4.8out of 3,000+ reviews
Compare the Best Car Insurance for Families
Secure. Free. Easy-to-use.
Written by
Olivia Oksenhorn
Insurance Writer
Olivia Oksenhorn is an insurance writer at Insurify. With a special focus in auto insurance and personal finance, Olivia works to help policyholders make informed decisions about their insurance. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado. Before starting at Insurify, she worked as a writer and in newsrooms and nonprofits across Colorado, including Aspen Public Radio and the Aspen Sojourner. You can connect with Olivia on LinkedIn.
Edited by
Jackie Cohen
Editorial Manager
Jackie Cohen is an editorial manager at Insurify specializing in property & casualty insurance educational content. She has years of experience analyzing insurance trends and helping consumers better understand their insurance coverage to make informed decisions about their finances.Jackie's work has been cited in USA Today, The Balance, and The Washington Times.
Updated June 15, 2022
Why you can trust Insurify: As an independent agent and insurance comparison website, Insurify makes money through commissions from insurance companies. However, our expert insurance writers and editors operate independently of our insurance partners. Learn more.
Most auto insurance companies let customers combine up to four vehicles and four drivers on the same policy, and some will allow even more. What’s even better is that having multi-driver or family car insurance can cut your insurance costs and get you auto insurance discounts. If you and your family live together, it will most likely be cheaper to have a single car insurance plan.
It could make sense to have two separate policies if one family member’s driving record isn’t up to par with the rest. However, if you only have one car, having multiple policies can complicate the claims process and is typically not advisable. With Insurify, you’ll only need to provide information about your family once to see cheap insurance quotes from many companies.
Quick Facts
With multi-policy and multi-vehicle discounts, families can save up to 25 percent on car insurance.
Most insurance providers will allow up to four vehicles on one policy.
With GEICO, families can insure as many as nine vehicles on one policy.
Companies Offering Multi-Vehicle and Multi-Policy Discounts
Is family car insurance cheaper than an individual policy?
Many auto insurance providers offer discounts for families, such as a multi-car discount, that make car insurance for families more affordable. Unless one member of the family has a bad driving record, multi-driver policies usually save families money.
| Company | Multi-Vehicle Discount | Multi-Policy Discount |
|---|---|---|
| GEICO | Up to 25% | Varies |
| State Farm | Up to 20% | Average of $854 |
| Progressive | 10% | 10% |
| Travelers | Up to 8% | Up to 13% |
| Farmers | Varies | Varies |
| Allstate | Varies | 10% |
| Liberty Mutual | Varies | Varies |
| Nationwide | Varies | Up to 25% |
| USAA | Varies | 10% |
| Esurance | Varies | Up to 10% |
Is it cheaper to put my family on one car insurance policy?
If multiple members of your family need insurance coverage, you’ll save by choosing a multi-driver policy over separate auto insurance policies for each person. And if you have more than one car, multi-car discounts can save you between 10 and 25 percent on average on your auto policy.
While everyone in your family will be covered by liability coverage, you can tailor collision and comprehensive coverage to meet your needs. For example, you might want more coverage for your brand-new car than for the old one you handed down to your teen. Or you might want emergency roadside service for your teen driver but may not need it for yourself.
If you want to save even more money on insurance, consider bundling your car insurance with another policy, such as your home or renters insurance. You can expect a 10 to 25 percent discount from most companies for bundling. Just make sure it’s cheaper than getting your policies from two different insurance companies.
See More: Car Insurance Quotes
Compare Car Insurance Quotes Instantly
Secure. Free. Easy-to-use.
What if someone in my family has a bad driving record?
Even if you have safe driving habits, accidents happen. But insurance companies consider drivers who have been in collisions riskier to insure, which could drive up the total cost of your family policy.
Inexperienced and new drivers are also considered high-risk. If someone in your family (or your roommate) has a particularly bad driving record or is high-risk, you might save money by excluding that person from your multi-driver policy.
However, most drivers under 18 can’t purchase their own policy. Moreover, in many states, parents are legally liable for the actions of their minor children. So regardless of the insurance option parents choose, they can still be sued for any damages that occur while their child is behind the wheel.
That’s why it can be safer to add your teen to your family policy. Generally, if your teen gets in an accident while on your family policy and you are sued, the insurance company has the “duty to defend” you. Your insurance company will try to settle the case for less than your policy limit.
However, if your teen driver has a separate policy and gets into an accident, your family’s auto insurance may not offer any protection for you in case of a lawsuit.
You should research the laws in your state before purchasing a solo policy for your teen, even if it would save you money. Age limits vary by state, as do limits on what damages can be collected from parents and guardians. For example, you could be liable for up to $25,000 if your child under the age of 18 causes damage while driving in California.
It’s also possible that you have an adult driver without a clean driving record in your family. You can compare auto insurance rates with Insurify to see if it would be cheaper to exclude that driver from your family policy. Remember that you’ll still need to get insurance coverage for that driver, so be sure to add up the total cost when making your comparison.
See More: Best Car Insurance Companies
The Best Way to Save on Car Insurance for Families
The best way to find the cheapest auto insurance rates is to compare personalized quotes for coverage from multiple insurance companies. You might find some stellar multi-car insurance policy discounts, or you could find that it’s cheaper to get a separate policy for one family member from a different insurance company.
You may have to run a few searches based on different scenarios to see the best path forward. But Insurify makes the process of comparing car insurance quotes so easy that a distracted teen could do it. You’ll just need to provide some information about your family and their driving histories to get started. From there, you’ll be able to compare rates across multiple insurance companies.
See More: Cheap Car Insurance
Frequently Asked Questions
Different insurance companies have different rules, but most will allow you to insure up to four vehicles on the same policy. Some allow even more than that; for example, GEICO allows you to insure up to nine cars on the same policy.
Yes. Although you as policyholders will be liable in the case of an at-fault accident, your insurance company will cover the damages even if your neighbor was driving. However, be aware of your coverage limits since your neighbor could be on the hook for damages that exceed those limits. And keep in mind that your insurance premiums will increase if your neighbor gets in an accident.
Most of the time, car insurance follows the vehicle, not the driver. So if your teen borrows your car and gets into an accident, your insurance company will cover the damages. However, some companies have rules that require any drivers living in your household to be listed on your insurance policy. In this case, your insurance company may not issue a payout if your teen was driving when the damages occurred. It’s important to check with your insurance company before allowing your teen to drive your car.
While it’s legal to have two insurance policies on one vehicle, it can cause serious confusion when it comes time to make a claim. That’s because you can’t claim the full coverage amount from each policy or you’ll be committing fraud. Since both insurance companies will need to coordinate the details of your payouts, it could take longer to process your claim. Most insurance companies also frown upon multiple insurance policies for one vehicle, and some may deny your application if you already have a similar type of coverage.
Compare Car Insurance Quotes Instantly
Secure. Free. Easy-to-use.
Data scientists at Insurify analyzed more than 40 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partner providers across the United States to compile the car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations displayed on this page. The car insurance data includes coverage analysis and details on drivers' vehicles, driving records, and demographic information. Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Service's database of auto insurance rates. With these insights, Insurify is able to offer drivers insight into how companies price their car insurance premiums.
