Does Car Insurance Renew Automatically?
In most cases, your car insurance renewal is automatic if you set up auto-pay or you manually pay the bill by the stated deadline. In other words, you won’t have to reapply for coverage or start phoning agents every six or twelve months to find out how to renew your car insurance. That’s a relief — right?
At times, auto-renew car insurance is exactly the right move to make. It’s the height of convenience. You don’t have to do a thing but let technology do the work for you.
But what if you want to change a few details of your policy? Or compare rates with competitive plans before renewing your coverage? Or you’ve already made the decision to switch providers or insist on lower rates. There are a number of good reasons why you might want to scrutinize your policy before it gets automatically renewed.
Take a closer look first at the easiest ways of paying your premiums. Then, find out what you should do if auto-renew car insurance isn’t the ideal solution for you this time.
Navigating Auto Insurance Renewal
The easiest way to pay your coverage is to select the auto-pay option you’ll find on most car insurance websites. You’ll provide your bank information and then forget about it. Your insurer will automatically deduct the proper amount when your premium is due.
The Pros and Cons of Auto-Renewing Your Policy
One key advantage is that your payment will never be late, so you won’t risk the loss of coverage. One less stress point in your life. There’s also the convenience factor, of course — you don’t even have to think about your car policy bill once you’ve triggered the auto-renew option.
This is not the perfect plan, however, if you can’t trust the checking or savings account connected to the auto-pay system to always carry an adequate balance. For instance, if you’re self-employed, you might have both good months and bad — and that account can run pretty dry at those most challenging of times.
Another possible downside for some is that auto-renew doesn’t encourage a review period. In other words, the fact that you never have to think twice about your policy means you probably won’t reconsider it when you should. Out of sight, out of mind.
When to Start Considering Your Renewal Options
Figuring out how to buy insurance in the first place may have taken some learning, but, in the end, it’s not hard. But what if it is time to move in another direction or find a lower price?
Vehicle insurance policies tend to run for six months to one year before they must be renewed. Most insurers give you the option of canceling or changing coverage at any point. However, you might have a cancellation fee billed against you if you make changes while your coverage is in effect. Ask your agent about their company policy regarding changes or cancellations.
For many, the easiest time to make these changes is when you receive notification of your renewal date. This usually comes 21 to 30 days ahead of the renewal period. At that point, your attention will be on your policy and whatever questions you have or moves you intend to make. Contact your agent while the subject is fresh on your mind.
Deadlines and Delays: Last-Minute Renewal Pitfalls
The fact that you will probably have those three or four weeks upon notification to renew is both a blessing and a curse. Relax … you’ve got plenty of time to take action if you manually renew. So much time, in fact, that you might forget all about it.
Your insurer will probably give you a grace period and communicate with you a few times after you miss the deadline, but don’t count on it. If they drop you for coverage, it might cost you more to get it back.
Worse yet, you might not even think about being without insurance until your car gets damaged and you desperately need to make a claim — or pay thousands of dollars out of pocket.
You might see this potential hassle as a major reason for auto-renewing your vehicle insurance. Once again — set the option and forget about it. But if you still feel that manual renewal is the best option for you, get in the habit of immediately paying that bill as soon as you get it – or taking steps to change providers.
Taking Action on Your Policy
That auto insurance policy is yours. You’ve bought and paid for it. And you have the right to change it as you see fit.
For instance, you might have coverage with liability benefits only because it was all you could afford at the time. Liability protects other drivers and victims of an accident for which you’re deemed to be at fault. But you can’t make a claim for damage to your own car with liability only.
Now you’re more financially stable, and you decide to upgrade to comprehensive and collision coverage for better protection. Go ahead — do it.
Contact your agent at any point. Even if you just need a little help with the glossary of insurance industry terms found in your policy.
Similarly, you might decide that the auto-renew option is no longer right for you. This is also an easy change to make.
How to Opt-Out of Automatic Renewal
To cancel this option, simply go online to your insurance company’s website and follow the site’s instructions for canceling the auto-renewal. Those directions should be intuitive on most websites, but if you have any problems, contact the toll-free customer service number you should find on the site or with a quick search engine query, and take care of it over the phone.
Procedures For Manual Renewal
If you’ve never had auto-renew car insurance, no problem. As mentioned, there are some drawbacks to auto-renew, including the way it discourages thinking about upgrading, canceling, or changing your policy.
You’ll receive notification of your policy’s upcoming due date, just as those do when renewing automatically. The only difference is that you have to take action, whether it’s by dropping a check into a mailbox or clicking a few buttons on your insurance company’s website to effect payment.
Your insurer will probably provide you with a range of payment tools, including a toll-free phone call. After all, it’s in the company’s best interest to make sure the process is as easy as possible for their customers.
Get a Quote Today for Cheap Car Insurance
Go ahead and set your computer to auto-renew your car insurance. Or pay your bill with a few clicks or a stroll to the mailbox as soon as you get a notification that it’s renewal time. Either is often the smartest decision.
But don’t let auto-renewal replace a helpful and knowledgeable vehicle policy agent when you have questions, need advice, or are considering an upgrade or cheaper coverage. Depend on your Acceptance auto insurance agent for answers. Best of all, our independent insurance agents can go shopping and bring you back quotes from multiple coverage carriers. In that way, you always find the best coverage at the most affordable rates.
So call Acceptance Insurance at (877) 405-7102 or get a quick online quote. You can also find an office near you to book an appointment with one of our savvy, independent auto insurance agents.
