The best time to renew car insurance revealed

You might be one of those people who don’t think about renewing your car insurance until the very last minute.

Or you might be one of those people who renew their car insurance super early, just to make sure that it’s done in plenty of time. Either way you could be costing yourself hundreds of pounds.  

The optimal time for renewing your car insurance is between 20 and 26 days before it’s due. According to MoneySavingExpert, this could cut your costs by nearly 40%.  

How much could I save?  

The team at MoneySavingExpert analysed 50-million car insurance quotes to find average pricing across different days. Based on these quotes, the average price for car insurance bought 24 days before your renewal is £672 per year - which was the cheapest. But buying your insurance a few days on either side of this can still also result in huge savings.  

However, the average quote for buying insurance on the day your cover needs to start is £1218 per year. This means if you wait until your renewal date, it’d cost you an extra £546 per year.  

From 20 days before your insurance is due, up until five days before it’s due, there’s a gradual increase in price. Then it shoots up each day until the day it’s due. 

Surprisingly, you should try not to be too early when renewing your insurance either. Research has shown that if you’re too organised, you’ll also be at a disadvantage and can also end up overpaying by hundreds of pounds.  

The earliest you can renew your insurance is 30 days before it’s due. If you were to buy your insurance then, you’d end up paying £388 more per year than if you bought it on the optimal day, according to the average findings. 

How do I renew my car insurance?  

If you want to stay with your current insurance company, then your car insurance will more than likely auto-renew. Most companies will have this set up, so that you aren’t driving around uninsured at any point.  

However, your best option is to shop around before you auto-renew, as you could end up making big savings. Be aware that if you decide to switch after your insurance has automatically renewed, you’ll probably need to pay a fee.   

You can compare car insurance quotes with us, we compare 100+ companies.

What day is cheapest to buy car insurance?  

It doesn’t seem like there is a cheapest day of the week to renew or purchase car insurance, this could be a weekday or over the weekend, it doesn’t matter. 

Just stick to the 20-26 days before renewal date strategy to get the best deal. 

Does car insurance go up closer to the date?  

Yes, especially in the last five days before renewal, according to the research. 

The sweet spot of 20-26 days before renewal is statistically the cheapest time to renew, and it’s more expensive on either side of that, including closer to the date.