Auto Insurance Comparison

Is Auto Insurance renewal the same as cancelling?
Okay so my auto insurance just sent me an email saying my policy is ready to renew. I just paid 600 dollars about 1 month ago, and to ‘renew’ costs over 1,000. What does renew mean in comparison to cancellation? is it optional?
Renew means to continue the policy for another term (which with most companies is 6 months) which will mean you’ll need to pay for the policy and continue to drive legally. To cancel means the policy will terminate, you will not have to pay anything, and you will no longer have insurance and cannot legally drive the car.
