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

ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live – Tuesday 7 November 2023

From The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on Tuesday 7 November 2023, courtesy of ITV. All rights reserved. Watch the full episode on ITVX.

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 – 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."

Why car insurance is more expensive closer to your renewal date

Martin: "Of course, the question is 'why?'

"We go back to risk. The type of people who leave getting quotes to the last minute before their renewal are the type of people who are high risk when it comes to home and car insurance and make more claims.

"So, what you want to do is you're effectively by doing this on the right timing, you're saying to the insurer: 'Hi, I'm not going to be making a claim over the next couple of years, so you can trust me and charge me a lower price.'"

Jeanette Kwakye (Martin's co-host): "If, Martin, if everybody tries this method, surely the insurance companies, they cotton on, it might just go away."

Martin: "Well, yes, that's absolutely true. If absolutely everybody all the 740 million people watching this show, in the UK, were to use this method, then it would shift the actuarial tables. But I've been talking about this for five or six years now and we've not seen any shift yet. So, I think you're fine, you're safe to do it."

'My quote went down from £1,500 to £650'

"Now, I sent you a success on this. I got loads of success on this, but I like the way this was phrased because it's got a really good prefix."

Jeanette: "And it's from Krishna, have a look at this: 'I was a non-believer till last week. My quote went down from £1,500 one month before insurance expiry to an unbelievable £650 21 days before. Thank you so much.' That's great, that is really good.

Martin: "It's real. It works. Try it."