Shopping your policy at renewal

Before dialing, gather what the person on the other end will ask for. Having it in front of you keeps the call short and, more to the point, keeps each quote built on the same facts.

Timing helps. The renewal notice is the natural cue, since it shows the new price while there are still weeks to act. Calling on the last day before renewal leaves no room to ask follow-up questions or wait for an emailed quote, and a rushed comparison tends to end in whichever answer arrived first.

As for whom to call: an insurer that sells directly gives you one price per call, while an independent agent can often quote several insurers from one conversation. Either works with the script below. If you use an agent, ask which insurers they quoted, so that your other calls go somewhere new rather than to a company already in the comparison.

The script

That final line matters. A quote is information, and you are allowed to collect information without committing to anything. If you want to see alternatives such as higher liability limits or a different deductible, ask for them as a second quote after the matching one, never instead of it. Otherwise you end up comparing a cheaper policy with a better one and calling the difference a saving.

Some insurers check credit-based information when quoting, where their state allows it. If that matters to you, ask how they use it and what kind of inquiry it creates before giving consent.

The sheet

Three columns: your current insurer's renewal offer, and two others. Copy it by hand or print the page. Fill every cell, even if the answer is "none"; a blank is where comparisons go wrong.

On a narrow screen, the sheet scrolls sideways.

Reading the sheet

Start with the two shaded rows. Put every quote on a twelve-month basis before comparing prices; a six-month premium looks like a bargain next to a twelve-month one until it is doubled. Then add fees and installment charges to reach an annual all-in figure.

Now read up the column, not across the row. If any coverage line differs from your renewal offer, the price difference is at least partly a coverage difference. Lower liability limits, a missing uninsured motorist line or a higher deductible will make a quote cheaper and a crash more expensive. The meaning of each limit is set out in liability limits, decoded.

The mileage row catches a quieter mismatch. If one insurer assumed half the miles you actually drive, its price rests on a fact that isn't true, and a claim could expose that.

Price is not the only column worth weighing. How an insurer handles claims is hard to see from a quote, but your state insurance department may publish complaint information, and people you know who have claimed with that insurer are a useful, if unscientific, second source.

Switching without a gap

If a quote wins, start the new policy on the day the old one ends, or on a day you choose, and cancel the old one effective the same date only once you have written confirmation that the new one is in force. Never leave a day uncovered in between; a lapse can create legal trouble and may count against you on future quotes. If the car is financed or leased, send the new proof of insurance to the lender or leasing company, since they will expect to be listed on it. Any unused premium on the old policy is typically refunded, sometimes less a fee, and the cancellation terms say which.

And if the renewal offer wins, that is a result too. You now know what the market would charge you this year, which is more than the price increase on its own could tell you.