Short-term motor insurance: UK statistics and research
Our original research surveyed over 1,200 UK licence holders on their awareness and use of short-term motor insurance. Respondents were recruited through social media rather than our own customer base - we wanted the findings to reflect UK drivers as a whole, not skew towards people who had already used us.
The results reveal who uses it, what they pay, and how their experience compares with what non-users expect. The most striking finding: nearly half of UK drivers do not know whether their annual car insurance covers them to drive someone else's car.
- ~7.5m UK drivers estimated to have used temporary car insurance at least once
- 57% of UK licence holders know what temporary motor insurance is
- £21-£40 the most common price paid, in our survey of users
- 89% of users said it was good value or about what they expected
What is short-term motor insurance?
Short-term motor insurance is a motor insurance policy that runs for a defined period rather than a full year. Policies typically run from one hour to 28 days, providing the same comprehensive cover as an annual policy for the exact duration selected, and ending automatically when that period expires.
It is also known as temporary car insurance, day insurance, or hourly car insurance depending on the duration selected. It is used whenever a driver needs to insure a specific vehicle for a limited time - without being added as a named driver to an existing policy or committing to annual cover.
In this research, the terms 'short-term motor insurance' and 'temporary car insurance' are used interchangeably, as they refer to the same type of product.
Only 57% of UK drivers actually know what temporary car insurance is
56.7% of UK licence holders say they know what temporary car insurance is. A further 21.0% have heard of it but do not know much about it. Just under a quarter (22.3%) have never heard of it at all.
Combined, around 78% of licence holders have at least encountered the term - but only a little over half have a clear understanding of what the product is and how it works.
Awareness varies by demographic. Men report higher full awareness (60.7%) than women (53.3%); women are more likely to say they have never heard of temporary insurance (25.7% vs 18.0% among men). By age, awareness is highest among 21-30 year olds (65.6%) and dips among 41-50 year olds (48.8%) - suggesting awareness does not follow a simple generational gradient. Scotland has the highest regional awareness (64.1%), while London has the lowest (46.0%).
Awareness of temporary car insurance among UK licence holders
- Yes, I know what it is
- Heard of it, not in detail
- Never heard of it
Covertime research, May 2026.
1 in 5 UK drivers has used it - and car owners are more likely than non-owners
18% of UK licence holders say they have used temporary car insurance at least once. The DVLA records approximately 42 million valid driving licences in the UK (40.8 million in Great Britain plus approximately 1.7 million in Northern Ireland). Applying our 18% finding to that total gives an estimate of approximately 7.5 million UK drivers who have used temporary motor insurance at least once. This is an extrapolation from a survey sample and should be treated as an order-of-magnitude estimate rather than a precise count - but it provides a credible sense of the market's scale.
Usage is almost entirely confined to people who already knew the product existed: the vast majority of users were already aware of temporary insurance before they took it out.
One counterintuitive finding: car owners are almost twice as likely to have used temporary insurance as people who do not own a car. Short-term motor insurance is not primarily a non-owner product. The most common use cases involve drivers who already have annual cover on their own car but need to drive a different vehicle.
Usage peaks among 21-30 year olds (25% have used it) and declines steadily with age (14.2% of those aged 61 and over).
Borrowing someone else's car is the number one reason
Borrowing someone else's car is the most common reason for using short-term motor insurance, cited by nearly half of users. Driving a newly purchased car home came second.
Among car owners, the top uses were borrowing a car and driving a new car home - both situations where the driver already has annual cover on their own vehicle but needs temporary cover on a different one. Younger users tended to lean particularly heavily on borrowing as their primary reason; older users showed a more even split between borrowing and driving a newly purchased car home.
Reasons for using short-term motor insurance
Respondents could select more than one answer.
- Borrowing someone else's car 48.7%
- Driving a new car home 34.6%
- Sharing a long drive 9.9%
- Learning to drive 6.3%
- Moving house 3.7%
- Protecting no-claims discount 2.6%
- Short-term job requirement 1.6%
Covertime research, May 2026.
Most users pay between £21 and £40
The most common price paid for short-term motor insurance in our survey was between £21 and £40. Around 1 in 5 users paid under £20, while 8.2% paid over £60.
These are self-reported prices from users of short-term motor insurance, reflecting a range of policy lengths, driver ages, and vehicle types. Actual prices vary based on the driver's profile, the vehicle, and the duration selected.
What short-term motor insurance users actually paid
- £21-£40 34.1%
- Don't remember 27.3%
- Under £20 19.1%
- £41-£60 11.4%
- Over £60 8.2%
Covertime research, May 2026.
