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- What is Temporary Car Insurance?
- How Does Temporary Car Insurance Work?
- How Long or Short a Time Can I Get a Temporary Car Insurance Policy For?
- When Would I Need to Get Temporary Car Insurance?
- When is Temporary Car Insurance Not Suitable?
- What’s Not Covered by Temporary Car Insurance?
- How Much Does Temporary Car Insurance Cost?
- How to Get Cheap Temporary Car Insurance
- What Alternatives are there to Temporary Car Insurance?
- What Do I Need to Get a Quote?
- Frequently asked questions
What is Temporary Car Insurance?
Temporary car insurance, also referred to as short-term car insurance, is a flexible cover option designed for various circumstances.
It can be useful when borrowing a friend’s car, driving a newly purchased vehicle, or allowing another person to drive your car for a limited time.
This type of insurance can be effective for periods ranging from one hour to one month.
Short-term car insurance generally provides fully comprehensive cover, the most extensive level of car insurance available. This means it not only covers damages to other individuals and their vehicles but also protects you and your own car in case of an accident.
How does Temporary Car Insurance work?
Short-term car insurance provides a convenient way of getting temporary cover tailored to your needs. It can be used for a variety of vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, vans, and motorhomes.
This type of insurance is perfect for one-time trips or infrequent driving situations, and the vehicle owner doesn’t need to take any action when their car is borrowed.
Additionally, the no-claims discount for both the borrower and the owner remains unaffected. However, it’s important to note that any accidents occurring while using temporary insurance could impact future car insurance premiums.
For individuals who require car insurance multiple times throughout the year, it might be more cost-effective to compare annual car insurance quotes instead.
How much can you save on temporary car insurance?
How long or short a time can I get a temporary car insurance policy for?
Temporary car insurance policies offer flexible cover, ranging from hourly to daily, weekly, or monthly periods.
Some policies may even provide longer cover. These short-term policies are ideal for situations like sharing driving responsibilities during a long trip or borrowing a friend’s vehicle for a brief period.
When buying temporary car insurance, you can specify how long you would like the cover for. Once the policy expires, driving the vehicle on public roads will no longer be permitted. If you require an extension, you can request one from your insurance provider, though additional fees may apply.
When Would I Need to Get Temporary Car Insurance?
If you’re embarking on a road trip using a friend’s car or motorhome, temporary insurance allows you to take turns driving without hassle.
Borrowing parents’ car
You can drive your parents’ car during visits home from university or short stays with them without impacting their existing insurance.
Moving home or furniture
Short-term insurance can cover you when using a friend’s larger vehicle for moving purposes, eliminating the need for rental services.
Waiting for your car to be repaired
While your car is being repaired, temporary insurance covers you when borrowing a friend’s vehicle.
Getting your new car home
Temporary insurance is a convenient solution for driving your new car home before securing a long-term policy.
In an emergency
If a family member or friend is unable to drive their car due to unforeseen circumstances, short-term insurance allows you to step in and assist with transportation needs.
Taking a test drive
One-day car insurance policies can provide cover during test drives of unfamiliar vehicles.
Staying with friends
If friends lend you their car while visiting, short-term insurance ensures you’re covered.
Business use
If you need to use your personal vehicle for sporadic business trips, temporary cover can be a practical solution.
Learning to drive
For learner drivers who occasionally practice in a friend’s or family member’s car, temporary car insurance offers suitable cover as an alternative to learner driver insurance.
When is Temporary Car Insurance Not Suitable?
Temporary car insurance normally doesn’t cover rented or hired cars; you’ll need specific rental car insurance for those situations.
Also, you can’t use short-term insurance if you plan to make money using your car, like being a taxi driver. You’ll need special taxi insurance for that purpose.
In general, temporary car insurance is a good choice if you need cover for just a few days or weeks. For longer periods, an annual policy is likely to be a better and more cost-efficient option.
What’s Not Covered by Temporary Car Insurance?
While short-term car insurance often provides fully comprehensive cover, there are some limitations:
- Multiple drivers: Currently, most temporary insurance policies don’t allow adding a named driver. If another person needs to drive the car, separate policies must be obtained.
- Different car: Temporary car insurance is vehicle-specific, meaning it cannot be used to drive a different car than the one insured.
- Theft or damage due to negligence: If you leave valuables visible in the car or leave the car unlocked, the policy may not cover any resulting theft or damage.
- Excluded purposes: Using the car for activities not covered in the policy, such as for hire or other excluded scenarios, will void the insurance.
Keep in mind that individual policies vary, and exclusions may differ between providers. Always review the terms and conditions of a policy to fully understand what is and isn’t covered.
How Much Does Temporary Car Insurance Cost?
The cost depends on a few things, including:
Your age
The vehicle you want to drive
How long you want the policy to last for
Additional factors that may impact the price include where you live, your job, your claims history and whether you have any points on your licence. The cost may also vary depending on the ‘voluntary excess‘ you choose to pay towards making a claim.
