7 On Your Side: Bundling insurance may save you money

Paying an insurance bill is never any fun. We do it because either the law or a bank demands it. Saving a buck is always welcome, so 7 On Your Side looks at ways to save money on your insurance bill.

How would you like to save a couple hundred bucks a year and do that with less hassle than what you are dealing with now? It's possible because of bundling.

Insurance companies are all about the bundle these days. The word "bundle" is all over ads.

Raggz Aranda owns a big, beautiful truck and lives in Alameda. We asked him if he bundles his car insurance with homeowners or renters insurance and he said he didn't.

For all the advertising talk of bundling, many of us still haven't heard or noticed the word, nor know its meaning.

"I am hearing it now from you, but I do not think I have heard it before. I am hearing it now, but I have never heard of it before," Aranda said.

Laura Adams is a senior insurance analyst for InsuranceQuotes.com.

She said, "Bundling policies can result in big savings for consumers. Whether that is bundling home and auto or condo and auto or renters and auto, this is one of the ways consumers can really save on insurance costs each year."

Aranda said he never thought he could save money by putting his insurance with just one company.

"For California residents, they are looking at about a 15 percent savings. This can actually put about $260 in your pocket each year. So this is real money that consumers need to consider doing. If they've got two separate polices with two separate companies, consider how combining them together can offer you net savings," Adams said.

So bundling nearly always works, but sometimes it works better than others and that's why you need to shop around before bundling.

"Most of the major insurance carriers offer a bundling discount, but things are not always equal. One carrier may offer a higher percentage discount than another. So this is something consumers need to be aware of; is that not all carriers offer the same rates and even from month to month things vary depending on what is going on in the market," Adams said.

To start saving check with your auto insurance company first, then your homeowners insurance and then get a third quote from a company you aren't currently using. And right there we have saved you a bundle.