All about Car Insurance Renewal

Car insurance policies are up for renewal every time your premium expires, which is usually yearly or every 6 months.

When purchasing car insurance, your premium either lasts for 6 months or a year from the day it’s purchased. After that date, your premium is up for renewal and you can’t legally drive your car until it’s renewed. If you don’t choose to renew your policy, your other option would be changing to another provider. Not sure where to start? Here’s a helpful article on car insurance renewal.

Renewing your insurance premium is a process that doesn’t take much effort. All you need to do is make sure you have enough funds in your bank account for the insurance provider to deduct. Don’t worry though, your insurance company will notify you when your premium is coming to an end by email or SMS.

If you try to renew your premium after it’s expired, it may complicate things. What could happen is your insurer will decline your new payment, otherwise known as non-renewal.

Want to find out the different types of car insurance? Read more with Moneysmart.

How do I renew car insurance?

Most car insurance companies have automatic renewals. That’s a helpful feature as you won’t need to worry about paperwork, and you won’t need to worry about increased rates as the company will notify you of that.

However, when initially purchasing your premium, your provider will give you an expiry date. Luckily, you won’t need to worry about missing payments because you’d be getting monthly and weekly notices close to the expiration of your premium.

Why did my premium go up?

When receiving notice of renewal, your insurance provider will inform you of any increases to your premium. There are a few reasons as to why your premium would’ve increased. Car insurance premiums are calculated based on several components.

Some factors that may weigh into an increase in your premium include:

– You have filed a claim, or you were involved in claims filed.

– You moved (interstate or across states)

– The market itself changed

You do have other options if you’re not happy with your new premium rate. The best thing to do is comparing other providers and switching your policy before your current premium expires.

How to decline your car insurance policy renewal

As mentioned before, you may cancel your policy with your current insurance provider if you’re not happy with your renewed premium rates. All you can do is contact your current insurance company and cancel your account. After that, you’ll have to purchase new insurance before you drive your car. Remember, it’s illegal to drive without insurance in every state in Australia.

Read Tippla’s article: Do I need car insurance before I buy a car?

Some insurance providers are happy to cancel your policy over the phone, while some will need a signed letter stating your cancellation.