by Ivonne Vasquez 

When purchasing your home, one of the requirements set by the mortgage company is the purchase of hazard insurance, also known as homeowner insurance. Hazard insurance is purchased to protect your newly acquired asset–your home and you. 

Many consumers do not realize that combining their auto and home insurance with the same insurance company will save them money. More often then not insurance companies apply a discount to each policy when multiple policies are packaged together. This means that you will save money not only on the new homeowner’s policy, but also on your auto policy. The discount percentage varies, but can range from 10% to 20% as a bundle package. 

As a new homebuyer, when you shop around for homeowner insurance or hazard insurance ,you should start with the company currently insuring your auto and go from there. Here is why:

Advantages:

• Savings–Discounts for both auto and home policies = money in your pocket
• Convenience–One company and agent handles all your insurance needs: payments, questions, changes, and claim filing. You may even receive one bill for both policies.
• Personal Agent Relationship–Insurance bundles allow your agent to learn and know more about you and your insurance needs. Bundling makes it easier for your agent to recommend policies and coverage that better fit your lifestyle and ensures that your family is adequately protected.
•  Client Satisfaction–The ease of dealing with one company and agent provides customers with the satisfaction of knowing that they are taken care of and relieves the stress of remembering who to call for what insurance issue. 

Insurance company rates differ, based on the risk, and you might pay higher for your auto, but compensate the higher rate with a lower homeowner’s premium. This variance in pricing makes it imperative to shop around for both policies at the same time to get the best rate and all available discounts at the time of the quote. Most importantly, remember that buying insurance is not always about the cheapest price but about making sure that when you have a loss, your insurance company will be there–as it should.

Ivonne Vasquez is the manager at The Nationwide Insurance Store in Hartford, Connecticut. She can be reached at vasquei@nationwide.com or (860) 524-0515