The best time to renew car insurance (it isn’t the day before)
In short: get car insurance quotes about 25 days before your renewal date. Research from MoneySupermarket, reported by MoneySavingExpert in April 2026, found quotes were cheapest 22 to 26 days ahead, and that the average policy bought on renewal day cost almost twice as much as one bought 25 days earlier.
Insurers price the risk of the driver in front of them, and how far ahead you buy is part of that. People who sort their cover early tend to be lower risk, in insurers’ eyes, than people buying the day before it runs out. So the same driver, the same car and the same cover can cost very different amounts depending on the day you ask.
What the numbers say
In MoneySupermarket’s quotes collected between February and April 2026, the cheapest window was 22 to 26 days before renewal, with 25 days the cheapest of all. The average policy cost £708 bought on renewal day, against £374 bought 25 days earlier. Your own prices will be different, but the pattern is consistent: leaving it to the last few days usually costs more.
Doesn’t the FCA rule mean my renewal price is fair?
Since January 2022, your insurer can’t charge you more to renew than it would charge a new customer like you. That stops loyal customers being quietly overcharged year after year. It doesn’t mean your renewal quote is the cheapest available: other insurers may price you lower, and the timing effect above still applies to new quotes.
A simple plan
- Around 30 days before: find your renewal date and note what you pay now.
- About 25 days before: get quotes from a comparison site, plus an insurer or two that isn’t listed on them.
- Then ring your insurer. Tell them the best quote and ask whether they can do better.
- Before the renewal date: renew or switch. If you switch, turn off auto-renewal with your old insurer.
What to have ready
- Your policy number and current price
- Your car registration and annual mileage
- Any claims or convictions in the last five years
- Your no-claims bonus, in years
How Sort Admin helps: new car and home insurance items are set to remind you 25 days before renewal. Open the reminder and the steps are there, with your policy number ready to copy when you ring.