Non-users expect to pay less than users actually do
Non-users were considerably more likely to expect to pay under £20 (34.7%) than users were to report actually paying that little (19.1%). In practice, prices cluster more in the £21-£40 band than expectation suggests.
Most people slightly underestimate the cost. The typical outcome is not 'cheaper than I thought' - most users pay between £21 and £40, and around 1 in 5 pay more than £40.
What non-users expect short-term motor insurance to cost
- Under £20 34.7%
- £21-£40 27%
- No idea 25.6%
- £41-£60 8.5%
- Over £60 4.3%
Covertime research, May 2026.
89% say it was good value or about right
89% of users said the price was either good value or about what they expected - only 11% felt it was expensive. More specifically: 36.8% called it a great deal, 51.8% said it was about what they expected, and 11.4% said it felt expensive.
Satisfaction tracks closely with how much was actually paid. Among users who paid under £20, more than 7 in 10 called it a great deal. Satisfaction holds up well through the £21-£40 and £41-£60 bands. But once a policy costs over £60, the picture changes: nearly 4 in 10 of that group called it expensive - the first price band where 'expensive' becomes the most common reaction. Around £60 appears to be the point at which value perception tips negative for many users.
Was short-term motor insurance worth the money?
- A great deal
- About what I expected
- Felt expensive
Covertime research, May 2026.
A single day is the most common policy - but 43% buy for longer
One-day car insurance is the single most common purchase, accounting for 38.6% of all cover bought in our survey. But a significant share of policies run for longer: 43.2% of users bought cover lasting more than one day - covering multi-day, weekly, and longer-term needs.
How people choose to buy also differs by generation. Younger buyers purchase almost exclusively on mobile, while older buyers are considerably more likely to call - reflecting the generational split in digital comfort rather than any change in the product itself.
Duration of short-term motor insurance purchased
- One full day 38.6%
- A few days 27.7%
- A week or more 15.5%
- 2-5 hours 9.1%
- 6-23 hours 6.8%
- Just an hour 2.3%
Covertime research, May 2026.
82% of non-users simply haven't needed it yet
The dominant barrier is not price or confusion - it is lack of occasion. 82.0% of non-users say they have simply never needed temporary motor insurance.
The finding holds even among people who have never heard of temporary insurance: the majority of this group also say they have never needed it. Awareness alone will not convert most non-users; what they are waiting for is a situation where borrowing or temporarily driving a car becomes necessary.
For the 11% who say they did not know temporary insurance was an option, the picture is different - this group is more receptive once they know the product exists, because the barrier is information rather than occasion.
Why non-users have not tried short-term motor insurance
- Never needed it 82%
- Didn't know it was an option 11%
- Don't understand how it works 4.1%
- Seems too expensive 3%
Covertime research, May 2026.
Price and speed are the key levers - but 27% wouldn't use it regardless
When asked what would make them consider short-term motor insurance, non-users could select multiple answers. The results reveal a segmented picture: a meaningful hard-no group, a price-and-friction-sensitive majority, and a high-value segment that just needs the barriers lowered.
The most convertible group is the 21% of licence holders who have heard of temporary insurance but do not know much about it. In our survey, this group was dramatically more responsive - instant cover availability and a lower price were the top two levers. Compare this with people who have never heard of temporary insurance at all, where the hard-no segment is larger and price and speed have less pull. The already-aware-but-fuzzy segment already believes in the category; they just need friction removed.
What would make non-users try short-term motor insurance
Respondents could select more than one answer.
- Instant cover availability 33.5%
- If it was cheaper 28.7%
- Nothing - wouldn't use it 27.2%
- Quick quote (under 1 minute) 18.9%
- A trusted recommendation 18.3%
- Protecting no-claims discount 15.3%
- Simply knowing more about it 9.3%
Covertime research, May 2026.
The cover most drivers don't know they need
The most striking finding in our research is not about how many people use temporary motor insurance - it is about how many people misunderstand what their existing policy covers.
We asked all licence holders what they believe about their own annual car insurance: does it cover them to drive someone else's car? Driving other cars (DOC) cover is a feature that some annual policies include, but many do not - and where it does exist, it is typically restricted to third-party cover and emergency use rather than routine borrowing.
A majority (55.7%) believe or assume they are covered. Only 23.3% believe or assume they are not. A further 21% have no idea.
What UK licence holders believe about driving other cars cover
- Yes, it definitely covers me 42.4%
- I have no idea 21%
- No, it definitely doesn't 14.6%
- I assume it does 13.3%
- I assume it doesn't 8.7%
Covertime research, May 2026.
Nearly half don't actually know whether they're covered
When we asked directly - 'do you actually know whether your policy covers you?' - a different picture emerged. 43.7% of licence holders said they either did not know or were not sure.
