More Than to stop selling car insurance policies – here's what it means for your cover

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More Than car insurance customer? You'll either be switched to Swinton automatically or you'll need to arrange new cover

If you're currently a More Than car insurance customer, you will be sent a letter before the end of your policy (if you've moved home since setting up your policy, you can update your address using More Than's online form) explaining that, one of two things will happen once your policy expires: 

• If you're a standard car insurance policy holder WITH auto-renewal turned on, you'll be automatically moved to Swinton – though you should still check if you can save by switching. More Than stopped selling standard car insurance to new and renewing customers on 1 September 2023. Once your new policy with Swinton starts, you'll have to pay a £40 service charge on top of the premium price. Plus, if you want to cancel after your new policy has begun, you'll have to pay a fee.

• If you're a standard car insurance policer holder WITHOUT auto-renewal turned on, or you've a Low Miler or Smart Wheels policy, you'll need to find new cover. More Than will no longer offer its specialist Low Miler – which uses a gadget to track how much you drive – and Smart Wheels – which is for younger drivers – policies to new customers from 30 April 2024 and to renewing customers from 31 May 2024. 

All More Than customers with a standard car insurance policy, as well as those with its specialist Low Miler or Smart Wheels policies will be covered until the end of their policy and all new and existing claims will continue to be dealt with by More Than (or Low Miler and Smart Wheels) as normal. 

We've asked More Than how many customers these changes impact, though it's yet to respond. 

The insurer is axing its car insurance arm after a "business decision" to focus on home and pet insurance instead. 

Should you opt out of renewing with Swinton?

If you've got auto-renewal turned on you'll be sent a letter by More Than 90 days before your renewal to let you know that you'll be switched to Swinton.

You'll be given your new Swinton policy price 21 to 26 days before your renewal by post or email. The firm offers three levels of cover – 'Essentials', 'Classic' and 'Premier' – with the higher levels offering more extras, such as uninsured driver cover or a courtesy hire car.

Swinton told us it would match you with the policy that's closest to the level of cover you had with More Than – but you should double check what's covered to make sure the new policy meets your needs.

And don't hang around waiting for Swinton to get in touch – when it comes to car insurance renewals, timing is crucial. Looking for quotes around three weeks before your renewal date could HALVE the cost, as MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis explains in the video below:

We asked a major comparison website how Swinton stacks up compared to More Than when it comes to prices – but it told us this would be tricky to establish. So it's best to do a quick check yourself – see below for more on this.

Swinton does have slightly better user ratings on review site Trustpilot: 4.3 stars (based on 28,859 reviews) compared with More Than's 3.9 stars (based on 15,427 reviews) – though it's difficult to draw any firm conclusions from this.

If you're happy to be switched to Swinton, you don't need to do anything. 

For those who don't want the switch to go ahead, you'll have until the end of your existing policy to opt out for free – the letter or email you receive from More Than will explain how to do this. Don't delay – once your More Than policy ends, your payments will switch over to Swinton and you'll have to pay a cancellation fee to leave. This is £25 if you cancel within two weeks of your Swinton policy starting, and £50 thereafter.

If you've been charged a cancellation fee that you believe is unfair, you can raise a complaint by following the process set out on Swinton's website. If your complaint is not resolved within eight weeks, or you get a 'deadlock' letter, you can then escalate this to the free and independent Financial Ombudsman Service.

NEVER just auto-renew car insurance without checking prices elsewhere

With car insurance prices up across the board, it's never been more important to check you're not overpaying – regardless of whether you're being moved to Swinton or not.

Remember that, as Martin explains in the video above, the best time to look for quotes is around 23 days before your renewal date, so it's worth making a note of this so you can plan ahead.

Here are a few of our top tips to make sure you don't overpay:

• Use our Compare+ tool. By filling out just one questionnaire, you can compare quotes from 100s of insurers and get personalised ideas to cut your costs even further.

• Check if you can save with multicar cover. If you've got more than one car at home, getting multicar cover may help you save, but you'll need to check manually as comparison sites don't check this. Admiral is probably the best-known multicar provider, but Aviva, LV, Diamond and Elephant also offer these policies.

• See if you should combine car and home insurance. Again, this is trial and error – get prices for car and home cover separately, then check the multicover type policies with Admiral and LV.

For lots more info on cutting the cost of your car insurance, see our Cheap car insurance guide.