One day car insurance

Can I insure my car for just one day?

Yes, with one day car insurance you get quick, easy and affordable insurance that lasts for just one day.

Offering a fast and flexible alternative to annual car insurance, temporary cover will save you time and money in everyday situations. You only pay for the cover you want and only when you need it.

When is one day car insurance the best option?

In an emergency

You never know what’s around the corner and emergencies can happen at any time. If you find you need to use a vehicle you’re not already insured to drive, a one day policy is the quickest and easiest way to get cover.

Whatever the situation, whatever the time and wherever you are in the UK, you can get a quote in under 5 minutes. Using our fast, user-friendly website, you can get access to comprehensive cover in just a couple taps on your phone or tablet.

Taking a SORN vehicle for an MOT

If you own a vehicle which you have declared ‘off the road’ with a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) you won’t be able to drive it until you tax it again, sell, scrap or permanently export it.*

The only exception is for owners of a SORN vehicle who need to take their car to get an MOT.

If you’re getting an MOT, you won’t need to tax your vehicle to use it on a public road as long as you are driving to or from a pre-booked MOT appointment.

While you won’t need to tax the car, you will still need to be insured. If you’re planning on keeping it off the road after the MOT, having to pay for an annual policy is a huge waste of money.

With temporary insurance, you can get cover just for the one day you need to use the car. You’re not tied into any long-term contracts, the policy lasts just 24 hours from the minute you select and won’t impact any other car insurance policies you may have.

Insurance to tax a car

You can also use temporary insurance to buy road tax for your vehicle. The DVLA and most UK Post Offices will accept insurance certificates which have been downloaded from the internet but while a one day policy is usually acceptable it is always at the discretion of each post office.

As we work with a range of insurance providers, some of the insurers we work with won’t offer cover for this purpose but this information is displayed when choosing your quote.

Test driving a new car

You should always try and test drive a potential new car before you hand over any money. You never really know what state a car is in until you get behind the wheel and take it for a spin.

When preparing for a test drive, one thing you might not consider is ensuring you’re properly insured. Even if you’re just going for a quick spin, you need to make sure you’re insured to drive the car you’re testing.

This is especially important if you’re buying from a private seller as they’re unlikely to have pre-existing insurance for test drives. When it comes to insurance for test drives, you do have a couple of options.

Annual Insurance – You could go ahead and purchase an annual policy in the hope that the car is perfect and ready to drive away there and then.

This is obviously very presumptuous and If you find that the car is not for you, you’re stuck with an expensive policy that will cost you even more to cancel.

Adjust their existing policy – A slightly cheaper way of doing things is to become a named driver on their insurance policy. You will have to pay an admin fee to make this change and by making a mid-term adjustment the policyholder could see their premiums increase in the coming years.

Not only would they have to pay to add you to their policy but if something happened on the test drive they would have to pay for any repairs to the vehicle.

This is all assuming that the seller would want to add a complete stranger to their policy.

One day car insurance – Your other option is short term insurance. A one day policy gives you the duration of insurance you need to test drive the vehicle without having to pay for more cover than you actually need.

Not only will this save you money but because it’s a separate policy, it will have no impact on any existing insurance the seller may have and protects their No Claims Discount.

This means that if you were to have an accident on the test drive, you, the vehicle owner and any third parties involved would be covered.

A one day policy saves everyone time and money and with the peace of mind that comes with comprehensive cover, you can relax and focus on making sure it’s the right car for you.

Why choose one day insurance from Tempcover?

Temporary vs annual insurance

When looking for insurance, it’s important to look for the type of policy that best suits the situation you’re in. Just like you wouldn’t buy a weeks’ worth of shopping to make one meal, you shouldn’t pay for annual insurance if you only want cover for one day.

A one day policy offers you the same financial protection as annual insurance with comprehensive cover on all our temporary policies.

With access to the same benefits as a yearly cover but with a fraction of the cost, one day car insurance is the easiest and most affordable way to get complete peace of mind when behind the wheel.

Quick and easy quotes

Not only will you save money with temporary insurance but you’ll also save time. Tempcover prides itself on providing a fast quote process that’s simple and straightforward.

One day cover is ideal for drivers looking for cover at short notice. If you find yourself in this situation, the last thing you need is a long, confusing process full of difficult questions.

