discount may be masking the fact that your insurer has been raising your rates over time. Even with a deal, you might be paying more than you need to because your base rate is too high. Beware of discounts masking price hikes.
Saving money can be just as important as making more money, so it’s worth investing your time finding ways to save and get your lifestyle under budget.
Loyalty Discounts for Bundling
Bundling discounts are one of the most advertised ways to save money on insurance. If you’re eligible for a discount that extends to multiple lines of coverage, those savings can become quite significant.
And, as in the case of longevity discounts, insurance companies want to keep good customers. If you’re a good customer, they’ll want to entice you to bring them all your lines of insurance coverage.
How much can you save with a bundling discount?
You could save 20% or even more with a bundling discount. With some companies, you could even save more.
What types of coverage can be added to a bundle?
The most popular policies to bundle are home and auto insurance, but you can usually add a boat, motorcycle, RV, and others to your bundle.
Since lenders require home insurance when they finance a mortgage for you to buy a house, you don’t have a choice about having home insurance until you own your home free and clear. Since you also have to have car insurance, you might as well look into bundling.
What should you watch out for looking at bundling policies?
Like with a longevity discount, you should pay attention to how much your base rate increases. You might pay more even with a discount if your base rate rises significantly.
With inflation and rising costs, your rate could rise no matter if you have a discount, but you should be aware of your base rate to more accurately compare rates from other insurance companies.
Keeping a Loyalty Discount Versus Switching Providers
There are some different scenarios to work through to help you decide if you’re better off sticking with your current provider or switching to a new one.
Scenario #1 – Almost Eligible for a Discount
If you haven’t earned a longevity discount but you’re one month away from becoming eligible, you should factor those savings into your comparison.
For example, if you find an insurance company where you could save 5% on your insurance premiums, you might want to pass on switching, knowing that you’ll start saving 15% with your current insurer if you stick with them for another month.
Scenario #2 – Option to Bundle
If you compare car insurance quotes and find two that are similarly low priced, you might want to consider how much more you could save if you bundle home and auto insurance from the same company.
For example, if company A is $10 a month cheaper than company B for auto insurance, you would probably choose company A.
But if you found out that bundling home and auto from company B would earn you a discount bringing your rates down by $25 a month, you would probably be better off going with company B.
Scenario #3 – The Discount Trap
If you’re getting a 30% loyalty discount, you might be tempted to stay with your company and not look into how much you could save by switching providers. You should beware of this trap because the size of your discount doesn’t matter if you’re paying premiums that are so high that you’d still save money by losing your discount and switching to another company.
For example, if your starting premium is $300 a month and you’re saving 30%, what you actually pay will be $210 a month. However, you might be able to find similar coverage for $175 a month from a different provider, in which case it would be in your best interest to switch.
Best Loyalty Insurance Programs
The following list is not comprehensive, and you may find even better discounts for your situation, so make sure to compare quotes and discounts when reviewing insurance companies.
Progressive
Progressive offers a 5% discount for bundling home and auto insurance. It’s not great, but you’ll also save another 4% if you have more than one car insured by Progressive. They have an additional discount for continuous coverage that increases the longer you’ve been a customer. So, when you combine all those discounts, it adds up to significant savings.
State Farm
State Farm, the largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S., is also one of the least expensive. When you also consider that they offer significant discounts for bundling and longevity, they’re usually worth putting on your short list of potential insurers.
They advertise that you could save over $1,100 a year by bundling home and auto insurance and that you could save up to 20% for insuring more than one vehicle.
Allstate
Allstate tends to be a higher-priced insurer, but they offer many perks that offset that increased cost. They have great discounts, too, and you could save 25% for bundling home and auto insurance.
Remember, just because you’re currently eligible for a loyalty discount doesn’t mean you should switch providers. But it’s an important consideration when you’re comparing quotes to decide which insurer is right for you.
Melanie Musson writes and researches for the auto insurance comparison site, AutoInsurance.org. She’s passionate about helping others find the best insurance policy for the best price so they can build a strong financial foundation.
