- ...
- Hourly Car Insurance
Hourly Car Insurance
Quotes for 1-12 hours in under 2 minutes
- Policies lasting from just 1 hour
- No long-term contracts
- Comprehensive with no impact on no claims discount
What is 1 to 12-hour car insurance?
Quick nip or round-the-corner trip? Hourly car insurance gives you instant cover for short-term needs.
Whether borrowing a friend’s car, driving a new car home or getting somewhere in an emergency, Tempcover has all you need.
With no long forms to fill and no need to call up your annual insurer to adjust existing cover, hourly car insurance gets you on the road for a quick trip in an instant.
Benefits of hourly car insurance
Cheaper
You only pay for the time you need.
Simple
Set your start time and pay.
It's quick
Quotes in under 2 minutes.
Comprehensive
No impact on no claims discount.
How does hourly car insurance work?
Hourly car insurance saves money by offering cover only for the time you need.
To get a quote for hourly insurance, provide some basic information about yourself (or the driver you’re looking to insure) and the car.
Fill this in and you’ll get a quote in 2 minutes. All you have to do after this is buy the policy and you’ll soon be on the road.
When might I need hourly insurance?
What does hourly car insurance cover?
What's covered with hourly car insurance?
- Comprehensive cover 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 hourly car insurance?
- Excess Reduction Cover, reducing your policy excess to as close as £100 as possible
What's not covered with hourly car insurance?
- The excess you agreed to pay
- Release from an impound (you would need to buy impound insurance)
- 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
Each insurer on our panel has its own eligibility criteria. Please pay close attention to their Proposer’s Declaration.
Am I eligible for an hourly car insurance policy?
To get temporary car insurance, you must
- Be aged 17-78 years old.
- Hold a full UK or EU driving licence with no more than 7 points in the last 3 years.
- Have been a permanent UK resident for the last 12 months or be a British expatriate.
- Have no criminal convictions.
- Not 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 taxed and in a roadworthy condition with a valid MOT.
- Not be modified in any way except if designed to aid disabled drivers.
- Be a right-hand drive car with no more than 8 seats.
- Not be declared SORN.
Each insurer on our panel has its own eligibility criteria. Please pay close attention to the Proposer’s Declaration.
Temporary car insurance calculator
It couldn't be simpler to get a short-term insurance policy.
Get your price estimate
It couldn't be simpler to 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 under 2 minutes!
The price for your selected duration is from:
just £26.31
Prices based on the average price 19,765 policies for the displayed durations (January 2023)
Get your quoteCustomer Satisfaction
We also currently hold an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot with over 40,000 reviews.
We’ve been recognised for our work with plenty of awards
We work directly with insurers to provide you with short-term insurance to suit your needs
You can pay for your short term insurance policy in several ways. Using our secure payment system, you can use the following payment methods:
After you’ve bought your policy, your documents will be emailed to you instantly so there’s no waiting around.
The cover you need for the duration you want
Full cover, no impact
Get fully comprehensive cover on our standard short-term policies with no impact on your No Claims Discount!
Hourly, daily, weekly
Choose the duration you want, with cover available for anything from one hour to 28 days. Don’t pay for cover you don’t need!
All customised, nothing added
Customise your policy to suit you, from the length of time to our range of optional extras.
Marc Pell
Managing Director
What our expert says
Sometimes you just need an hour to get things done. Whether you've got some where to be or want to take a new car for a test drive. There's no need to sign up for something long term when an hour or two is all you need. Hourly insurance gives you flexibility unlike any other insurance while making sure you get the highest level of cover for complete peace of mind.
Marc Pell
Managing Director
Hourly car insurance FAQs
Yes. With hourly car insurance, you get the same flexible, comprehensive cover as a standard daily car insurance or weekly car insurance policy but for just one hour.
It’s a quick and easy process to get a quote, and your policy can begin instantly if you need it to. There are no long-term contracts, you’re not tied into 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 hours at a time.
No, a No Claims Discount is part of a separate annual policy; it won’t be affected if you do have to make a claim with us. If you are getting this temporary policy to cover you while you drive someone else’s car, they won’t have to worry about their No Claims Discount being affected either.
Hourly insurance is designed to be affordable. As of January 2023, the average price for one of our 1-hour car insurance policies was £13.05 , but that price may differ depending on your specific details.
Just like with annual cover, your quote will vary based on factors such as your postcode, the car’s make and model, and your driving history.
Getting a quote from us is straightforward. To speed things up, you should gather the following details for the online form:
- Your car’s registration number
- Your name, date of birth, and address
- Your driving licence number and type
- The estimated value of your car
- Your email address and phone number
- When you’d like your hourly car insurance policy to start
If you know you need a temporary policy for longer than 12 hours, you can get the following with us:
- 24-hour car insurance
- Two-day car insurance
- Weekend car insurance
- Weekly car insurance
- Monthly car insurance
We also offer short-term insurance specifically for learner drivers, so they can practise in someone else’s car without having to become a named driver and affect the No Claims Discount. These policies can cover you for anything from 12 hours to 28 days. When it runs out, all you need to do is renew it!
Releasing your car from an impound? You can get a special impounded car insurance policy from us that covers you for the required 30 days. Time is of the essence, so you can get your quote from us in under 2 minutes. The sooner you get your car out of the impound, the less you’ll have to pay for storage fees.
We’ll send them to the email address you provide us with as soon as everything is confirmed and your payment has gone through.
After that, all you need to do is get out there and drive!
Once you’ve paid for your hourly insurance with Tempcover, we’ll email you your policy documents.
You can find out when your one-hour car insurance expires by checking the “You’re Covered!” confirmation page or via the secure link in your confirmation email.
If there’s an accident or incident involving the vehicle, your insurer’s dedicated claims-handling team will help. Call them on the number displayed on your Certificate of Motor Insurance or policy wording.