We only ask simple questions about you and the vehicle you want to drive. Some of the information you’ll need to know before getting a quote includes:

• Your name and D.O.B
• Your address and contact details
• The vehicles registration number or the make and model of the vehicle

Once you’ve answered the few questions required by the insurers we work with, you’ll be presented with a range quotes to choose from. Select the policy and price that suits you and from there you’re just a couple of quicks away from being covered.

When you’ve bought the policy you want, you can be covered instantly. Documents will be emailed to you straight away so you can be back on the road in minutes.

Don’t waste your time getting cover or waiting around for it to begin, get a one day policy in just a few clicks and covered there and then.

Flexible policies

By its very nature, temporary policies are flexible. You can choose how long you want your policy to last from 1-12 hours to 1-28 days at a time and even select the minute you want your policy to start.

A lot can happen in 24 hours and sometimes a one day cover just isn’t enough. When your policy is set to expire, we’ll send you a reminder email so if you find that you need cover for longer, you can quickly and easily buy another one day policy or for up to 28 days.

The new policy doesn’t have to start straight away, you buy a policy up to a month in advance.

All Tempcover policies are completely customisable to suit your needs and even if you only want one day insurance, you’ll still see how fast and flexible temporary cover can be.

You can adjust most aspects of your one day policy to tailor it to your specific situation. From changing the amount of excess you pay to adding another driver to the policy, you can get the cover you want quickly and easily.

How much is one day car insurance?

While you may think that a one day policy costs the equivalent of one days’ worth of an annual cover, this isn’t actually the case.

If you take the average cost of annual insurance, £827‡ (as of the fourth quarter of 2017)and divide it by 365 days, then a one day policy would cost just over £2.

While this would be an ideal price, when you consider the thousands of pounds of financial protection you’ll receive, as well as business overheads, you can understand why policies will cost a bit more.

The actual cost of one day car insurance can vary depending on the ‘risk’ you pose. Insurance providers calculate how likely you are to have an accident and therefore make a claim and will price your insurance premium accordingly.

Insurers will use the information you provide including where you live, what you do for a living and even your age, and using their own experience will calculate the cost of your policy.

Within the price of your policy, you get immediate cover that many annual insurance companies cannot provide. Thanks to our quick and easy quote process, you can get daily insurance without having to fill out pages and pages of information.

To ensure you get the best deal possible, we compare prices from a range of insurers. If, however you’re considered high risk, you will find that your insurance (whether annual or temporary) will be more expensive than the average driver.

There are many ways you can reduce your risk and therefore reduce the cost of your cover. Check out our handy guide on how to reduce your risk and find cheap temporary insurance.

Can I get a quote?

Who we cover

Tempcover works with a number of well-known insurers to ensure we can cover as many drivers as possible.

With our wide acceptance criteria, more drivers can get temporary insurance with Tempcover. If you’re aged between 18 and 78 you’ll be able to get a one day policy – subject to other acceptance criteria.

The other acceptance criteria you must meet to get includes but is not limited to:

• Have had a UK licence for at least 6 months or an EU licence for at least 1 year
• Have had no more than 6 penalty points in the 2 years
• Have had no criminal convictions
• Have not been banned from driving in the last 3 years
• Have not been disqualified in the last 2 years

Why am I unable to get cover?

Because of the obvious risks that come with driving, a range of factors are used to calculate whether you can get a policy or not.

Whilst frustrating, there can be a number of reasons that our insurers are unable to provide a quote. This could be because of the type of vehicle you want to drive, your location or your driving history.

We are constantly expanding our panel of insurers to widen the scope of who we are able to cover so please keep us in mind, as you may find we can help you in the near future.

Updating the MID

With a one day policy, you’re able to use a vehicle you’re not already insured to drive without risking an unlimited fine or penalty points.

Once you’ve purchased your policy, we will update the Motor Insurance Database (MID). This will show authorities that you are legally insured to drive the vehicle.

We update the MID daily but due to the short-term nature of a one day policy and temporary insurance in general, it’s possible your policy may have expired before the details appear on the database. While it may take time to appear on the MID, we assure you that your insurance is in effect.

We recommend that you print your certificate of insurance or keep the digital copy on your phone whilst driving as this remains valid proof of your insurance in case there are any issues.

If the Police do pull you over, they have our phone number which they can call to confirm insurance is in place.

With one million drivers† still using UK roads without insurance, you can understand why Police are more vigilant than ever.

One day car insurance could save you time and money in hundreds of everyday situations. Get a quote now to find out how much you could save.

Sources

* GOV.UK

† MIB

‡ Confused.com