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Temporary Car Insurance

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Why choose our temporary car insurance?

1
Get flexible cover that's right for you with policies from just 1 hour up to 28 days
2
Only pay for cover as and when you need it
3
No impact on your No Claims Discount plus fully comprehensive cover as standard

What is temporary or short-term car insurance?

Temporary car insurance is short-term cover that’s ideal for when you need to borrow a car, pick up a new vehicle, or just share a long drive. Whenever you need to use a car that you’re not already insured to drive, temporary car cover is a flexible and affordable option. 

Short-term or temporary car insurance is an ideal choice for drivers looking for a flexible, cost-effective option. 

It can help you get the cover you need for the time you want and is unbelievably quick and easy. We’ll compare prices from our panel of insurers so if you’re looking for cheap temporary car insurance we can get you covered and out on the road in minutes. 

Benefits of our temporary car insurance

It’s flexible  

We all have different driving needs, so you can find a solution to suit your needs with no long-term contracts.

It's cost effective

When all you need is a few days or weeks of insurance, save money by only paying for what you need with short-term car insurance.

It's fast

Getting a temporary car insurance quote is super-quick. It takes just 90 seconds online or with just a few taps in the Tempcover App.

No impact on NCD

A big No Claims Discount can take years to build. With short term car insurance, you can save in the long and short term!

For more information on how we can help you get temporary car insurance, get in touch with us seven days a week!

How does our short-term car insurance work? 

Our short-term car insurance gives you fully comprehensive car insurance for a duration that suits you. To get this short-term insurance, you just need to tell us a few details about the driver, the car, and the journey, then choose when you want your cover to begin and for how long.

Whether you’re borrowing a car for a few hours or sharing the drive for a weekend away, you can find a temporary car insurance policy that works for you. It’s designed to suit occasions where you need flexibility. You might be looking for one-day insurance or hourly car insurance for a quick journey. For short-term driving, you get the cover you need for the time you want.

Alternatively, you could be a student home from university, or a young driver needing cover occasionally. Either way, we have short-term car insurance for students and short-term car insurance for young drivers, helping you get cover when you need it so you can save money.

Not sure when you’ll be driving next? Rather than declaring your vehicle as SORN, you can insure yourself for when you need it with temporary car insurance. As long as the vehicle is taxed and on private property, short-term car insurance is a great option for occasional driving.

 

  • Car
  • Van
  • Bike
  • Courier
  • Expat
  • Learner
  • Impounded
  • Car
  • Van
  • Bike
  • Courier
  • Expat
  • Learner
  • Impounded

Get 1 hour to 28 day temporary car insurance quotes in 90 seconds

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Get 1 hour to 28 day temporary van insurance quotes in 90 seconds

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Get 1 to 7-day temporary motorbike insurance quotes in 90 seconds

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Get 1 to 28 day temporary courier driver insurance quotes in 90 seconds

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Get 1 hour to 28 day temporary expat driver insurance quotes in 90 seconds

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Get 12 hour to 28 day temporary learner driver insurance quotes in 90 seconds

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Get 30 day temporary impounded vehicle insurance quotes in 90 seconds

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Why use our temporary car insurance?

Borrowing a car

Get the cover you need for the time you’re actually driving with no long-term commitments.

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Buying or selling a car

When looking to change your car, if you only need a few hours, days, or weeks insurance, save money by only paying for the time you need with short-term car insurance

Long journey car sharing

Get the highest level of cover available and peace of mind that there’s no impact on existing No Claims Discount.

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What does our temporary insurance cover?

With fully comprehensive cover as standard on temporary car insurance, you’re covered for any damage to yourself, the car, and/or any third parties involved in an accident.

What's covered with short-term car insurance?

  • Fully comprehensive insurance on policies from 1 hour to 28 days  
  • Accidental and malicious damage to your car  
  • Cover for injury or damage to another person or their property  
  • Driving in the UK
  • In some instances driving in the EU with the third-party or equivariant level

What’s optional with short-term car insurance?

  • Legal Expenses Cover providing up to £100,000 cover for legal costs including uninsured loss recovery for accidents that are not your fault
  • Excess Reduction Cover, reducing your policy excess to as close as £100 as possible

What's not covered with short-term car insurance?