Cross-checking the two questions makes the gap concrete: of the people who confidently said 'yes, it definitely covers me,' 15% still admitted (when asked directly) that they did not actually know the answer.
The risk is concentrated in exactly the groups most likely to suddenly need to borrow a car:
- People who drive rarely or never are the least informed - considerably less likely to know their DOC position than daily drivers.
- Non-car-owners are much less informed than owners.
- Younger drivers know less: knowledge of DOC cover rises steadily with age.
There is also a clear link with temporary insurance awareness: people who already know about temporary motor insurance are significantly more likely to know their DOC position than those who have never heard of it. Insurance literacy travels together across topics.
Covertime's guide to borrowing a car explains the DOC situation in more detail and sets out when a separate short-term policy is the cleaner solution.
Do UK drivers actually know if they're covered to drive someone else's car?
- Knew the answer 56.3% said they knew whether or not they were covered
- Did not know or unsure 43.7% said they did not know or were not sure
Covertime research, May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many people have used temporary car insurance in the UK?
18% of UK licence holders have used temporary car insurance at least once, according to Covertime's May 2026 survey of over 1,200 UK licence holders. Applied to the approximately 42 million valid driving licences recorded by the DVLA, that implies around 7.5 million UK drivers have used it at least once.
How many people have heard of temporary car insurance?
Around 78% of UK licence holders have at least heard of temporary car insurance. Of those, 56.7% say they know what it is, and a further 21% have heard of it but do not know much about it. The remaining 22.3% have never heard of it at all.
How much does temporary car insurance cost?
In Covertime's May 2026 survey of users, the most common price paid was between £21 and £40. Around 1 in 5 users paid more than £40. These are self-reported figures from users of temporary insurance and reflect a range of policy lengths, driver ages, and vehicles. Actual prices vary based on your driver profile and the cover duration you choose.
Is temporary car insurance expensive?
Most users do not find it expensive. In our survey, 89% of users said the price was either a great deal or about what they expected. Only 11% felt it was expensive - a reaction concentrated among those who paid over £60, where it became the most common response.
What do most people use temporary car insurance for?
The top reason is borrowing someone else's car, cited by nearly half of users in our survey. Driving a newly purchased car home came second. Other common reasons include sharing a long drive, learning to drive, and moving house.
Do you need to own a car to use temporary car insurance?
No - but car owners are almost twice as likely to have used temporary insurance as non-owners in our survey. Temporary motor insurance is not primarily a non-owner product. The most common use case is borrowing or driving a car that is not your own annual-policy vehicle.
How long do people typically buy temporary cover for?
A single day is the most common purchase, but nearly half of all cover bought runs for more than one day - with many users buying a few days and others buying a week or more.
Why don't more people use temporary car insurance?
The overwhelming reason is lack of occasion, not cost or confusion. 82% of non-users say they have simply never needed temporary motor insurance. Only 11% say they did not know it was an option, and just 3% say it seems too expensive.
Does my normal car insurance cover me to drive someone else's car?
It depends on your policy. Covertime's research found that 43.7% of UK licence holders do not actually know whether their annual policy covers them to drive someone else's car - with many people assuming they are covered when they are not sure. Where driving other cars (DOC) cover exists, it is typically restricted to third-party cover and to emergency use rather than routine borrowing. Check your policy documents or call your insurer to confirm your position.
Who is most likely to misunderstand their cover to drive another car?
People who drive infrequently and people who do not own a car are the least likely to know whether their annual policy covers them to drive another vehicle. These are also the groups most likely to suddenly need to borrow a car - making the gap in understanding a real practical risk.
Are young drivers more likely to use temporary car insurance?
Yes. In our survey, 25% of 21-30 year olds have used temporary car insurance - the highest usage rate of any age group. Usage declines steadily with age, reaching 14.2% among those aged 61 and over.
What would make people try temporary car insurance for the first time?
In our survey of non-users, the most commonly cited factors were instant cover availability, a lower price, and a quick quote process. However, around a quarter said nothing would persuade them - a significant segment that is unlikely to convert regardless of product changes.
About this research
This research was conducted by Covertime among 1,532 UK adults in May 2026. Of those, 1,224 hold a driving licence (full UK, full EU, or provisional). All temporary motor insurance questions were answered by the 1,224 licence holders only - non-licence-holders are excluded from all figures on this page.
Respondents were recruited through social media. We deliberately excluded our own customer base from the sample to avoid skewing the results towards people who had already used Covertime, and to keep the findings as neutral and representative of UK drivers as a whole as possible.
All percentage figures are rounded to one decimal place.
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