Renewal period is a good time to have a good look at automobile insurance coverage and prices. This is your chance to go over your details, needs, make necessary updates to ensure you have the coverage for your changed circumstances. The easy option is to do nothing and to let it auto-renew but many factors influencing your coverage and premium change pretty fast necessitating
Furthermore, there are new types of policies coming to market, vehicle insurers change their rates so you may have a chance to arrange better, cheaper and more reliable coverage this time around. Agents and insurers don’t automatically check to see if there is anything new in your life that will affect car insurance, qualify you for more discounts or get you lower rates. You need to check them and here are a few things to consider to see if you need any adjustments;
- Is your relationship status the same? How about your other details?
- Is there any ticket coming off your driving record or enough time passed after an accident?
- Are there any changes to listed drivers? Has anyone moved in or out of your household?
- How much is your car now and do you still need Collision and Comprehensive?
- Do you still have a loan on the vehicle and would you save on insurance by paying it off?
- Has your credit score improved in any way?
- How many miles a year do you drive now? Is it less or more?
- When was the last time you got a few quotes and compared rates?
Car insurance companies encourage people to set up automatic payments to make sure coverage continues. Quite a few renewal letters will have a bold text at the end confirming that policyholders do not need to do anything. They will just carry on taking money from your account and continue with the same terms. However, this should be used as the last resort rather than a ticket to get comfortable. If it is warranted, you need to make the adjustments.
With a little effort, you can rearrange your auto insurance coverage, get a few quotes, see who offers you the best deals right now and switch if it is beneficial. This is how you find your new equilibrium. Here are a few reasons why you may qualify for discounts or deserve better rates;
- Reduced vehicle usage may mean cheaper rates. When you are not driving as much anymore, you should pay less. Many people work several days a month from home now thanks to digital connectivity. This reduces the need to commute.
- There could be a chance to buy multi-vehicle or multi-policy products and bundles to get better overall prices. These offers are pretty flexible these days. For example, you may be able to put all the automobiles in the household under one deal even though different family members own them. In that case, each member would enjoy around 10% lower rates.
- A simple way of cutting the cost of auto insurance is to shop around for better deals. There is a high chance you will find at least an equally reputable firm offering a much lower quote. The whole process of finding a better offer and switching will not take much time.
- It is highly beneficial to start your shopping as soon as you get your renewal quote, which is about 30 days before the renewal date. Then, you can check for a few more discounts with the companies offering you the best prices. For example, State Farm offers a 14% and Progressive 9% discounts for paying your premium in full. And Allstate offers a 10% Early Bird discount if you purchase your policy 10 days before the renewal date. Some companies offer discounts for switching too. These discounts are there for picking and allows you to renew your car insurance cost-effectively.
- Any other changes in your life, vehicle or drivers listed can substantially change your premium positively or negatively. You will need to update your policy by informing your insurer of these changes. Then, you may even need to go back to the drawing board and look for a completely different vehicle insurer. For example, adding or dropping a teenager or high risk driver from your policy can mean your new renewal quote could be hundreds of dollars different.
It is prudent to be proactive about your automobile insurance, keep it up to date and check for better prices every so often. Also, it is necessary to wait for the confirmation on the day of policy renewal. This guarantees that nothing went wrong and you are still insured.