  • The excess you agreed to pay
  • Release from an impound (unless you buy a specific temporary impounded vehicle policy)
  • Additional drivers – we can only cover the driver named on the policy
  • A sole claim or separate cover for broken/damaged glass including the windscreen

Tempcover works with a panel of insurers to ensure we can provide temporary car insurance for as many drivers as possible. Because of this, full details of cover may differ depending on the insurer. Please double-check the policy wording before purchasing to confirm what is covered in your policy.

Need more information on how you can get the short-term car insurance to suit your circumstances? Simply get in touch with the team. Alternatively, get a quote in just 90 seconds.

Am I eligible for temporary car insurance?

To get temporary car insurance, you must

  • Be aged 17-78 years old.
  • Hold a full UK or EU driving licence.
  • Have been a permanent UK resident for the last 12 months or be a British expatriate.
  • Have no more than 7 license points in the last 3 years.
  • Have not been disqualified from driving in the last 2 years.
  • Have had no more than 2 claims that you were at fault for in the last 3 years.
  • Have no criminal convictions.
  • Not have had a previous policy of insurance declared void by an insurer.

To get temporary car insurance, your car must

  • Be valued between £1,500 and £65,000.
  • Be in a roadworthy condition with a current and valid MOT (unless you are using the insurance policy to take the vehicle to a pre-booked MOT).
  • The vehicle must be taxed (unless you are using the insurance policy to obtain tax for the vehicle immediately after purchase).
  • Not be modified in any way except for those designed to aid disabled drivers.
  • Be a right-hand drive car.
  • Have no more than 8 seats.
  • Not be declared SORN.

How to get our temporary car insurance

1. Check you’re eligible

Simply check whether you are eligible against our criteria listed above

2. Get a quick quote

Just enter a few details such as the reg number and how long you need to be insured for

3. Check your quote

Confirm you’re happy with your quote and take the time to check the declaration

4. Get covered

Buy your policy and we’ll email all your documents to you straight away – that’s it you’re covered!

  • Impounded
  • Courier
  • Expat
  • Learner
  • Bike
  • Van
  • Car
  • Car
  • Van
  • Bike
  • Learner
  • Expat
  • Courier
  • Impounded
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Temporary Car Insurance

Drivers aged 17-78 can find flexible temporary car insurance from 1 hour to 28 days - ideal for a range of everyday situations.

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Temporary Van Insurance

Tradesperson or drivers looking to borrow a van, aged 17-77, can find short-term van insurance from 1 hour to 28 days temporary van insurance.

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Temporary Motorbike Insurance

Get the cover you need for the duration you want with temporary motorbike insurance. It’s ideal for occasional riders.

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Temporary Learner Driver Insurance

Get extra practice without the worry. Temporary learner insurance provides fully comprehensive cover and protects the owner’s NCD.

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Temporary Expat Vehicle Insurance

Returning expats can get flexible and affordable cover to use a car while in the UK with temporary expats insurance.

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Temporary Courier Driver Insurance

Get flexible, short term cover for a range of delivery jobs including single or multi-stop deliveries with temporary courier insurance.

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Temporary Impounded Vehicle Insurance

Time is crucial when your vehicle’s impounded. Don’t waste that time – get cover quickly with impounded vehicle insurance.

More Impounded Insurance Info Get A Quote

Short-term insurance to suit you

Quick and easy temporary car insurance quotes

It couldn’t be simpler to get a temporary car insurance policy.

You can buy a policy online anytime you need it and with our straightforward quote process, you can get a price in just 90 seconds.

Temporary insurance from a panel of insurers

We all know that comparing prices is the best way to save money.

We compare prices from a panel of temporary car insurance providers and show you their cheapest price.

The details you will need:

  • The car's reg number
  • Your details (name, address, D.O.B etc)
  • Your licence type and how long you've held it
  • The value of the vehicle
  • Your email/phone number (to send policy documents)
  • When you'd like the policy to start and end

Temporary car insurance calculator

Get your price estimate

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Please select a duration below

It couldn't be simpler get a short term insurance policy.

You can buy a policy online anytime you need it, and with our straightforward quote process, you can get a price in just 90 seconds!

