If you live with other people who drive, you could all save time and money with a family car insurance policy, often called a multi car policy. If you haven't heard of this type of cover before, here's all you need to know:
Insurers don't actually offer a specific family car insurance policy. A lot of the time, ‘family insurance' is used to describe multi car cover, which lets you insure multiple cars registered at your address under one policy. It can reduce your annual premium – meaning, more money to spend on the kids (or yourself!).
With a multi car policy from Hastings Direct, we'll insure both drivers in a single household – even if you're unrelated. Existing customers enjoy a 10% discount on their second policy, while new customers receive a 10% discount on both policies.
A multi car policy will mean there's only one renewal date to remember, making it easier to manage.
If you've got just one family car to insure, then obviously you only need one car insurance policy.
Safety is no doubt your top priority when you're out on the road with your family. Regular car maintenance will help keep your car in tip-top condition and prevent breakdowns, but this should be backed with quality car insurance.
All Hastings Direct policies are Defaqto 5 Star rated, meaning they offer the highest level of cover in the market. You can choose from our more basic third party and third party fire and theft policies, or for greater peace of mind, take out comprehensive cover.
In the event of an accident, third party policies essentially protect the other driver and their car – if your car's damaged though, you have to foot the costs to repair or replace it. On the other hand, comprehensive cover includes cover for your car and for your passengers if they're injured in the accident.
Whether you have a single or multi car insurance policy with Hastings Direct, you'll get to enjoy benefits such as:
You can also tailor your insurance policy by choosing from our range of optional extras, such as motor legal expenses, enhanced personal accident insurance and family breakdown cover.
If you have a car insurance policy in place, you could always add another person as a named driver onto your policy – for instance, if your teen has just passed their driving test and you're happy for them to drive your car. Adding them to a multi car policy could help them to keep down the typically high costs associated with being a new driver.
What's really important is that you're honest about who drives the car most – and make sure that person is named on the policy as the main (or primary) driver. This doesn't have to be the owner of the car, but they have to be the person who's behind the wheel the majority of the time, as the premium will largely be based on their driving experience and history.
In fact, wrongly naming someone as a main driver is a type of insurance fraud known as ‘fronting.' In most cases, your insurance policy will be invalidated and you could struggle to take out car insurance in the future.
As we've mentioned, insuring a number of cars under one policy can save you money on your premium. With Hastings Direct, you can insure between two and five cars on the same policy, saving up to 10% on each car.
You can choose to insure all of your cars at the same time, entitling you to receive the discount all in one go. Or, you can add cars to an existing policy as and when they come up for renewal, with the discount added as you add each car.
The great thing is, each car listed in the multi car policy can have a different level of cover, excess and additional product.
The price you pay for cover depends on a number of factors, from your home address to your job, to more obvious things like how many years you've been driving. The type of car you drive also has a big part to play – if you're looking to upgrade your current motor while keeping costs to a minimum, Compare the Market rounded up the top ten family cars. They include:
For refreshingly straightforward family insurance for an affordable price, choose Hastings Direct. Get a quote today and see how much you could save.
Our refreshingly straightforward car insurance is Defaqto 5 Star rated, so you can be sure you're getting a great product. Plus you can choose from a great range of optional extras.
Voted Car Insurance Provider of the Year by the general public in 2018
