Car insurance renewal

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I've only been driving coming up for a year so this is the first time I've had to renew my car insurance. It expires on March 6th so I've been on comparison sites as I've been told renewal with the current insurers will be more expensive? The bit that's confusing me most is it asks me how many years no claim discount I have but am I right in thinking I will have to say 0 years as it won't be 1 year until March 6th? I don't want to leave it right up until then as it will be more expensive to get a policy starting within a day is that correct? My head is totally scrambled hoping someone can help please.

Your new policy won't start until the expiry of the old one so you will be at 1 year by then

You'll have 1 years no claim bonus, think of it as your getting quotes for the next 12 months, starting from the 1 year anniversary ( does hat make sense!).

Put 1 year in on the sites. I saw an ad for go compare doing £250 "free" excess (it basically gives a refund on excess when used) which I looked in to and seemed pretty legit.

My current insurer, whoever it is, has always been more expensive than comparison sites, so definitely look around

If you've had your renewal you can set up your new policy to start from 6th March and your no claim discount will be 1 year. Definitely don't wait until your renewal date to set up a new policy, you might be on an automatic renewal and you don't want your old company to take a payment

On a side note, it can sometimes be cheaper to get comprehensive insurance, instead of just fire/theft. Mine reduced by almost half which I was very suprised about, just for getting more covereage!

They ask you when you want the policy to start from, you give the last date of your old one. So you tell new insurers it's 1yr no claims. I don't think it makes any difference to the price if you want the policy to start immediately either. That's what you have to do if you buy a second hand car privately. You phone up and arrange insurance before you drive away.

Thanks everyone thats a great help and makes a lot of sense I didn't even think of it that way. I don't know if I'm on auto renewal. Is it simple to cancel? Or will that be something I've agreed to when I signed up for my original policy and I will have to stick with it. I'm clueless and was just so desperate to get my insurance set up last year I wasn't (and still aren't) aware of how renewal etc works.

@Eleoura

On a side note, it can sometimes be cheaper to get comprehensive insurance, instead of just fire/theft. Mine reduced by almost half which I was very suprised about, just for getting more covereage!

That's what I done last year as it worked out cheaper.

Its just a phone call - call them on Monday there's loads of time still so don't panic

@AmberItsACertainty

They ask you when you want the policy to start from, you give the last date of your old one. So you tell new insurers it's 1yr no claims. I don't think it makes any difference to the price if you want the policy to start immediately either. That's what you have to do if you buy a second hand car privately. You phone up and arrange insurance before you drive away.

My car was bought second hand last year and my step dad bought a one day policy and drove it home for me. I didn't get my insurance started until the following week as it was cheaper than if I wanted it to start that day but I wasn't sure if that was because I was a brand new driver.

@LewisFan

Its just a phone call - call them on Monday there's loads of time still so don't panic

Thank you. I do over think everything

Your existing company should send you a renewal quote and that will say whether you need to renew or whether it will auto renew

Yes, you're checking out insurance from midnight on 5 March, at which point you should have one year's No Claims. Make a note of everything you're offered, and bear in mind that some of the comparison websites don't include all insurers, and sometimes don't make it obvious if they are charging extra fees to go through them. For the past five years in a row I have done three random quotes and then called my local High Street insurance broker, who I have known for about thirty years (shows age), she does a quote, I tell her, quite honestly, what Direct Line/Churchill/Admiral/whoever have quoted, she disappears for about ten minutes, and then comes back and beats it by anything from a couple of quid to fifty.

Direct line have been the cheapest for DS (I have company insurance). They are not on comparison sites. Try them.

Great advice thank you. I've managed to find a quote which is £32 a month cheaper than I am paying just now so if that's the cheapest I get I'll be over the moon. If I can get cheaper than even better but pretty happy with that quote.

It is cheapest to get car insurance 21 days before your policy runs out so you are doing it at the right time. You will have 1 year no claims when your new policy will start. Also it's worth getting the quotes online and then speaking to your current insurer to see if they can match the best quote.

@Tinty

Direct line have been the cheapest for DS (I have company insurance). They are not on comparison sites. Try them.

Just done a quote on their website and it's more expensive thank you though.

@PerfectPinecone

It is cheapest to get car insurance 21 days before your policy runs out so you are doing it at the right time. You will have 1 year no claims when your new policy will start. Also it's worth getting the quotes online and then speaking to your current insurer to see if they can match the best quote.

Thanks I will give them a call tomorrow if they are open and try this.

Definitely don’t leave it too long as your premium will go up the closer you get to renewal 👍

You can cancel automatic renewal at any time. Pay attention to when current insurers say the payment is coming out of your account for automatic renewal as sometimes it's a few weeks before the policy rubs out, make sure you phone them to cancel before that date.

Direct Line cherry pick and won't want a new driver.

I agree, phone your current insurers to check the situation. HOWEVER run a comparison first and see what you get with one year's no claim. If you can save money by switching, tell your current insurers and see if they will match.

according to Martin Lewis, 2-3 weeks before renewal is the 'sweet spot' for lower prices so now is the time!

pardon the obvious, but don't forget your MoT if you didn't sign up for a reminder for that.

Thanks everyone I'm all sorted now can't believe how simple it was . My renewal quote actually came through this morning and it wasn't much cheaper than last year.

I got a good quote with Tesco and managed to get a further discount by putting in my club card number. Current provider couldn't match it so cancelled my policy with no problems I was worried about this part as I thought they would make it difficult . I will receive my NCD certificate within 24 hours.

My insurance is now half the cost of what it was last year so I'm very happy and glad I posted on here as I would have probably left it until last minute if everyone hadn't told me to get it done!

Thanks murbblurb I already have my MOT booked for Friday.

My renewal date is the end of next month. Last year they tried to put my annual policy up by several hundred pounds, yet when I checked Compare the Market the same policy with the same provider was £300 less than I’d paid the year before! I phoned them up and they agreed to match the comparison site price.

I should get my renewal quote in a couple of weeks and I’ll do the same again. To be honest I’m thinking of switching to the same provider as my home insurance because they’re offering me a comparable policy for £400pa and my current provider is looking closer to £800.