The price for your selected duration is from:

£13.05

Prices based on the average price 19,765 policies for the displayed durations (January 2023)

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We work directly with insurers to provide you with short-term insurance to suit your needs
VISA, Mastercard, AMEX
You can pay for your short term insurance policy in several ways. Using our secure payment system, you can use the following payment methods:
VISA, Mastercard, AMEX

After you’ve bought your policy, your documents will be emailed to you instantly so there’s no waiting around.

Customer satisfaction

 Tempcover has provided temporary vehicle insurance to hundreds of thousands of drivers for over 15 years.

We’re currently rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot and have over 23,000 reviews, with over 80% of reviewers giving us 5 stars!

Does exactly what you want

Does exactly what you want. I needed temporary insurance it was cheap quick and easy. Nice touch with the text reminding when it was about to expire. Would definitely use again if the situation required it many thanks

Damyon

Yesterday

Exceptionally easy to complete online

This is the second time I have used Tempcover.com and once again the policy could be arranged in minutes, all exceptionally easy to complete online and documents are emailed to you on completion. Whats not to like great service for short term cover.

Anonymous

4 Days Ago

Love this company

Love this company i use them often when test driving cars or borrowing a car, van or bike cheep reliable. doing it on line is so easy

Paul

1 Week Ago

Trustpilot

We’ve been recognised for our work with plenty of awards

Temporary car insurance FAQs

How long does it take to get temporary car insurance?

We can have a quote with you in just 90 seconds. Simply let us know your details by starting the quote process and you’ll have an idea of the price you’ll pay for the cover you need. From there, let us know if you’d like to proceed. Once it’s all confirmed, your cover will start at the time you choose for the period you’ve chosen.

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How much does temporary insurance cost?

If you’re looking for cheap temporary car insurance, you’ll be able to find quotes for temporary car cover that range from hours up to 28 days. While prices will vary depending a number of factors such as the driver, their driving history, and the vehicle.

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Does temporary car insurance affect an existing insurance policy?

Temporary car insurance is separate from any existing policies you have. So, if you have annual cover, taking out a short-term policy won’t impact on your no claims bonus should you need to make a claim on this temporary insurance. Likewise, should you be using the short-term cover on someone else’s car, their no claims bonus won’t be affected.

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Do I need short-term car insurance to borrow a friend’s car?

If you’re borrowing a friend’s car you will need a form of insurance and short-term cover can give you the cover you need to borrow it. You will need either a temporary car insurance policy, an annual policy on the borrowed vehicle, or be added to the owner’s annual policy. Otherwise, you could face fines or more severe consequences. If you have your own annual policy, you may be covered to drive other cars, but there may be restrictions on cover.

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Can I add an additional driver to my temporary car insurance policy?

Unfortunately, we are currently only able to provide cover for one policy per driver. We may offer this feature in the future, but in the meantime, if you require cover for two drivers – you will need two separate policies.

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Can I tax my car with temporary car insurance?

Yes, you can still tax your car whether you have a short-term policy or standard annual cover.

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Do I instantly appear in the Motor Insurance Database?

Once you’ve purchased your temporary car insurance policy, the details of your cover will be passed to the Motor Insurance Database (MID). This process can take up to seven days, so in some instances, your policy may have finished before the details have been added to the MID.

To ensure you have valid proof of your short term car insurance, we recommend you print or keep a copy of your Insurance Certificate on your phone as this is all the proof of insurance you need, and gives you legal entitlement to drive the car.

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Can I take out insurance for my MOT?

The vehicle you wish to insure must have a valid MOT. But you can take out temporary car cover to drive the vehicle to a pre-booked MOT appointment.

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When might I need temporary car insurance?

Here are just some of the everyday situations where temporary car insurance would be useful.

Borrowing a car

Sharing a long drive

Driving on holiday (the UK and in the EU)

Test driving a new car

Driving away a new car after buying

Car sharing for work or pleasure

In an emergency

For your business

Temporary car cover for young drivers

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What our expert says

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Temporary car insurance can be ideal for a range of everyday situations. When you only need to insure a car for a few hours, days, or weeks, it can be the ideal way to ensure you're properly insured and get peace of mind on the road.

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Marc Pell

Managing Director

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