Canceling your auto insurance policy doesn’t sound like it would be a complicated task. Whether you change carriers, stop driving a car or are paying too much, one day you may have to cancel your policy and if you don’t do it the right way, it could end up costing you.
Do not just stop paying your car insurance payment and wait for your carrier to drop you. Your car insurance payments affect your credit score and failing to make your payments will poorly reflect your score and cause problems for you in the future. Instead, contact your auto insurance carrier or agent to inform them you would like to cancel your policy. They will send you a cancellation request form for you to fill out and send back, remember to give them a date for your policy to be cancelled. Don’t try to rush the process, each carrier handles cancellations different, the quickest way is to do it their way to avoid any delays. Depending on how your payments are set up, get information on possible refunds for payments you’ve already made that wont apply to you anymore, if you are eligible, a check will me mailed to you from your carrier.
If you are switching carriers, be sure your new car insurance policy is valid before canceling your old one. If you get caught driving in between policies and its illegal to do so in your state, the police will not take this as a valid excuse and you will be prosecuted. Also, be sure to ask your insurance agent if it is required for you to notify the DMV about your coverage change, so if you do get pulled over, there is no confusion over whether you have insurance or not.
If you are canceling your policy because your payments are too high, shop around for car insurance quotes to better fit your lifestyle. There are ways to save money and it’s a much better route than just dropping your coverage all together. If you are caught without coverage, that will end up costing you more than any auto insurance premium you find.
