Our best short-term car insurance

Short-term or temporary car insurance can be used when you only need to take a car on the road for a short time. This could be for an hour, a single day, a few weeks or somewhere in-between.

You can apply in a few minutes and get covered almost as fast. Short-term policies offer fully comprehensive protection as standard, although things like breakdown cover are usually an optional extra.

It’s illegal to drive in the UK without insurance, but if you only need to drive for a brief period, a short-term policy may be the best way to ensure you’re covered. 

While you may be covered to drive another person’s car under your policy – if you have comprehensive insurance – you’ll probably only have third-party cover. If this isn’t enough, or if you simply aren’t covered to drive another car, temporary insurance could be the answer.

You should consider short-term car insurance if you’re:

• Borrowing a family member or friend’s car

• Driving a car home after buying it from a seller

• Learning to drive in a family member’s or friend’s car

• Hiring a car to go on a trip

• Test driving a car before buying

• Topping-up cover when using a courtesy car

• Driving a vehicle that you only use occasionally, like a classic car

Not everyone or every vehicle is eligible for temporary car insurance. There are specialist policies available that cover most of the population, but it’s worth checking the following criteria before you apply.

• Your age: Insurers may set a minimum and maximum age to take out a short-term policy

• The car’s value: The maximum vehicle value you can get cover for - as cars costing more than this won’t be covered

• The excess: The standard excess that’s payable in the event of a claim. Here’s how car insurance excess works

How much you pay will depend on how much of a risk the insurance company considers you to be. You may end up paying more than an older driver if you’re younger or have less experience.

There are ways to bring the cost down, such as paying a larger up-front fee, opting for a higher excess or driving a less valuable or less powerful car.

If you need short-term cover for longer – for example, for three to six months – it can be cheaper to take out and subsequently cancel an annual policy, but you do need to factor in cancellation costs.

The factors that might influence the price of your daily car insurance include:

• Your age

• Where you live

• Your driving history

• What vehicle you want to insure

Those aren’t necessarily things you can change, so getting a daily or weekly insurance policy can be expensive. Your best bet is to shop around, remembering that it’s more important to find the right temporary car insurance than it is to find the cheapest policy possible. 

You may want to consider searching for annual car insurance if you plan to insure your car for longer than three months.