One of the easiest ways to find cheap car insurance in the UK, is to shop around. At comparison sites like mustard.co.uk, you can compare a range of quotes from leading insurers in as little as five minutes. What’s more, at mustard.co.uk, you can also find handy guides and tips that can help ensure you get great value for money; including these top points to remember at renewal.

1) You must have car insurance to drive

It’s stating the obvious but it’s important not to forget. Driving without insurance, whether you mean to or not can lead to severe penalties.

If you’re caught without suitable insurance, you can be given a £300 fine and have up to six penalty points added to your licence. In the worst-case scenario, you could end up in court and have your licence taken away from you.

If you’re not intending to drive for a while, you can arrange a SORN (statutory off-road notification) for your car.

2) You have a 14-day cancellation period

When you buy car insurance, you can change your mind and cancel it within 14-days. The 14-day cooling-off period starts on the day the policy becomes active or from when you receive your policy documents, whichever is later.

If you cancel within this time, you’ll get a refund. If the policy was active for a few days, the insurer will deduct the cost of this from your total refund.

3) You don’t have to rely on auto-renewal

Some car insurance policies auto-renew so that you don’t have to worry about finding a new deal. If this happens, your insurer should contact you a few weeks before your policy is due to expire along with a renewal price. They should also include the price you paid last year so that you can compare the difference.

Not all insurers auto-renew policies so if you’re not sure, it’s best to check or risk facing the consequences of driving without insurance.

It’s worth remembering that the 14-day cooling-off period also applies if your policy auto-renews.

4) Use your exit window wisely

Most insurers will let you know when your policy is about to expire, in most cases, this happens around four weeks before.

This exit window offers the perfect opportunity to shop around for new quotes and help you get a better deal. Even if your policy automatically renews, it’s worth taking a few minutes to compare what’s out there – for example, introductory offers or multi-car discounts.

If you find a new deal, you can arrange for it to start on the day your existing policy expires, enabling you to transition seamlessly between the two.

5) Shop around and compare quotes

Car insurance is extremely competitive with deals and offers updated regularly. With that in mind, there’s no guarantee that the great deal you got last year is still a great deal this year. To help keep premiums as low as possible when you compare quotes, consider:

Increasing your voluntary excess, but remember to keep it affordable because it has to be paid for a claim to go ahead.
Telematics insurance which uses a device installed in your car to monitor acceleration, braking, cornering and speed. Consistently good driving will be rewarded with lower premiums.
Adding a more experienced named driver to your policy.
Experimenting with your job title, for example, teacher instead of headteacher or nurse versus community nurse. Some jobs are seen as higher risk by insurers with policies priced accordingly. Just remember that the job title you choose must still be an accurate description of what you do.

If you’re ready to start comparing great value car insurance deals, why not head over to mustard.co.uk right now. Simply tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll help find quotes tailored to you.