If your car insurance is up for renewal and you’re looking for cheap car insurance in the UK, you’ll need to decide whether to switch or stay with your current provider. There’s no right or wrong but while sticking around is undoubtedly easier, it doesn’t always mean you get the best deal on the market. To help you decide what’s right for you, here’s a guide to car insurance renewals from mustard.co.uk.
Doesn’t car insurance automatically renew?
Some but not all policies auto renew. If yours does, it means that when your current annual policy ends, another will take its place so that you have a seamless transition.
Your insurance documents should clearly set out whether your policy auto renews so it’s worth having a quick look rather than assuming it does. If it doesn’t, you could unwittingly end up driving without insurance and face penalty points and a hefty fine. In some cases you could also be taken to court and be disqualified from driving.
Should I auto renew my car insurance?
Auto renewing is the easy option and means you won’t have to worry about driving without insurance. You’ll also save a little time if you auto renew as there’ll be no need to search for a new policy. For some people, these two reasons are enough to make auto renewing their preferred choice.
However, auto renewing and staying with the same insurer without comparing any policies beforehand, could mean you’re paying more than you need to.
Even if you shopped around last year and got a great deal on your current policy, it doesn’t mean your insurer is offering you the best deal this time around.
Fundamentally, car insurance is a hugely competitive market. Despite the practice of price walking being stopped (when insurers charge existing customers more than new customers for the same deal), there’s no guarantee the renewal price you’re being offered represents value.
When is the best time to renew my car insurance?
Your insurer will usually send you a reminder that your policy is due to expire (normally this will be around four weeks beforehand). If your policy is set to auto renew, your insurer will also give you a renewal price.
This four week exit window is a good opportunity to start searching for new car insurance policies (even if your policy auto renews). This will give you enough time to think about what you want, set a budget and compare. If you find a better deal elsewhere it will also give you time to switch from your old provider to a new one without any gaps in your cover.
What happens if I buy a policy but change my mind?
By law, you have a 14 day cooling off period[1] which begins on the policy start date or from the date you received the paperwork (whichever is later).
If you cancel the policy within the cooling off period, you’ll get a refund minus any days the policy was active for. Some insurers might also ask you to pay a small admin fee.
You can still cancel after the 14 days but you’ll be expected to pay an exit fee (as well as admin charges). Exit fees can be considerable and depending on when you cancel the policy, it might actually work out cheaper to see it through to the end.
How can I get the best renewal price?
To ensure you get the best car insurance quotes, consider:
- Paying for your policy in one go — although it’s a large sum of money, paying in instalments means interest charges will be added on.
- Increasing your voluntary excess — doing this lowers your overall premium, but remember that it still needs to be affordable, if you can’t pay it, your claim won’t go ahead.
- Adding a named driver — adding an older or more experienced driver to your policy can lower your premium, making this a good option for younger drivers.
- Calculating your mileage accurately — the more miles you drive, the more you can expect to pay for insurance, so try to be as accurate as you can rather than rounding up your mileage.
Of course, the quickest and easiest way to ensure you’re seeing the latest and most competitive deals on the market, is to shop around. At comparison sites like mustard.co.uk, you can compare dozens of quotes from leading insurers so you can choose one that suits you and your budget.
