I want to switch insurer: when must I give notice?

The wrong date

Many people put their policy’s renewal date in the calendar thinking that is the deadline to switch. By the time it arrives it is too late: the contract has already renewed.

The date to write down is a different one, and it is a month earlier.

What the law says

The contract renews automatically for periods of no more than one year at a time, unless one of the parties objects.

And here is the point almost nobody has right: the deadlines are not the same for both sides. To oppose renewal, written notice to the other party is required at least one month in advance if it is the policyholder objecting, and two months if it is the insurer.

The law adds two more things. The insurer must notify the policyholder of any change to the contract at least two months before the end of the current period. And the conditions and deadlines for objecting must be highlighted in the policy: they cannot be buried in the small print.

One important exception: none of the above applies where it is incompatible with the rules governing life insurance.

An example

A car policy renews on 1 October. To avoid renewal, the policyholder must send written notice by 1 September at the latest. By 15 September they are out of time and the contract will renew for another year.

If it is the company that does not want to renew, its deadline is twice as long: it would have had to give notice before 1 August.

And if the company wants to raise the premium or change conditions for the following year, it must also give two months’ notice — before 1 August. That leaves the policyholder a month to react before their own deadline closes.

What to do in practice

The useful thing is to put renewal date minus one month in the calendar and treat that as the real deadline. That is where it is decided.

And send the objection in a way that leaves a record: the law requires written notice, and in an argument about deadlines what counts is being able to prove when it was sent.