If you find a better deal with another insurer or are selling your car, you can cancel your car insurance policy to take advantage of insurance savings. However, avoid surprise cancellation fees by checking your insurer’s cancellation policy, and consider the cost benefit of switching companies if your current insurer does charge a fee.
In many cases, you can cancel your car insurance in just a few minutes with a phone call or written notice of your cancellation. But be ready with your next steps, like having another insurance policy in place before canceling.
Each car insurance company has slightly different requirements, fees and processes for canceling your policy. Check out comprehensive guides for canceling your insurance from these popular providers.
Yes, most insurers allow you to cancel your policy at any time. Just be sure to call your insurer to find out its cancellation policy including any requirements, like sending a written notice with the effective date of cancellation. This is also a good time to ask if you’re eligible for any prorated refunds for canceling early.
And, if you’re planning to keep and drive your car, you’ll want your new insurance policy in place before canceling your current car insurance. If you cancel without setting up a new policy, you could have a gap in your car insurance coverage, which can put you in a high-risk category.
Yes, you can switch to another insurer once your current coverage ends. Sometimes this may be better to avoid paying cancellation fees. But if you’re doing this, you need to know whether or not your policy will automatically renew. If it does, then you may try asking your insurer to simply not renew it, or remember to cancel your policy immediately before the renewal date.
You usually won’t pay a cancellation fee when canceling your car insurance, but it depends on the insurer. If there is a cancellation fee it can vary from $25 to $50 up to a percentage of the remaining premiums left.
Most companies that charge a fee bill you for $50 or 10% of your remaining premium if you need to cancel before your renewal. You can skip the fees by waiting to cancel until renewal time.
| Company | Cancellation fee |
|---|---|
| AAA | $0 |
| Allstate | $0 |
| American Family | $0 |
| Farmers | $0 |
| Geico | $0 |
| Liberty Mutual | $0 |
| Mercury | 10% of remaining premium |
| Nationwide | $0 |
| Safeco | $0 |
| State Farm | $0 |
| The General | 10% of remaining premium |
| The Hartford | $0 |
| Travelers | $0 |
| USAA | $0 |
If you want to cancel your car insurance policy, you have options. With most insurers, you can call an agent, send a written notice or cancel in person. Most car insurance companies won’t let you cancel online.
If you have new insurance lined up, your new insurer may give you a template letter, often called a cancellation letter or cancel previous insurance letter. If your new company doesn’t have a boilerplate cancellation letter, include this information in your letter to your old insurer.
Yes. Many insurers let you transfer your current policy to another car, although this may vary between insurers, and insurers are free to decline to cover your new car at their discretion. Generally, insurers want to keep customers, so transferring your policy to another car can be done easily. Simply contact your insurer and ask.
If you do transfer your policy to another car, you can expect your prices to change accordingly. For example, let’s say you trade in your older Honda Accord for a new Toyota Prius. You might get some discounts for driving a hybrid with new safety features while also adding extra coverage for a newer car, so you’ll probably end up paying more.
Yes, if you’ll no longer be driving your car, you should cancel your registration as well, or transfer registration to the new owner if you’re selling it. Otherwise, your state DMV could suspend your license for canceling insurance on a car that you’re still driving.
If you’ve had a bad experience or are looking for a lower car insurance premium or discounts, canceling outright could be the right option for you. You might want to cancel your current policy after:
Yes. You could get quotes from several car insurance companies and negotiate your premium with your current insurer. Most insurance companies offer discounts and different types of policies for different stages of life, so check with your agent to see what discounts or options you qualify for.
Depending on what you want to change, an insurer may tell you to cancel your current policy and then take out a new one with different terms. What you could change without canceling your policy:
While canceling car insurance is easy, it may put you in a high-risk pool if you don’t have a new policy lined up. Being considered a high-risk driver means you’ll pay higher rates in the future. Before canceling your car insurance entirely, consider the effects of:
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If you regret canceling your car insurance policy, some companies allow you a full 24 to 48 hours to have it fully reinstated without any consequences. Other insurers, like Progressive, require you to have your policy reinstated within the same day of canceling.
If you’ve passed the timeframe allowed for reinstatement, you’ll either be required to have your policy fully re-written with your current car insurance company or shop around for a new car insurance policy. To avoid a lapse of coverage, get your new policy started as soon as possible, or ask for your policy to be backdated to the day you lost coverage.
If you’re looking to switch insurers or cancel your car policy, you have options for canceling your car insurance. Talk to your insurer about cancellation fees and the best process to cancel.
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