Experts have shared when you should renew your car insurance, as it may save you as much as £202 on average. Car insurance is a legal requirement for all UK drivers, as per the Road Traffic Act of 1930.
At the time this meant all motorists were to be insured should they cause any physical harm to another person by the use of their vehicle. This was later updated with the Road Traffic Act of 1988, so as to include mandatory insurance against third-party property damage.
Car insurance is an annoying but necessary expense, especially amid the cost of living crisis. So it can be very helpful to get the coverage we need for the lowest price.
Experts at Which? have said people can probably do this by opting to renew on a certain date. A new post from the consumer champion site on X, formerly Twitter, reads: “Does it matter when you renew your car insurance? Absolutely! We’ve done the research and can reveal the best day to renew to save maximum £s”.
An accompany Which article, linked in the update, further explains: “Unfortunately, 98% of drivers are timing it wrong and don’t buy their car insurance on the cheapest day, according to data from Go.Compare.” It adds that “failing to hit the optimal day to buy your policy could mean paying up to 55% more.”
You can usually renew up to 29 days before a new policy is due, and the data, which is based on sales purchased through Go.Compare between May 2023 and April 2024, suggests that acting 26 days in advance is the optimum time. The average price cost per year at this day mark was £367.
Average prices then rose to £377, £381, and £384, when purchasing 24, 20, and 16 days in advance, respectively. The average cost for an on-the-day renewal was £569 – more than £200 more than at -26 days.
You can find the full list of days and prices, and read the rest of the Which? article, here