Brits losing out on insurance savings

Even those Brits who consider themselves to be savvy when it comes to car and home insurance and tend to shop around every year could be missing out on savings, according to comparethemarket.com research.

In order to give themselves time to shop around for the best deals, consumers should start to search for new car insurance three weeks before the renewal date, and for home insurance four weeks before it's due to expire. 

Switching at the right time could see British consumers saving £4 billion over the course of the year.

The average driver could make savings of up to £234 if they change their insurance provider three weeks prior to the renewal date. At this point, the average insurance premium stands at £366, compared to £600 the day before the renewal date.

However, 15 per cent of consumers are still waiting until the last minute to shop around, meaning that consumers are missing out on £3.5 billion of savings.

Home insurance policies are at their cheapest 28 days before the renewal date, and the price increases in cost up until one week before the renewal. At this point, they tend to drop in price – but they don't reach the lowest levels seen three weeks earlier.

Home insurance savings are smaller than for car insurance, although Brits could still be saving an additional £0.5 billion every year.

Simon McCulloch, director of insurance at comparethemarket.com, commented, "It is human nature to put off chores like buying insurance to the last minute, but consumers probably don’t realise that they are being financially penalised for it too."