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If you need to borrow someone’s car, want to share the load on a road trip, or take a test drive, annual car insurance may not be appropriate for you. That’s where temporary car insurance comes in. It can give you the freedom to drive legally in the UK without tying you to an unnecessarily long policy.
Find out what it is, what it covers, and how to get the cheapest temporary car insurance quote you can with our guide below.
More flexible: get coverage only when you need it, from one hour to a few months
More cost-effective: pay only when you need the cover, rather than for a full year
More spontaneous: drive on the same day you buy cover – perfect for an emergency or last-minute getaway
Hourly: you can take out short-term car insurance for as little as one hour. Which could be perfect if you just need to pick up a large item and bring it home using someone else’s car
Daily: if you’re moving house, and need to borrow a car, it’s possible to secure one-day car insurance
Weekly: if you want to go on a driving holiday, but don’t own a car, you could take out a week’s worth of temporary car insurance to borrow a loved one’s vehicle
Temporary car insurance is a short-term policy that can be arranged in a matter of minutes.
It normally comes with fully comprehensive cover as standard, allowing you to claim for:
It may be possible, however, to also find temporary car insurance with third party-only cover or third party, fire and theft.
Since it’s a standalone policy, temporary car insurance won’t affect the no-claims bonus of the car’s owner if you do make a claim.
This means it can be perfect for a range of scenarios, from borrowing a loved one’s car for the weekend to the occasional use of your own vehicle for business purposes.
And our research shows that, whether you purchase your policy on the day you need it, a week beforehand, or with a whole month to go, the cost of your temporary car insurance shouldn’t be affected.[1]
As with any other car insurance policy, the cost of temporary car cover will be informed by a range of factors. Alongside how long you need it for, your age, driving experience and the car you want to insure will all impact how much you pay for short-term insurance.
As with standard car insurance, you’ll pay a lot more for temporary car insurance as a younger driver.
For example, on average, we found that temporary car insurance was 65.03 per cent cheaper as a 28-year-old than as an 18-year-old.[2]
However, after hitting a low in your 50s, the cost of short-term cover does start to creep up again once you’re in your 60s, before becoming broadly unavailable by the time you’re 75.
The more experience you have behind the wheel, the cheaper your short-term car insurance will be. For example, a driver who’s had their licence for less than six months will pay 26.93 per cent more than someone who’s had their licence for just less than 12 months.[3]
The car you want to insure plays a big role in determining the cost of your short-term cover.
Surprisingly, of the UK’s top 10 most popular cars in April 2024, we found that the humble MINI Cooper was the most expensive to insure for a seven- and 28-day period.[4]
If you want insurance for just one day, meanwhile, the Audi A3 is the most expensive option, closely followed by the BMW 1 Series.
| Rank | Car make & model | Average premium for 1 day | Average premium for 7 days | Average premium for 28 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Puma (2020, 1.5L, ST) | £45.04 | £138.26 | £304.73 |
| 2 | Nissan Qashqai (2016, 1.6L, N-Connecta DIG-T) | £42.16 | £127.00 | £291.96 |
| 3 | Kia Sportage (2016, 1.6L, 2) | £41.07 | £122.82 | £285.27 |
| 4 | Audi A3 (2016, 1.4L, S LINE TFSI 150 5 Door) | £60.87 | £164.91 | £330.14 |
| 5 | Nissan Juke (2016, 1.6L, N-CONNECTA DIG-T 190 2WD) | £45.04 | £138.26 | £304.73 |
| 6 | Volkswagen Golf (2016, 1.4L, SE TSI BLUEMOTION TECHNOLOGY 122 5 Door) | £40.96 | £121.21 | £283.67 |
| 7 | BMW 1 Series (2015, 116 1.6L, I Sport 5 Door) | £56.15 | £153.08 | £310.40 |
| 8 | MG HS (2019, 1.5L, EXCITE) | £42.16 | £127.00 | £291.96 |
| 9 | Volkswagen T-Roc (2017, 1.5L, SE TSI EVO) | £42.16 | £127.00 | £291.96 |
| 10 | MINI Cooper (2016, 1.6L, S 184) | £53.64 | £173.92 | £374.86 |
“All the normal advice around keeping car insurance low is applicable to temporary cover but customers should ensure they shop around for quotes which, while being more difficult than for annual cover, is very worthwhile. There are more providers of short term car insurance than you realise. Veygo (part of the Admiral group) and Aviva both provide cover alongside half a dozen more brands that specialise in short term cover so get a few quotes before making the purchase.”
There are certain things you can do to try and bring down the cost of your temporary car insurance, including:
As a bit of guidance on the cost of temporary car insurance, here are the prices some specialist providers advertise for their cover. Bear in mind that providers update their rates at different times, and the figures below may not reflect the quote you receive today:
| Provider | One hour | One day | One week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuvva[5] | £11.07 | £15.44 | £33.70 |
| Dayinsure[6] | – | £19 | £58 |
| GoShorty[7] | £16.98 | £20.44 | £42.02 |
| InsureDaily[8] | £14.55 | £33.57 | £108.26 |
| RAC[9] | £20.78 | £33.87 | £90.93 |
Although the specifics of what is and isn’t covered by temporary car insurance is dependent on your chosen provider and policy, you can usually expect the following:
“The two critical things customers should be aware of when purchasing temporary car insurance is the limited nature of cover levels and high excesses. Temporary insurance often does not provide covers that you would expect from annual insurance. There will be no courtesy car if yours needs a repair, understandably, but the vast majority of policies won’t offer any cover for windscreens or keys so be aware of the limitations of the cover.
