Temporary insurance: ultimate guide
Whether you're borrowing a friend's car for the weekend, test driving a new vehicle or need short term coverage for an emergency, temporary insurance can be useful for a range of requirements.
It's a flexible, affordable solution that provides you with the protection you need without the long term commitment of an annual insurance policy.
Temporary insurance is designed to give you peace of mind for a specific period, ranging from a few hours to a few weeks.
It's perfect for those situations where you only need insurance for a short time and don't want to alter your existing policy. Plus, getting temporary insurance is usually quick and hassle-free, so you can get on with your plans without any worries.
Read on to discover how temporary insurance could be convenient for you.
What is temporary insurance?
Car insurance isn’t what it used to be... With people driving less, working from home as well as watching their budgets, not everyone needs an annual policy anymore.
Temporary insurance gives you quick short term coverage for driving a vehicle, sometimes one that you don't even own; perhaps it belongs to a friend or family member and they’re kind enough to let you use it.
You can decide how long you want the insurance for, most temporary insurance providers offer from as little as one hour to 28 days.
The cover included is usually Comprehensive, rather than third party fire and theft or third party only, which would provide much less cover.
It’s also important to note that if you have what’s known as ‘driving other cars’ on your existing insurance, you can legally drive other cars but you will only be covered on a third party basis, meaning that any damage you cause to the car you’re borrowing would not be covered. It could also mean that you would lose some or all of your No Claim Discount.
However, using a pure temporary insurance policy means you would have comprehensive insurance and it is separate from existing No Claims Discount.
There are plenty of examples of when temporary car insurance can be helpful:
Driving a friend or family member's car to help them out or for your own use
Test driving a new car before you buy it or bringing it home insured after you’ve bought it
Driving a second car that you don't use very often – you may be working from home more, retired or simple like keeping your costs down
Temporary insurance: the data
Who’s using Temporary Insurance?
71% of drivers have heard of temporary insurance
15% of drivers have used it in the last two years - that's 5.4 million drivers!
Most people hear about it from friends (word of mouth), online searches, or social media
Why are UK drivers choosing temporary insurance?
People use temporary insurance because it’s flexible and cost effective. The most common reasons people get it are:
Buying a new car – get covered while sorting out an annual policy
Borrowing a car – need to drive a friend’s car for a weekend, no problem!
Driving less – working from home? Not driving as much? Pay only for what you need
Saving money – avoid paying for an annual policy if you don’t need it
Eco-conscious drivers – some people want to drive less for environmental reasons
Do drivers like temporary insurance?
In short, yes, but here’s the stats:
✔ 83% of users say they’re happy with their temporary insurance experience
✔ 68% think the pricing is fair
✔ 79% would recommend it to a friend
Temporary insurance is set to grow as more people want flexible, affordable, and hassle-free coverage.
*Stats based on LexisNexis White paper, March 2023.
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When to consider temporary insurance
There is a misconception amongst drivers that they can drive any other car or other people can drive their car if they have comprehensive insurance, but this is not the case…
If you already have car insurance in your name, you might be covered to drive someone else's car under the ‘Driving Other Cars’ (DOC) rules. However, it is not standard and certainly not everyone will have this cover.
People under the age 25 will not often have DOC cover, so check your policy carefully. If in doubt, contact your insurer or broker directly to make sure.
It's important to be aware that when you drive someone else's car, the cover changes from comprehensive to Third Party Only. This only covers other cars, people and property – not the car you are driving.
If you don't have your own car insurance, you can be added as a second driver to another person's policy. However, if a second driver has to make a claim on this policy, then it will impact the main driver’s No Claim Discount (NCD) and could potentially increase their insurance premium at renewal.
If you only need to use a car for a short period of time, then going for a temporary insurance policy could be cheaper and it also avoids risking the car owners No Claims Discount – making borrowing their car for your needs potentially more likely!
How do you get temporary insurance?
Temporary insurance is often one of the more straightforward types of insurance you can get. The quote process is usually all done online, in just a few steps, with minimal amounts of information to be provided, which is unlike annual insurance where you will usually need to complete many more fields of information.
You can get temporary insurance in just a few minutes by following a few simple steps.
You'll need to complete the vehicle registration and few details about yourself
Then when you need the cover for and how long for
Get your online quote, read the all-important terms and conditions, choose how you want to pay and you're off!
Can temporary insurance save you money?
The temporary insurance premium you'll pay depends on things like your age, experience, where you live, when you need the cover to start and the car you want to drive.
If you only need insurance for a few days or weeks, a temporary policy might be cheaper.
But the longer you need cover, the more it will cost. At some point, an annual policy will be cheaper.
Who can get temporary insurance?
Different companies will have slightly different eligibility criteria for temporary insurance, but they will often be similar...
Drivers of temporary vehicle insurance must usually hold a full UK driving licence and often for at least six months.
You must usually be a permanent UK resident with fixed residential address in the UK, as well as no more than six points issued on your licence within the last three years.
You must also not have been disqualified from driving in the last five years, had more than three accidents, claims or losses in the last three years and you must not have had a previous policy voided by an insurer. Often you will need to have no criminal convictions too.
Always check the eligibility for the insurer you choose to buy the policy from to 100% sure that it is suitable cover for you.
What vehicles can you get temporary insurance on?
Temporary insurance is available across many different types of vehicle.
You can usually get temporary cover for the following vehicles:
Temporary van insurance
Temporary motorbike insurance
Temporary motorhome insurance
Temporary campervan insurance
There will then be certain stipulations about the vehicle itself, such as being registered in Great Britain (please note this includes England, Scotland and Wales and excludes Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands or any other state) being right hand drive, being in roadworthy condition with a valid MOT and have road tax (unless the purpose of the temporary insurance is to tax the car).
Temporary insurance will also have minimum and maximum values of the vehicle, so make sure your vehicle fits within this bracket of your chosen insurer.
Finally, you will need to have the permission from the legal registered keeper of the vehicle to insure yourself on it temporarily and drive it.
The vehicle will usually need to start and end its journey in the UK, if you are using UK temporary vehicle insurance.
What are the different types of temporary insurance you can get?
There are lots of different names for different types of temporary vehicle insurance, here are just a few ways that people refer to it:
Drive away insurance – often referred to when you buy a new car and new temporary insurance to drive it home
Emergency insurance – temporary insurance is quick to get a quote for and can be used straightaway, so it’s handy for emergencies
Non owner insurance – perfect for borrowing a car you don’t own
24 hour car insurance – if you only need to insure a car for just 24 hours, then temporary vehicle insurance can come in very useful
Temporary insurance in a nutshell...
Temporary vehicle insurance is an extremely useful purchase for those who need to insurance a vehicle in the short term for a particular purpose.
Whether it's an emergency, a planned weekend away, perhaps a trip to a festival with friends. Whatever the occasion, temporary insurance could come in useful.
You won't impact the No Claims Discount of the car owner or any annual policy in place on the car, plus you can usually select as little as an hour up to 28 days.
Did you know?
Not every Comprehensive car insurance policy allows you to Drive Other Cars; it must be mentioned specifically in your policy.
