Premium Comparison Calculator

The cheapest premium today and the cheapest premium over five years are frequently different policies. Carriers price new business and renewals from separate books, and the gap shows up at the first renewal rather than at the quote.

This calculator projects both forward at the increase rates you supply and reports which one costs less over the period you actually intend to stay.

Result

Cheaper over the period

Policy A

Total difference

$247

Policy A total: $6,740
Policy B total: $6,987
Policy A final year: $1,774
Policy B final year: $1,509
Crossover year: Year 4
Policy A average: $1,348
Policy B average: $1,397

This is an estimate based on the values you entered. Actual premiums, coverage, eligibility and pricing vary by provider and by individual circumstances.

Increase rates are your assumptions. No carrier guarantees a future rate, and a policy that is cheaper today can be the more expensive one within a few renewals.

Premium by year

Year	Policy A	Policy B	Difference	Cheaper that year
1	$980	$1,290	$310	Policy A
2	$1,137	$1,342	$205	Policy A
3	$1,319	$1,395	$77	Policy A
4	$1,530	$1,451	$79	Policy B
5	$1,774	$1,509	$265	Policy B

How to use the premium comparison calculator

Enter the first-year premium for each policy.
Enter the annual increase you expect for each, based on renewal history where you have it.
Set the number of years you expect to hold the policy.
Compare the totals, and note the year the cheaper policy changes.

What people use this for

Evaluating a switching offer priced attractively for year one.
Deciding whether to stay with a carrier whose renewals keep rising.
Budgeting insurance over the term of a loan or a lease.
Comparing a stable carrier against an aggressive new-business one.

Worked examples

Every figure below is produced by running this calculator against the example inputs, so the numbers always match the tool.

Introductory pricing

Policy A at $980 rising 16% a year against Policy B at $1,290 rising 4%, held five years.

Cheaper over the period: Policy A
Total difference: $247
Crossover year: Year 4

A short hold

The same two policies kept for two years only.

Cheaper over the period: Policy A
Policy A total: $2,117
Policy B total: $2,632

Where the increase comes from

A renewal increase combines a filed rate change affecting everyone in a class, changes specific to your own record, and the expiry of any introductory discount. Only the first is genuinely about the carrier.

That is why the most reliable input here is your own history rather than a published average: it already includes all three effects as they apply to you.

Compounding, and the crossover

Small persistent differences compound into large ones. Five years at 16% roughly doubles a premium; five years at 4% raises it by about a fifth. On a policy that starts at a thousand dollars, that is the difference between paying two thousand a year and paying twelve hundred - for cover that has not changed.

The crossover year tells you how long the cheaper offer stays cheaper, which matters more than the total if you expect to re-shop anyway. An offer that wins for four years is genuinely useful to someone who reviews every three; the same offer is a trap for someone who sets a policy up and forgets it.

The projection is only as good as the increase rates entered, and those are assumptions rather than commitments. Treat the comparison as a way of testing how sensitive the decision is to renewal behaviour, not as a forecast of what either carrier will actually do.

Methodology and assumptions

What this calculator does, and what it deliberately does not do.

Each year’s premium is the previous year multiplied by (1 + increase). Totals are summed across the period.
Increase rates are your assumptions. No carrier guarantees a future rate.
All figures are estimates produced from the values you enter. This site has no rate feed and no carrier data, so it cannot quote or price a policy.
Nothing you type is transmitted or stored - the calculation runs entirely inside your browser.

This calculator provides an estimate based on the information you enter. Actual insurance premiums, coverage, eligibility and pricing vary by provider and individual circumstances.

This website is not an insurance company, an insurance agency or a licensed broker. It does not sell insurance, does not provide insurance quotes, and is not authorised to give advice about which policy you should buy.

No result produced here is an offer of insurance or a guarantee of coverage. Only a licensed insurer or agent, working from your verified details, can quote or bind a policy.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I get an increase rate?

Your own renewal notices over the last three years, with no coverage changes in between, are the best available guide.

Does this include claims or deductibles?

No. It compares premiums over time only. Use a coverage analyzer to bring deductibles and claims into the decision.

Should I re-shop every year?

Every year or two is reasonable. More often costs time and can forfeit loyalty and claims-free benefits.

Is the cheaper total always the better choice?

Only where the coverage is equivalent. Compare limits, deductibles and exclusions first.

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