Do you know someone who always gets things done on time- except for renewing their car insurance? Do they procrastinate and leave it right until the last minute- only to end up forgetting?
If you do have someone in mind, share this article with them- or better yet, keep reading if that ‘someone’ is you! Renewing your car insurance on time is essential, and we’ll explain why.
Car insurance is not valid for a lifetime. Just like most other things, it comes with an expiry date. To keep your car insurance policy valid, you’ll need to renew it every year. Have you ever thought about what happens if you don’t renew it on time?
Lapse in Car Insurance
When you don’t renew your car insurance, your car policy will lapse, and you’ll no longer have coverage and financial protection from any accidents. Any claims you make will not be entertained as there is no valid policy in place. If you get into an accident, you could potentially have to bear all expenses yourself, putting you at financial risk.
There are also other consequences to consider these include penalties where you could face legal action and end up paying steep fines! The longer you go without car insurance, the steeper the penalty will likely be.
If your car insurance has lapsed, some insurance companies require you to send your car for an inspection too.
Hike in New Premium Rate
If you thought you could save money by making late payments, you were gravely mistaken, because starting a new policy will cost you more than staying continuously insured! Having a lapse in your car insurance will automatically be considered as a potential high risk to insurance companies, which leads to paying a much higher premium and/or your renewal may be rejected due to irregular renewals or having an expired policy for a longer period.
Cannot Renew Your Road Tax
Car insurance and road tax are designed in tandem – if you don’t renew or have a valid car insurance policy, you won’t be able to renew your road tax and if you’re caught driving without valid road tax, you will be fined by the police! Both car insurance and road tax usually expire at the same time, which allows you to renew both more efficiently.
Loss of No Claims Discount (NCD)
If you go a year without making a claim on your car insurance policy, you’ll receive a No Claims Discount (NCD) for every consecutive year. The benefits of NCD are only applicable if the renewal is made on time; otherwise, it becomes invalid to the insured. However, if the insured fails to renew their policy on time, they can lose this accumulated benefit.
Renewal Reminders
While your insurance expiry date is stated on the policy documents you received, renewing car insurance is much simpler now and can be done easily online directly on your insurance company’s website. You should at least receive reminders prior to your policy end date – the methods your insurance company will contact you to let you know when your car insurance is about to expire varies, but here at Pacific & Orient Insurance, we offer these reminder services through :
- SMS: You will receive a renewal reminder SMS 2 weeks before your policy expires.
- Email: If we still haven’t heard from you, you’ll receive a reminder email 2 days before the policy ends.
A lapse in car insurance can give you a lot of headaches, especially when renewing your insurance policy. Now that you are aware of the importance of on-time renewal, it’s important to renew your policy before the expiry date.