Hourly Car Insurance

1 to 12-hour car insurance

For all those quick journeys home, round-the-corner trips and last-minute emergencies, you can get hourly car insurance that gives you the cover you need without having to pay for anything more.

The journeys may be short, but you still need to ensure you’re properly insured to use a vehicle you’re not already covered to use. Whether it’s borrowing a friend’s car or driving a new car off the forecourt, there are many scenarios where temporary car insurance like this is the safe and sensible option.

Quick, easy and affordable hourly car insurance can let you use another car legally right away, avoiding any possible penalties for being caught without cover, and giving you and the vehicle owner complete peace of mind that if there’s an incident, you’re covered.

Can you insure a car for an hour?

Yes. With hourly car insurance, you get the same flexible, comprehensive cover as standard daily car insurance or weekly car insurance policy, but for just one hour.

You use our quick and easy process to get a quote, and with your policy can begin instantly if you need it to. There are no long-term contracts, you’re not tied to anything and you only pay for the cover you actually need.

And it’s not just 1-hour car insurance that’s available from Tempcover. You’re able to choose the number of hours you need, from 1-12 at a time.

What are the benefits of hourly car insurance?

One-hour car insurance policies offer a number of benefits over standard, long-term agreements:

• You get comprehensive cover. With any temporary policy from us, you’ll get comprehensive cover as standard. That means you’re protected in a wide range of situations, perhaps even more than many annual policies can offer you.
• You only pay for what you need. With temporary cover, you choose when you want it to start and end. From a few hours up to as much as 28 days, you can build a policy around whatever you’re planning to do.
• You’re not tied into anything. When you take out a policy, you set your start and end time and pay for the service. You then receive your documents and you’re good to go. Once it expires, that’s it. You don’t need to do anything and you don’t owe a penny more.
• You choose when it starts. Up to as much as 28 days in advance, you pick when you want your policy to begin, right down to the minute.
• Your No Claims Discount is protected. Because the hourly car insurance policy is totally separate, anyone else’s No Claims Discount on their annual policy isn’t affected. This can save you (or your friend) hundreds of pounds on an annual policy.

Am I eligible for an hourly car insurance policy?

Like all temporary policies from Tempcover, 1-hour car insurance is available to a wide range of drivers with different driving backgrounds. Having sold over 2 million temporary car insurance policies, we are confident that most drivers can get cover.

You can expect to get an hourly policy if you meet the following criteria:

• Are aged 17-79.
• Have a current full UK driving licence and have done so for at least 6 months, or have a current full EU licence and have done so for at least 12 months.
• Have had no more than 7 penalty points in the last 3 years.
• Have not been disqualified from driving in the last 5 years.
• The vehicle must be roadworthy with a current and valid MOT (unless you are using our policy to take the vehicle to a pre-booked MOT.
• The vehicle must be taxed (unless you are using our policy to get the vehicle taxed immediately after purchase).

On the other hand, there are some situations where we would not be able to offer you a 1-hour car insurance policy, including:

• the car has been modified (except for cars designed to aid disabled drivers)
• the car is left-hand drive
• you want to recover an impounded vehicle
• the car has more than 8 seats
• The vehicle is declared as SORN (‘statutory off road notification’)

Other restrictions may apply at the insurance provider’s discretion. Hourly car insurance is only currently available on our standard temporary car insurance but you can still get cover for longer with some of our other policies including van and learner driver insurance.

Save time and money with hourly car insurance

One-hour insurance is designed to save you money by offering cover for the duration you actually need.

And you won’t just save money with 1-hour car insurance, you’ll also save time. Getting a quote online takes just a few minutes. There are no difficult or intrusive questions; you just need to provide some basic information about yourself (or whoever you want the named driver on the policy to be) and the car you want to insure.

Once you’ve entered your information, you’ll get a range of quotes from our panel of insurers. You’ll find options ranging from one-hour to 12-hour car insurance and everything in between.

You can compare prices to ensure you get the best deal for your own individual circumstances. You can also select when you want your policy to begin, down to the minute.

After selecting the policy that’s right for you, you’re just a few clicks away from being covered. To buy your policy, you can use a credit card or debit card.

When you’ve bought your policy, your certificate of insurance is emailed to you instantly, so you can get on the road the minute your policy begins.