Can you switch car insurance mid-policy?

Key takeaways...

• Consumers always have the ability to switch their car insurance policy
• You can get a refund or avoid being charged more if you go through the proper channels
• Always comparison shop for car insurance

Do you remember that first day that you decided to purchase your car insurance policy? The policy, the premium, coverages, and everything else on that day probably seemed to fit perfectly.

Things can change over time, though, including:

• Experiences that you may have had with your insurance carrier
• Your coverage needs
• The cars you drive
• The rates you’re getting from other carriers

These changes can spark a need to switch your car insurance in the middle of the policy that you currently have. Is this even possible, though? If so, what are your options and what is the best approach to take? Many people worry about choosing just the right time, which can be tricky with auto insurance as many companies auto renew. On one hand, it makes it easy to make sure you’re never uninsured. If you want to cancel, it may not feel so convenient.

For this and many other reasons, you have the choice to cancel your auto insurance policy at any time AND get your money back. You obviously won’t get money back on premiums for past months.

if you want to see what your options are for auto insurance rates, start comparison shopping by entering your ZIP code above!

What Do You Need to Do to Switch Car Insurance?

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The one thing that you always want to remember is that you always have the ability to switch your car insurance policy. Even if your policy was just auto renewed last week, you can switch insurance companies. Depending on the company, there may be a cancellation fee. It’s generally a small amount between $20 and $50 if there’s a cancellation fee at all. Don’t let that force you to stick with an insurance premium or company that doesn’t work for you.

Whether you want to make a change to the policy you have with your current insurer, or you want to switch your policies entirely to a different insurer, this is going to be within your reach. Before you cancel your current policy, you should start shopping for new insurance providers. Identify a company you want to work with, get a quote, and bind your new policy. You can set a start date a week out. This gives you plenty of time to notify your old insurer and cancel the same day.

Having this knowledge and knowing that you as a consumer hold all of the power is very important.

You need to know the options that you have available to you and also the fact that, even though you have purchased a car insurance policy, you truly can cancel it and move onto another insurer at any time.

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What Can You Expect with A New Auto Insurance Policy?

So what is the best approach to take when you want to get a new car insurance policy in the middle of the existing one? What can you expect in the process? If you have accident forgiveness or a loyalty discount with your current insurer, it will not follow you. But other insurance companies may provide a discount incentive to switch. Depending on how much you’re paying now, you may also get a lower rate before all applicable discounts. Especially if you chose your insurer based on price when you were young or had a questionable driving record, don’t be surprised if the coverage you get for the cost is better.

When you’re ready to switch, reach out to all of the different car insurance carriers out there and start to get quotes.

Begin to reach out to all of the different car insurance carriers out there and start to get quotes. See what they are going to be able to offer you in terms of coverage, premium, limits, and all of that. You can search until you find the right fit while keeping your current proof of insurance in tact as long as your current insurance company is not cancelling or refusing to renew.

You have the ability to easily and very quickly get a lot of car insurance quotes online in just a matter of minutes. A quick Google search and hopping on a few different car insurance carrier sites can allow you to generate quotes on your own.

The other option is to reach out to the car insurance carriers via the phone or through e-mail.

Once you have your quotes and you are ready to bind coverage, go ahead and do just that. You do not want to worry about backdating your new policy, simply have it become effective when you are ready and need the coverage.

The next step is to reach out to the insurance carrier that you currently have and start the process of canceling your current policy.

If you have pre-paid the premium for the full policy effective period, expect to be able to get a refund for what you have already paid in. If a claim is in-process, that will continue as well. Have the policy cancel on the same day that your new policy has gone into effect.

Things to Remember

There are some things that you want to be aware of as you are going through the process of changing your car insurance policy.

In the event that you are changing insurers completely, you want to be sure that you are not going to end up with a policy overlap at all between the two policies that you have or have had.

What can happen when you have multiple car insurance policies is that you can have duplicate coverage, which is against the law in most states across the United States.

A law, known as unjust enrichment, forbid consumers from taking advantage of filing two claims for one accident and actually profiting, versus just being indemnified, or made whole, should an unfortunate event occur.

In the event that you are having a mid-term endorsement processed to just change the policy you currently have, just make sure you have your change go into effect on the day that you need the coverage.

As a consumer, you always have the ability to change the policy you have, whether it is switching car insurance carriers or having an endorsement processed to tweak your current policy.

It is always best to do price comparisons online to see where the most value is going to be on the car insurance policy you have in effect.

When you are not getting value, it is time to make a change and you as a consumer hold the power to do just that.

Make some changes by comparison shopping for better auto insurance rates. Enter your ZIP code below to get started!

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