Temporary car insurance

How long can you have temporary car insurance for?

Short-term car insurance is generally available by the hour, day, week or month, although some policies will insure you for longer than this.

You can choose how long you want to be covered for when you take out the policy. Plus, you can often extend it for an extra fee.

Hourly car insurance

Ideal if you’re buying a car privately and planning a test drive. Hourly policies can also be handy if you need drive-away insurance to get your new car home from the seller’s house or an auction site.

One-day car insurance

Daily car insurance is a great option if you need to borrow a friend’s car for the day.

Weekend car insurance

If you’re home from university for the weekend or visiting friends, you can get a weekend car insurance policy to cover you.

Weekly car insurance

If you’re in-between annual car insurance policies and need to bridge the gap, a week-long car insurance policy could be the solution you need.

Monthly car insurance

You can get car insurance for a month if you want to borrow a car while home from university, for example. Cover typically lasts between 28 and 30 days.

Once your temporary insurance runs out, you won’t be able to drive the car on public roads. If you need longer, you could ask your insurance provider to extend your cover for an extra cost.

How does short-term car insurance work?

Short-term car insurance allows you to get quick, flexible insurance to suit you. It can cover you to drive any vehicle you’re not already insured to drive, including cars, motorbikes, vans and motorhomes.

If you’re borrowing someone else’s car – with their permission – you need to apply for the cover. Once you’ve paid for the policy, you could be on your way in a matter of minutes.

If you have an accident while driving someone else’s car under a temporary insurance policy, both of your no-claims discounts are protected. Just be aware that if you do have an accident, it might impact your car insurance premiums in the future.

When might I need to get temporary car insurance?

Temporary car insurance can be handy in a variety of situations, including:

Sharing the driving – if you’re going on a road trip in a friend’s car or motorhome, having temporary insurance means you can share the driving.

Moving home or moving furniture – short-term insurance could cover you if you need to borrow a car or van to help you move house.

Borrowing your parents’ car occasionally – with short-term insurance, you can use your parents’ car when you’re home from university or visiting them for a few days.

Waiting for your car to be repaired – you can use a friend’s car, knowing that temporary car insurance covers you while your own car is in the garage.

Getting your new car home – if you’re buying a new car and haven’t yet got your annual car insurance sorted, temporary insurance offers a short-term solution.

In an emergency – if a family member or friend is unable to drive their own car, having short-term insurance means you can step in to help them get around.

Taking a test drive – a one-hour or one-day car insurance policy could cover you while you’re test-driving an unfamiliar vehicle.

Learning to drive – if you’re a learner driver who’s borrowing a friend or family member’s car for practice, temporary car insurance could cover you. It’s a useful alternative to learner driver insurance if you’re only practising occasionally.

Staying with friends – if friends let you drive their car while you’re visiting, short-term insurance could cover you.

Business use – temporary car insurance can be useful if you need to use your personal car for very occasional business trips.

When is short-term insurance not suitable?

Temporary insurance typically won’t cover you to drive a hired or rented vehicle. You’ll normally need hire car insurance for that.

You also can’t use standard short-term cover if you’re using your vehicle for ‘hire or reward’. In other words, providing a chargeable taxi service. Instead, you’ll need taxi insurance.

Generally speaking, temporary car insurance is only suitable if you want to insure a car for a very short period of time. If you need cover for longer, an annual policy is likely to be more cost-effective.

What alternatives are there to temporary insurance?

Become a named driver

If you’re borrowing a friend’s or parent’s car, they could add you to their policy as a named driver. But this could be a more expensive option if you only need the car for a short time.

Best for: people who regularly borrow someone else’s car. For example, if you’re a nanny and use your employer’s car for the school run.

Comprehensive car insurance

If you have comprehensive car insurance, your policy might cover you to drive other cars but it’s likely be in an emergency only. Cover will generally be third-party only.

Best for: using someone else’s car in an emergency.

Courtesy car cover

If your car’s in the garage and your insurance provider has given you a courtesy car, you may be covered by either your insurance policy or the garage’s.

Best for: driving a replacement car while yours is being repaired.

Rental car insurance

Rental companies and car-sharing services automatically include basic insurance. But you might want to buy additional protection, such as excess reimbursement or damage waiver cover.

Avoid buying additional car hire insurance at the rental desk, though. It’s usually far more expensive than buying it online.

Best for: occasions when you need to rent a car.

If none of these alternatives apply, then temporary insurance might be exactly what you’re looking for.