“Additionally, before you purchase, note the excess you will have to pay if you claim. These are often incredibly high, with a compulsory excess of £750 being not uncommon. They will usually be between £250-£750 depending on the driver and policy you purchase so be aware a claim will result in a hefty out of pocket expense.”
You have two main options when comparing temporary car insurance. You can either use a price comparison website to compare the cost and coverage of a large number of policies at once, or you can go to a provider’s website and get a quote directly. That could be a larger mainstream provider, or an insurer that specialises in short-term cover.
Here are some of the key players in the temporary car insurance market:
| Temporary car insurance provider | What if offers |
|---|---|
| Cuvva | Short-term cover from one hour to 28 days; you can extend your cover on the Cuvva app if you need to drive the car longer. |
| Dayinsure | Temporary car insurance from one hour to 30 days for a car, van or motorhome and temporary learner insurance for your own or a borrowed car. |
| GoShorty | Hourly, daily, weekly and monthly insurance. It covers private drivers aged 18 to 75 and commercial vehicle drivers aged 19 to 75. |
| InsureDaily | Temporary car insurance from between one and 84 days, including learner drivers between 17 to 30. |
| Jaunt | Temporary car insurance from one hour to 30 days for drivers aged 18 to 75, with cover arranged in minutes. |
| RAC | Temporary car insurance from one hour to 30 days with fully comprehensive cover for leisure or business. |
| Tempcover | Temporary car insurance from one hour to 28 days. Cover options include car, van, courier, impounded vehicles, learners, expats and students. |
| Veygo | Offered through Admiral, Veygo temporary car insurance from one hour to 60 days, with an immediate start if necessary. |
Temporary car insurance has more applications than you might think. The following are just some of the reasons why you might take out short-term cover:
When taking out temporary car insurance, both you and the vehicle you want to drive will need to meet certain eligibility criteria. This will vary from provider to provider, so there may be exceptions to the following:
As the driver, you’ll likely need:
The vehicle you are looking to drive will likely need to:
When you’re looking to get temporary car insurance, you’ll likely need to have the following to hand to compare quotes:
Through our research, we found that the average one-day car insurance policy ranges from £28.22 for a 58-year-old, to £102.28 for an 18-year old.
Certain short-term car insurance providers, such as Insure Daily, allow you to take out temporary cover for up to three months. However, it’s more common for temporary car insurance to have a maximum limit of around 28 days.
You can get temporary car insurance as a 17-year-old, although this isn’t the case for all providers. In fact, you can even get temporary insurance as a learner driver, if you need to have a few top up sessions in a car that isn’t owned by your driving instructor.
Most providers will also have an upper age limit, usually around 75 years old. So you may not be able to get short-term car insurance in your 80s.
It’s possible to get temporary car insurance as a new driver, as long as you meet the other eligibility requirements of the provider in question. It can be useful if you’ve only recently passed, and want to borrow someone else’s car for a short period of time.
The no-claims discounts of both the car owner and driver won’t be affected if a claim is made on a temporary car insurance policy. This is because it is a standalone policy that is separate from any annual policies in place.
It is also why temporary car insurance can be more appealing than adding someone as a named driver. If someone is added as a named driver, and has an accident, the no-claims bonus will be affected, unlike with short-term cover.
However, you should know you won’t usually be able to build up your no-claims bonus using temporary car insurance.
You can use temporary car insurance to tax your vehicle. Both car insurance and Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) are legal requirements when driving in the UK.
When you buy car insurance, including short-term cover, your details will be sent to the Motor Insurance Database (MID). When you go to tax your car in England, Scotland and Wales, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will check the MID to see if your vehicle is insured. In Northern Ireland, you will need a cover note or certificate of insurance to tax your car.
In theory, you can take out short-term car insurance multiple times a year. However, if you find yourself repeatedly taking out temporary car insurance, you might want to consider whether a different form of cover makes more sense financially. This could be your own annual policy, or being added as a named driver to someone else’s insurance.
Certain temporary car insurance policies may include some business use. However, it’s also possible to take out specific short-term business car insurance. This will likely cover you for:
If you have an accident, you should inform your temporary car insurance provider as soon as possible, even if you don’t intend to make a claim. If driving someone else’s car, you should also inform them of the incident.
If you do make a claim, you’ll need to follow the steps required by your provider. This will normally involve providing evidence related to the claim in question, and paying the excess as outlined in your policy.
It is possible to take out specific temporary car insurance that’ll allow you to drive abroad, typically in Europe.
You must have car insurance whenever you are driving a vehicle, new or otherwise. Temporary car insurance can be used to drive a new car home from the dealership. This means you can take your time comparing annual car insurance policies while still staying on the right side of the law.
Depending on your temporary car insurance provider, you may be able to add the following optional extras to your policy:
If temporary car insurance isn’t right for your needs, but you still want something a bit more flexible than an annual car insurance policy, you could:
