Short–term vehicle insurance gives you fully comprehensive cover for a set period. It is available hourly, daily, weekly or monthly, so you have a choice of durations that could suit your needs.

• Cost: The amount you pay for your cover depends on the duration, along with other factors such as the car’s mileage and make. When you begin the quote process with us, you will be given an estimate of how much your temp insurance will cost based on the information you provide.
• Timing: You can tell us when you need your cover to begin. With short-term insurance, we understand that you might need to arrange a policy at the last minute, so you can get a quote under 2 minutes.

Begin the quote process now and follow the steps to arrange your insurance policy.

Our temporary car insurance is designed to be flexible and straightforward, so you could be on the road within minutes of purchasing your insurance policy with Tempcover.

It’s important to note that your insurance status may not be updated on the Motor Insurance Database straight away. We recommend that you print or screenshot your Insurance Certificate and carry it with you as proof of your insurance and legal entitlement to drive the vehicle.

We cover drivers who want to be insured to drive a car or other vehicle for a short period. You might want to share a long drive or borrow someone else’s car. Your car might be at the garage for repairs, so you need to borrow someone else’s car in the meantime.

Whatever the reason, we have eligibility criteria that you must fulfil to take out short-term car insurance with us. This includes:

• You must be aged between 17 and 78 years old (depending on which temporary insurance product you select)
• You must hold a UK driving licence, an EU driving licence or a UK provisional driving licence
• You must have been a permanent UK resident for the last 12 months or a British expatriate who has previously been a permanent resident of the UK
• You must have no more than 7 licence points in the last 3 years
• You must not have been disqualified from driving for the last 2 years

Before you start the quote process, check the eligibility criteria to ensure that your request for cover is likely to be successful.

Yes, you can tax a car covered by temporary insurance in one of two ways. You can do this online on the DVLA website or visit your local post office with your insurance documentation.

The policy excess is the amount you agree to pay towards a claim in the event of an incident. This amount will need to be paid to get your vehicle repaired or replaced.

With temporary insurance, you’ll only have to pay compulsory access – the amount you need to pay towards the cost of your claim. This is a pre-agreed amount but will differ depending on the duration of your policy and the level of protection provided.

As long as you meet our eligibility criteria, you’re likely to receive temp car insurance from Tempcover. But there are some things we do not cover:

• No vehicle modifications allowed (those designed to aid disabled drivers are exempt)
• Left-hand-drive cars
• Cars with more than 8 seats
• Hire and loan vehicles
• Hire and reward vehicles (excluding our courier scheme)
• Use for carrying hazardous goods or at hazardous locations
• SORN vehicles
• International driving licences

You can find more details on what we don’t cover by checking our eligibility page.

There are certain circumstances where temporary car insurance with Tempcover isn’t the right choice. These include:

• No vehicle modifications allowed (except for those designed to aid disabled drivers)
• Left-hand-drive cars (we do insure left-hand-drive motorhomes)
• Cars with more than 8 seats in total
• Commercial vehicles with more than 5 seats in total
• Use for hire or loan vehicles (i.e. vehicle rentals, vehicle salvage/recovery agents, credit hire vehicle/companies and accident management companies)
• Use for hire and reward (excluding our courier scheme which covers the carriage of goods for hire and reward purposes), racing, pace-making, speed testing, commercial travelling or use for any purpose in relation to the motor trade
• Use for carrying hazardous goods or use at a hazardous location
• Vehicles declared as SORN
• International driving licences

We are unable to make any changes or additions to your cover once you’ve purchased a policy, but you can cancel it at any time by contacting us.

However, due to the short-term nature of temporary car insurance, you will not receive a full refund.

If you’ve been involved in an accident, there are immediate steps you need to take:

• Stop at the scene. It is an offence to drive away from an accident once it’s taken place
• Use your hazard lights to warn other road users and help prevent any further accidents
• Check that everyone in your vehicle is safe and call an ambulance if there are any injuries
• Record the damage by taking photos of any vehicles involved in the accident, including registration numbers, and any road signage
• Don’t admit responsibility at the scene of the accident or when talking with the other party
• Take witness details as they can help you win your claim if the other party contests your version of events
• Call our dedicated claims team on 0333 241 3392 as soon as you can to start the claims process

Even when you take necessary precautions, the worst can still happen. If it does, Tempcover is here to support you.

Call our dedicated team on 0333 241 3392 and you'll be able to choose to speak to the insurer named on your certificate by choosing 1 of 8 options.

If applicable, they can help you arrange repairs and a replacement car or even help you reclaim uninsured losses.

If you don't have your certificate to hand, choose option 0 and our Customer Experience team will be able to put you through to the relevant insurer.

Short-term car insurance is separate from an annual policy, so it won’t affect your NCD if you need to make a claim in the event of an incident.

You’re not able to build up your NCD on a short–term car insurance policy. This is because temp insurance does not renew after the maximum duration of 28 days, so each policy counts as new.