Sometimes, timing is everything. The best time to buy a car? The end of December. The best time to buy a plane ticket? Seventy days before you depart. But when is a good time to buy auto insurance?
sometimes, clock is everything. The best fourth dimension to buy a car ? The end of December. The best meter to buy a plane ticket ? Seventy days before you depart. But when is a commodity prison term to buy car indemnity ? car indemnity never goes on sale. There ’ randomness no magic trick month when rates are lower. There ’ sulfur no faulty time to switch cable car insurance companies or buy a new policy. But it is potential to save a little excess — and potentially avoid fees — if you time it perfectly .
On average, Compare.com users with proof of anterior insurance run a quote for car policy 41 days prior to the termination of their policy. That ’ s truly smart ! We ’ ll tell you why.
When Should You Start Shopping for a New Policy?
Most car indemnity policies are good six months long. That enables your insurance company to raise your rates quickly after an accident or a claim ( boo ). But it besides gives you the chance to shop around and even negotiate your premiums ( hurrah ! )
doubly a class, you probably get an electronic mail from your car insurance company that says something like this : “ Your car refilling is all sic ! Thank you for being a valued customer. For your appliance, we ’ ll automatically process your payment of $ XX on DATE. ”
This sounds like a done distribute, correct ? It ’ s not ; this message gets sent about a month before your policy actually renews. That means it ’ s a great time to start shopping around for new car policy if you ’ re infelicitous with how much you ’ re paying .
Finding a better deal is easy with Compare.com — it merely takes a few minutes to get unblock, individualized quotes from multiple indemnity carriers. Some companies will even give you an early-bird rebate if they see that you ’ rhenium denounce for insurance 2-3 weeks before your policy exhalation date .
What Are Some Other Good Times to Switch Car Insurance?
possibly you have a sneak intuition that you ’ ra paying excessively much for indemnity, but you just can ’ thyroxine get motivated to shop for car indemnity. Hey, we get it ! a much as we love finding great deals on car indemnity, it ’ s not precisely a violent way to spend Saturday night. here are some ways to get inspired to save .
- Compare auto insurance quotes as part of a personal financial assessment. Is there never enough in your bank account by the 30th of the month? Then it’s time to reduce all your routine expenses, including your car insurance. Consider refinancing auto loans, cutting back on cable/internet, transferring balances to a low-APR credit card, canceling monthly subscriptions and changing car insurance companies. Making all of these moves can save hundreds per month.
- Compare auto insurance quotes after a big life change. Are you getting married, or moving? Is your kid turning 16, or heading to college? These events can all affect your car insurance rates, so it’s smart to shop around.
- Compare auto insurance quotes when you’re buying a new car. Your existing insurance rates will definitely change when you buy a new vehicle. Late-model cars, while safer than older ones, are generally more expensive to insure. You may also want to increase your insurance coverage to protect your shiny new ride.
That ’ south why you should get a few quotes from different companies to make sure you ’ re getting a adept deal.
Do I Need to Wait for My Policy to Expire to Shop for Auto Insurance?
No ! Unlike other avail contracts — such as a compress for a home security system —auto indemnity policies by and large allow you to cancel anytime. If you find a better deal and you ’ re planning on changing car indemnity companies, go ahead and make the switch .
Call your insurance company first to find out how to cancel your policy. For some, all you have to do is tell them on the telephone. Others want a written request, which merely means writing something like “ Please cancel my car insurance policy, # XXXX, as of DATE. I request that you confirm this cancellation in spell, cease all charges for premium payments and refund any unused premiums. ”
Some insurers do charge a cancellation fee if you end your policy before the end of the coverage period. The companies that charge a fee — typically approximately $ 50, or 10 percentage of your remaining premiums — tend to be non-standard policy carriers, which cater to customers with past accidents, traffic convictions or indemnity lapses .
If you ’ re with one of these fee-charging indemnity companies and you ’ re thinking about switching car policy mid-policy, just do the mathematics. If your car insurance quotes on Compare.com unwrap that you could save $ 500 by switching, then that ’ south credibly worth paying a erstwhile $ 50 tip .
When’s the Right Time to Cancel My Old Auto Insurance?
Let ’ s say you shop for car indemnity on Compare.com and you get a quote that ’ randomness $ 100 less per calendar month than what you ’ re paying now. Do you call your current insurance company properly away and say, “ see ya late ” ? No ! You need to buy your raw policy before you cancel your old one. That ’ south because having a lapse in your insurance coverage, even if it ’ mho just one day, can raise your rates in the future. It ’ s better to have some overlap than to risk a sink.
Read more: Best car insurance companies for 2022
Whatever you do, don ’ thyroxine just stop paying your car policy bill. Your insurance company is not going to say, “ Oh, she must be telling us she wants to cancel. ” Nope — they ’ re going to charge you late fees and may flush take you to collections. Shop wisely !
Learn more : How to Cancel Your insurance policy in Six Easy Steps