Auto Insurance: How to Cancel Without Regrets

How to Cancel your Auto Insurance Policy

It’s true there are a lot of fish in the sea and that you’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the handsome prince, so it’s not unheard of that you may want to switch insurance providers. Like in a divorce, the way to do it is as amicably as possible and without hard feelings for either party. So if you’ve decided you want to play the field and go to another insurance agency, before you fly the coop, there are a few things you need to think about first:

– Don’t just stop paying your premium. The insurer will just cancel YOU then, and this will show up on your credit report as an unpaid bill. Maybe a big one, depending on how many months are left on your policy. This will sully your sterling reputation and from henceforth you will be labeled a BAD RISK (read: “deadbeat”) in insurance-land. Whatever company you decide on in the future will then charge you a higher rate – sort of a poetic justice kind of thing. So if you’re going to make the break, be civil about it and at least write them a “Dear John” letter. This will also help to eliminate any confusion and give you a written record to guard against any potential problems with the change. And even if you don’t give a whit, it gives your current provider a little lead time to close out your policy.

– If at all possible (like if you’re not moving out of state), postpone your switch until your current policy comes up for renewal. Otherwise, you will pay a penalty for canceling prematurely. The amount of your penalty depends on how much time is left on your policy: The more months remaining, the higher the penalty. You’ve broken their hearts, and now you’re going to pay for it. Just be glad they’re not suing you for breach of promise and asking for the engagement ring back.

– Don’t change your mind after you commit. The worst thing you can do is buy from one insurer, get a wandering eye, and buy from another right afterward. The first insurer will really get you for premature cancellation, since they’ve only had you covered for such a short time. Hell hath no fury like an insurer scorned.

– Don’t play the field too frequently. Despite rumors to the contrary from spurned policyholders, the insurance biz really does try to maintain an image of trust and good faith. If you’re a company-hopper, no insurer can really get to know you well enough to give you the benefit of the doubt should anything questionable arise in your relationship – kind of like that old lipstick-on-the-collar kind of thing. In this case, it’d be the old dent-in-the-fender story.

If you’re determined you still want to check out that greener-looking grass on the other side of the insurance fence, make sure there's no lapse in your coverage. You want the new company to be waiting in the wings, ready to marry as soon as the divorce is final. Coordinate with your new insurer to guarantee that your new policy takes effect as soon as the old one ends. Never, ever cancel your existing policy until you know exactly when your new one begins. If you leave a gap, that little fender bender you might have while you're uninsured could wipe out any new policy savings you had anticipated, and your old insurer will be snickering all the way to divorce court.