It's Auto Insurance Renewal Time: What should I know? - Home & Auto Insurance Guide | Gabi

Policy renewal is a recurring event, during which, your insurance company sends you a renewal proposal, often with slightly different terms. It’s a wonderful time to review your policy. Considering how tedious this process might be sometimes, we prepared a short guide to aid you through the process.

When does my insurance renew?

Your policy renewal by default occurs shortly before the expiration of your current policy. Depending on your policy type and the length of your policy term, this usually happens every 6 or 12 months. The busiest months for auto renewal are April and October each year. Around 4 weeks before the expiration of your policy, your current insurance company sends your renewal documents. These documents are the company’s proposal for next term. During renewal time, your policy is re-rated by your insurer, often leading to either an increase or a decrease in your premium. 

Why is my insurance rate increasing?

Sometimes, insurance companies send renewals that are not as attractive as perhaps they once were. An increase in your premium can be caused by a variety of factors. Some of them are outside of our control. Others we can prevent. 

One of the main reasons for an increase in your premium is usually inevitable, inflation. As we earn more, the dollar becomes less valuable, and thus the price of services increases.

Another reason for a higher premium might be our age. After we get past a certain age, our premium tends to increase. As our reflexes slow down, our vision deteriorates. Our mind becomes less clear, resulting in more money being taken out of our pockets to insure our vehicles. There are, however, still things you can do to ensure that as a senior citizen you still get the best insurance deal out there. 

 The area you live in is a big factor when calculating your insurance premium. 

Premium calculations strictly follow detailed algorithms, where multiple variants are taken into account. If the amount of cars has increased in your zip-code over your last term, if your neighborhood experienced a bigger than usual number of insurance claims or natural disasters like storms etc., then your premium might indeed be increasing. 

Ironically, if you live in a state with a high likelihood of earthquakes occurring, the longer it’s been without an earthquake, the more your earthquake coverage will cost you, as an earthquake is more likely to happen after a long period of peace when the tectonic tension builds up.

On the other hand, we have the premium-increasing factors which we can potentially avoid. Upon every renewal, your insurance company reviews your policy. If there have been some new claims, incidents, or traffic violations over the last 6 or 12 months, depending on the term length, your premium will increase. The increase will depend on how serious the incident was. In order to avoid unwanted premium increases, it’s best to stay safe and responsible on the road, to maintain a clean driving record.

What should I do when renewal time comes?

When the renewal time comes, it is best to always take a step back and review your policy.

Even when you think we have a wonderful rate at the moment, you might be surprised by what’s out there. Many insurance companies offer loyalty programs that give you certain benefits if you stay with the company long enough. These are very often attractive, allowing you to get a lower rate over time. Sometimes accident forgiveness is also awarded, it prevents your premium from increasing should you have a minor slip up on the road.

While these awards are attractive, they might sometimes be intended as a distraction, to make you stay with a company that does not offer you the best deal. Brand loyalty can get you some nice bonuses, it should never be the sole reason why you stay with an insurance company.

How do I ensure I get the best deal out there?

The most important part of getting good insurance is having certainty that the offer you are presented with is the best one you can get. Shopping around for a policy is a time-consuming process. It can be quite tedious and repetitive if you decide to manually insert the same information over and over to get your quotes from different companies.

Thankfully, with Gabi Insurance, you don’t have to! Our system allows you to check dozens of different insurance carriers at once. Gabi clearly presents your findings, allowing you to compare and easily make a conscious decision.