If you have a family, or anticipate starting one in the near future, it is inevitable that you're going to want to add a car to your current auto insurance policy. There are many car insurance cost and convenience benefits to adding an additional car to one policy rather than having separate policies for each car in your family. Whether you're adding your spouse's car or a car for your child, this is usually a very simple task and the insurance agent will walk you through the process.

Then first thing you'll need to do is prepare all of the necessary information. Having all of this ready and listed ahead of time will make the process much smoother, and will probably make things much easier for the agent as well. The make, model and year of the vehicle you want to add is the first piece of information you'll need. You will also need to report the mileage exactly as it appears on your car's odometer.

Secondly, you're going to need the VIN (vehicle identification number). If you do not know your VIN, you can find it on your vehicle. This is generally located either on the windshield, on the bottom corner of the driver's side. It may also be located in the door well or where the door latches. The VIN in alphanumeric code that inlcudes all sorts of useful information about your car, such as the manufacturer, vehicle type and even the plant where the vehicle was assembled.

Thirdly, if you are adding another driver to your policy, you will need to supply the driver's information. This generally includes the driver's name, age, date of birth and driver's license number. You can add multiple drivers to the same vehicle, but you must select a primary driver. If you're simply adding another car for yourself, you can skip this step.

Next, you will need to select the type of coverage you want to add for the new vehicle. Remember that every state requires a different minimum coverage and, if you're financing your car, you may be required to obtain full coverage. You do not have to have the same amount of coverage for all vehicles on a policy. (i.e. if one car has full coverage and you only want liability coverage for the second car, this is acceptable.)

Lastly, you will need to set the limits and choose a deductible. Higher limits mean in increased premium, and a lower deductible also means a higher premium. Setting a higher deductible means you premiums will be smaller, but keep in mind that you'll have to pay this deductible if there is a claim made over a certain amount.

If you're adding another driver, you're going to want to make sure you're taking advantage of all of the discounts for that driver in order to keep your premiums from raising too much. For example, if you're adding a child who is also a student, you'll want to take advantage of the good student discount. However, if your child's GPA drops below a certain point, they will no longer be eligible for this discount.

The advantages of adding another vehicle to your plan, rather than having a separate policy, are generally beneficial. For example, it's less paperwork to keep up with, fewer payments, and can also be much cheaper. All things considered, it sounds like a great deal. However, there are some drawbacks. If you're adding another driver to your plan and that driver has speeding tickets or accidents on their record, it can negatively affect your auto insurance cost.