Martin Lewis: How to halve your car and home insurance costs just by getting it on the right day – and why it works

Transcript of what Martin Lewis said on the show

Martin Lewis: "Now it's important to understand with insurance, just like with comedy... timing is everything.

Look for quotes around three weeks before your renewal – it could HALVE the cost of your insurance

"So look, if you are near your renewal, getting quotes around three weeks before may halve the cost. Now, I put that there to remind myself that I feel like I've got a graph coming on... there we are. So this is for car insurance.

"Now, we run 18 million quotes – I've updated this a few times over the years, to see exactly how the prices change. This isn't about renewal quotes. This is about going to get new quotes to see if the price is cheaper in the run-up to your renewal date.

"As you'll see, it starts to drop at around 30 days, you get into the sweet spot around three to four weeks before. It bottoms out at exactly 23 days – but, you know, let's not play that, this is averages – and then the price starts to rise and rise and rise and rise.

"So, for someone who here is paying around £700 if they get their insurance on the day of renewal, get a quote elsewhere, they're paying £1,200. So, what everybody needs to do is get in your diary that 23 days before renewal, because that's the actual sweet spot.

"Now, in home insurance, it doesn't make as much difference in the, the exact middle day is 21 days, but it's roughly similar. So, my general message: car 23 days early, home 21 days early, but for both three to four weeks before, I mean, it doesn't make that much difference. That's what you need to be doing."