Temporary insurance includes a compulsory excess determined by the insurance provider, which will be disclosed during the quote process. You can decide whether to pay an additional voluntary excess on top of this amount.
How much can you save on temporary car insurance?
How to Get Cheap Temporary Car Insurance
If you’re looking for the cheapest temporary car insurance, here are a few ways to cut the cost:
Agree a higher voluntary excess
By agreeing to a higher voluntary excess, you could potentially lower your premium cost. However, ensure you can afford the excess in case of making a claim.
Customise your policy
With short-term car insurance, you can tailor cover to your needs, even for just one day, ensuring you don’t pay for unnecessary cover.
Avoid unnecessary add-ons
Carefully consider if additional features like breakdown cover are essential before including them in your policy.
What Alternatives are there to Temporary Car Insurance?
- Comprehensive car insurance: Review your existing policy to determine if it already covers driving another car, though this cover is likely to be limited to third-party protection.
- Becoming a named driver: The car owner could add you as a named driver on their policy. However, this option could be more expensive if you only require the car for a short duration.
- Courtesy car cover: If your car is being serviced and you’ve been provided with a courtesy car, you might already have cover through your insurance policy or the garage.
If none of these alternatives can help, temporary car insurance could be the ideal solution.
What Do I Need to Get a Quote?
To get a short-term car insurance quote in minutes, you’ll need to:
- Give your personal details – including your name, address and date of birth
- Provide information about the car you want to insure
- Give information about your driving history
- Choose how long you want your short-term cover to last
Frequently asked questions
To get temporary insurance through Comparoo, you must:
- Be a permanent UK resident
- Aged 17-78
- Hold a UK/EU driving or provisional licence
- Have no more than seven penalty points and no more than two claims in the past three years
- You don’t need to be the vehicle’s registered owner but must have the owner’s permission to drive it.
Temporary car insurance usually provides comprehensive protection. It’s important to review the policy details and documentation before the payment step to understand the cover’s inclusions and exclusions.
You can be added as a named driver to someone’s policy, but temporary insurance might be a faster and easier alternative.
Additionally, joining someone else’s policy can be costly, particularly for young drivers.
Yes, you can get temporary van insurance for purposes like borrowing a van for recycling trips, moving furniture, or test-driving a potential purchase.
However, it doesn’t cover hired vans. Business owners can also secure temporary insurance for employees using a van for brief periods.
Yes, temporary insurance can be cost-effective for a car you own but use infrequently, such as during university breaks or for seasonal vehicles like convertibles or motorhomes.
When not insuring the car for extended periods, you must keep it off the road and obtain a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN).
Short-term policies usually offer comprehensive insurance, which means you should have full protection in case of an accident.
If an accident happens while driving another person’s car with their consent, their no-claims bonus remains unaffected.
However, any accidents during the temporary cover period must be declared when renewing your annual car insurance policy.
Temporary insurance isn’t a substitute for annual cover; for long-term needs, an annual policy is likely more cost-effective. Temporary cover doesn’t contribute to a no-claims bonus, and payment for the policy must be made in full before driving.
Yes, temporary insurance can be used to drive in Europe when borrowing a car or sharing a drive.
Ensure the policy covers the countries you plan to visit. If taking your own car, you can request European cover from your existing car insurance provider.
No, driving without insurance is illegal. After purchasing a new car, temporary insurance can provide short-term cover while you search for a suitable insurance plan.
Yes, you can tax your vehicle using temporary insurance either online through the DVLA website or at a local post office with the temporary insurance documents you’ve received.
Yes, temporary insurance can be a cost-effective option for occasional business use, rather than adding year-round business cover to an existing policy.
It’s helpful when multiple employees share driving duties in a company car or personal vehicle.
Yes, anyone can get temporary car insurance. Short-term car insurance is a flexible option that provides fast cover for as little as one day or up to several months.
It’s a great alternative to committing to annual car insurance, and it’s available to all.
Temporary car insurance can be cheaper than making changes to an existing policy. However, if you need insurance for weeks or months, an annual insurance policy is likely to cost less per day. It’s important to compare the costs before making a decision.
Temporary car insurance allows drivers to get insurance cover for a day, week or up to 28 days. It can be useful in many situations, such as sharing a friend’s car or getting a new car home.
Temporary car insurance is available for as little as one day and can be a flexible way to get short-term cover.
You can get insured within 15 minutes and pay only for the time you need, whether it’s an hour, a day, or up to a month. If you find that you need more time, you can extend your policy.
Short-term car insurance is generally more expensive than an annual policy because it is calculated on a daily basis.
Additionally, temporary insurance policies may have higher excess fees, which can increase the overall cost of the policy.
Yes, you can get temporary car insurance without a main insurance policy in place.
This type of insurance provides cover for a short period, such as when you need to drive a friend’s car. Whether the friend’s car has its own insurance policy or not, temporary insurance can cover the vehicle.
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