6 Smart ways to never forget your car insurance expiry date

For Filipino car owners, it is easy to overlook one essential date, i.e., the car insurance expiry date. And we won't blame them for their forgetfulness, especially with all the responsibilities on their shoulders, including paying bills, household chores, and office tasks. However, the biggest issue with forgetting your policy’s expiry date is that it can be a costly mistake. That one time renewing slips your mind, your pocket bears a lot of stress.

Why do we say so? You see, failing to renew your policy before the expiry date often leads to lapse of coverage. We all know that driving with an expired policy leaves you fully exposed to potential road risks, including accidents, collisions, and theft. Furthermore, if caught by authorities, you will be penalised, and your claims will be denied. Therefore, it is vital to remember the policy renewal date.

To help you never forget your car insurance renewal date, we have suggested six smart tips in the article - all tailored for Filipino car owners. It doesn’t matter who your provider is; these simple yet effective tips will ensure your coverage remains active with no gaps.

Car insurance expiry: Understanding the basics

Let us begin by understanding how car insurance works in the Philippines. This would include topics such as coverage duration, renewal timing, and what happens after the policy expires.

Car insurance coverage duration & renewal timing

In the Philippines, a car insurance policy is valid for just a year, from the date of issuance. After this validity date, the policy will expire unless it is renewed. It doesn’t matter if you have CTPL insurance or comprehensive coverage; the details mentioned above remain the same for both, i.e., a one-year validity period.

Typically, insurance providers send policy renewal reminders via email and SMS to their clients; however, this is not always the case. Therefore, policyholders need to take matters into their own hands and ensure that they opt for ways to remember the essential dates.

Also Read: Here’s how to resolve a dispute with your insurance provider

Consequences of an expired insurance policy

Here are the significant things that happen when your policy expires in the Philippines -

• You are no longer protected against accidents, theft, fire, flood, vandalism, collision, etc.
• You will be responsible for all car repairs and medical expenses.
• You may encounter issues with renewing your car registration at the LTO.

Top reasons for missing the policy renewal date

Let us now discuss some of the most common reasons car owners in the Philippines miss their insurance renewal date.

Busy schedule: Young, working-class individuals often juggle daily chores, studying, socialising, and managing work-related commitments. This usually leads them to forget or miss renewal reminders.

Losing policy documents: Many times, policyholders forget where they have stored policy documents. This leads them not to know/remember essential dates, such as expiry.

Change in contact details: Typically, when policyholders update their contact details, they often fail to notify their insurance provider. This leads to the renewal reminders not being delivered, resulting in the policy expiring.

Alerts not received: Providers sometimes fail to send timely reminder notices to their clients, which can result in policy expiration.

Also Read: Understanding Personal Accident Car Insurance Coverage in the Philippines

Smart tips to remember your insurance policy expiry date

Tip 1: Set automated reminders

We live in the 21st century, and digitisation is the answer to many of our concerns. In case of remembering an important date related to car insurance, it offers a simple and effective tool in the form of automated reminders. All you need to do is set your policy expiry date on the Google/Apple calendar and set some month, week, and day alerts before the expiry date.

The best part about this tool is that all our devices are now in sync, providing us with sufficient reminders and ensuring we never miss a notification. Furthermore, smartphones these days come with built-in reminder apps, and even Google Assistant & Siri could help you remember essential days - all you need to do is give a prompt.

Tip 2: Sign up for SMS & email reminders/alerts from the provider

Insurance providers these days offer a service wherein they send multiple policy renewal reminders to clients with policies approaching their expiration dates. To get started, simply sign up for the service when you purchase or renew your policy. You can also call your agent and request the activation of the reminder service.

This service will not only prompt reminders weeks before the policy expiry date but will also provide convenience for renewals with an attached payment link.

Tip 3: Opt for automated renewal

This tip is ideal for policyholders who are burdened with work and other commitments and fall into the group that is most likely to miss the renewal date, such as busy businesspeople and professionals.

Many insurance providers in the Philippines offer auto-renewal options, ensuring your policy is renewed before it expires. As for payment, usually the amount is deducted from your registered card or account.

While this option ensures continuous coverage with no gaps and saves policyholders time & effort, there are a few drawbacks, including missing out on discounts, deals, or promotions that usually require human intervention.

Tip 4: Track policies via online apps & portals

Many well-known and reputable insurance providers in the country offer online tools like apps and dedicated portals. They are there to make things easy and convenient for the client by providing services such as online policy renewal, premium payment, and policy modification. Furthermore, they also offer policy details, such as the expiry date and renewal status.

This tip is constructive when managing multiple vehicle insurance policies. The app or portal enables you to view all policies and related details under one dashboard, making it highly convenient to track essential dates, such as expiry.

Tip 5: Proper storage of documents

Be sure to keep all your essential documents, including your insurance policy, in a safe and secure location. They should be handy as well, because what’s the use of keeping them with so much care that you aren’t able to retrieve them when required. Make multiple copies of the policy; store one hard copy in your car and have a soft copy in the Dropbox or Google Drive. All this will make checking the expiry date convenient.

Tip 6: Create a renewal checklist

It might sound like too much work, but believe us, it’s not. To renew, simply create a renewal folder on your phone or Google Drive and include the following documents within it: the latest copy of the policy, the expiry date, and the renewal requirements.

This simple tip will make the renewal process so much simpler and help you avoid a last-minute rush.

Also Read: Top 15 car insurance concerns in the Philippines—Answer

Bonus tip -

• If you purchased your policy through an agent, you can request renewal alert service. Agents send personalised reminders (call & message) weeks before the policy expiry date.
• Always choose a trusted and reputable insurance company. This will ensure renewal assistance.

Also Read: New to driving? Here’s how to handle accidents and insurance

Bottom line

Buying a car insurance policy is not where your responsibility as a motor vehicle owner ends; in reality, it is just the first step. A car insurance policy comes with an expiry date and therefore needs to be renewed promptly to avoid coverage gaps, which can have several consequences. Consequently, it is suggested to keep a track of the policy and its validity. In this article, we have offered six efficient ways to ensure your vehicle’s safety net remains intact, including opting for auto-renewal and signing up for reminders.

Remember, staying insured will save you thousands of pesos and bring peace of mind.

Also Read: Cheap car insurance: Smart savings or a costly mistake?