One of the easiest and most common ways to save money on insurance is by bundling your home and auto insurance with one company.

Bundling gives you a discount when you get your home and auto insurance policies from the same insurer, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the cheapest option.

What are the benefits of bundling home and auto insurance?

Many insurers offer the option to bundle multiple products together. Sometimes referred to as a multipolicy, multiline or multiproduct discount, bundling your home and auto insurance together comes with benefits that can include:

Increased savings. A multipolicy discount could save you anywhere from 5% to 25%, depending on the company and where you live.

Simplified policy management. You should experience less hassle managing policies when they come from a single company. You’ll work with one agent, if applicable, and usually manage both home and auto policies within the same web portal.

Insurance security. If you’ve made auto insurance claims or gotten tickets, having other policies with the same company lowers the chances your insurer will drop you.

» MORE: What to do if you lose your car insurance

Home and auto insurance bundles by company

Many car insurers offer bundling discounts, but how much you save depends on where you live and the company that insures you.

The table below features the 10 largest auto insurance companies by market share, all of which offer multipolicy discounts. Not all companies or discounts may be available in your state.

» MORE: Discount car insurance: Your guide to getting the best price

Should you bundle home and auto insurance?

Most companies don’t limit bundling to home and auto insurance, offering a multipolicy discount break on a number of policies with varying discounts. Larger policies get steeper discounts (as a percentage) in most cases. Since homes are worth more than cars, discounts on homeowners insurance tend to be higher.

That means bundling probably saves you the most money if your home insurance is expensive and your auto insurance is cheap.

But if you have accidents or tickets, poor credit or live in a state with high car insurance rates, auto coverage could easily be the more expensive policy. In this case, the savings from choosing the cheapest car insurance company could dwarf a 20% discount on a bundled home policy.

To decide if you should bundle home and auto insurance, compare quotes for separate policies and bundled policies. If you find separate policies where the combined total is cheaper than the bundled rate with one insurer, there’s no reason to buy them together.

Furthermore, bundling policies makes you more likely to stay with one company. Insurers frequently notch up rates when they renew a policy, but not so much that you’ll get fed up and go elsewhere. This is called price optimization, and over time it could mean you’re paying more for your policies than you need to.

» MORE: Will you save money bundling insurance? Not always

Tips on better bundling

Take these steps to get the most bang for your buck (and avoid complications) when bundling home and auto insurance:

• Compare quotes for bundled policies from several insurers online or with an agent. An independent insurance agent can get prices from multiple companies. Agents who sell exclusively for one company can offer discounts with that insurer only.

• Check for third parties. Ask if the insurer uses a third-party insurance company (sometimes called an affiliate) for either policy. Although you may still save money, you lose the convenience because you won’t be dealing with one insurance company anymore.

• Shop around regularly for quotes — both bundled and separate — to compare them to the price of your bundled home and auto policies.

» MORE: Compare car insurance rates