Written by Graham Cutbill-White
Car insurance isn’t always as flexible as we need it to be but there is a solution. With a 7-day car insurance policy, you only get cover for when you really need it. And if it turns out you need car insurance for 2 weeks or more, you can just get another one!
Our lives are constantly changing so for many drivers the flexibility of a temporary car policy is the best way to get value for money and take the stress out of driving a friend or family member’s car. It’s the hassle-free answer to make sure you’re covered when behind the wheel.
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve planned it in advance or need cover instantly; whatever you’re doing, getting an online quote is quick and easy.
Yes, you can insure yourself on your – or someone else’s – car for one week. A range of insurers offer car insurance for 7 days as a standalone policy that’s separate to any other policies you may have. With our short term policies you can choose to get cover for different lengths of time and can insure your car for one week or on an on-going weekly basis.
Paying for a longer-term policy or even adjusting an existing one can be a time consuming and expensive experience. You may think that these are the only options you have, but thanks to one-week car insurance, you can get the insurance you need without paying for cover you don’t.
A 7-day car insurance policy gives you the peace of mind that when you’re using someone else’s car or a car you’re not familiar with, you’re covered should something go wrong.
A 1-week car insurance policy gives you the freedom to drive other cars for the time you need without worry. Some of the benefits are:
When the arrangement ends – that’s it. You don’t have to do anything, and you’re not tied into anything.
You get comprehensive cover as standard for the whole week. This means you’re covered against damage to any third parties, any fire damage or theft to the vehicle, plus you’re also protected if there is any damage to the vehicle you’re driving.
Unlike other insurance options, 1-week car insurance is a separate, standalone policy which has no impact on any existing insurance on the vehicle.
This means that if you were to have an accident while driving someone else’s vehicle, their No Claims Discount won’t be affected.
This can be essential if you’re borrowing a vehicle from someone else.
With temporary insurance there’s no waiting around. It takes just minutes to get a quote online once you have your details to hand, and you could have your policy in place there and then. You can get a quote in minutes and your cover starts the second you want it to.
Plus there’s no waiting around for insurance documents to arrive as they’re emailed to you the moment you purchase a policy.
As with any car insurance policy, how much you pay for your week’s car insurance will depend on a number of factors, including:
However, as a rough guide most people can expect a weekly car insurance policy to cost around £20 a day.
There are all sorts of situations where a 1-week car insurance policy is the best choice. Some people get policies from us when they’re borrowing someone else’s car for pleasure, just to be helpful or because of an unexpected emergency that means they need to drive.
Likewise if your child needs insurance to drive when back from university or you’ve bought a new car and want to avoid the cost of making a mid-term adjustment to an existing policy it makes sense to just pay for the cover you need.
Some of the most common situations people get a 7-day or weekly policy from us are:
If you need to get car insurance for two, three or even four weeks you can simply get more one-week policies as and when you need them.
Because of this flexibility you don’t even need to know in advance – if your plans change and you suddenly find yourself needing 2-week car insurance instead of 1 week, your insurance can adapt to keep you covered.
If you know you need cover for two weeks, three weeks or more in advance then you can take out different policies at the same time and just set the start dates so they run one after the other.
Getting car insurance for 7 days is quick and easy with Tempcover and takes just a couple of minutes when you get a quote online. You’ll just need to answer some basic questions about yourself and the vehicle you want to drive first. This will also include some contact details, like your address, your email, and your telephone number.
To get a quote, you’ll also need the vehicle registration number and give your reason for getting weekly car insurance.
Once you’ve entered your details you’ll be presented with a range of quotes from our panel of insurers, all of whom are members of the Association of British Insurers. Select the policy which best suits your situation – remember you can adjust the amount of excess you’re willing to pay, which could reduce the price of your policy.
Now you’ve customised your policy and you’ve got the right amount of cover, you’ll visit the payment page. You can purchase your 1 week car insurance policy in a number of different ways including:
The Motor Insurance Database (MID) is the national database for insured vehicles and it’s what insurers and authorities use to check that car insurance is in place.
When you purchase a one week car insurance policy from Tempcover, your details will be uploaded to the MID. While we do update the database daily, it can take up to seven days for the details to appear when you search for them online.
As you may guess, with a weekly car insurance policy it’s very likely that either your details appear after your policy has started, or your policy may have even expired by the time they appear on the database.
You may be worried that this means you’re not properly insured but don’t worry, we can assure you that if you’ve purchased a policy and have received your certificate of insurance, you’re covered.
To be safe, we recommend you keep a copy of your certificate of insurance with you. You can either print it out or keep the digital copy on your phone.
Not sure 7-day or weekly car insurance is the right option for you? First, -remember you can effectively get a 2-week or 3-week car insurance policy by getting additional 1-week car insurance policies.
If that’s still not right, fortunately short-term car insurance is flexible by its very nature. You’ll find our panel of insurers offer all sorts of policies – everything from one hour car insurance through to daily car insurance and weekend car insurance right up to one month’s car insurance at any one time. The duration can be as long or short as you need it to be!
