Temporary Car Insurance

Short term car insurance is usually more expensive than if you pay annually. That’s because you pay day by day and the excess fee can often cost more too.

Driving a vehicle without insurance is against the law, so you will need some sort of car insurance policy if you are buying a car. Temporary car insurance can give you short-term cover when you first buy your car – this gives you time to shop around to find an insurance provider that suits your needs.

This depends on the provider, but some offer up to 84 days if you have a full license.

If you've passed your test and have held a valid full UK licence for at least 6 months, you need to be aged between 17 and 78 to get a policy. You can also get temporary car insurance if you are a learner driver.

You can tax your vehicle with a temporary policy. You can either do this online via the DVLA website or at a local post office, you just need the temporary insurance documentation you’ve been sent.

Yes, and you may find it a more cost-effective option than adding business use all-year round if you only occasionally use your car for work. If for example, you need to attend a conference or training session, or visit another office, short-term car insurance could be your best bet.

Temporary car insurance can also be useful for businesses including builders, plumbers, and roofers if they want to get cover for subcontractors to drive the work van.

Yep, in most cases you should be able to add the following on to your policy:

• In some cases you may be able to add European driving cover, which can be useful if you’re planning a day trip to Europe
• Breakdown cover can help get your car fixed or recovered to a garage if you break down. Breakdown cover is not usually available with short term car insurance so consider comparing standalone breakdown policies

Consider that these are likely to increase your premiums, so consider whether you really need them before adding them on to your policy.

If you are taking your car to Europe, you can ask your insurance provider to cover you on your existing policy.

In some cases you can also get temporary cover for driving your own car, a borrowed vehicle or if you’re sharing the driving of a friend’s vehicle. Make sure you check the policy and level of cover before committing. Some providers offer the minimum cover required by law in that country, rather than fully comprehensive cover. 

If you want to hire a car, you’ll need hire car insurance instead.

Now that we’ve left the EU, you have to carry a Green card to drive in Europe. Find out more about driving in Europe after Brexit.

No, if you need to claim on your short-term car insurance, it won’t affect your no claims discount.

A short-term insurance policy is a standalone policy, so any claim for the driver will be met by the short-term policy and not the car owner’s annual insurance policy. This means that the no claims discount of both the driver and car owner would not be affected in the event of an incident.

Yes, you can become a named driver on another policy, so you can drive a family member’s or friend’s car or lend them yours. Consider things like cover, cost and convenience to see which option is best for you.

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