Temporary car insurance, sorted in minutes.

It is a motor insurance policy that runs for a short, fixed period instead of a year. You choose the length, from an hour up to 28 days, and the cover ends when that period does. It is a policy in its own right, with its own certificate and its own policy number, rather than an add-on to somebody else’s annual insurance.

Yes. Temp insurance is the everyday short form of temporary car insurance, and short-term cover means the same thing again. Whatever it is called, the policy is identical: comprehensive cover on a named car for a fixed period between one hour and 28 days, with its own certificate and policy number, ending on its own without anything to cancel. A search for temp insurance, temporary insurance or short-term insurance brings up the same kind of product, and the quote here works the same way for all of them.

No. A temporary policy is standalone, so a claim on it is handled under that policy rather than under the owner’s annual insurance. Their no claims discount and their renewal are not affected. That is the main reason people use short-term cover to lend a car instead of adding a named driver.

There is no single cheapest provider, because every quote is priced on the driver, the car and the length of cover. This site does not compare prices. It introduces you to one specialist broker, whose published starting prices for December 2025 to May 2026 began at £11.72 for an hour and £21.87 for a day. Your own quote will depend on your details, and you are free to check it against anyone else before you buy.

It is worth it when the alternative is being added to someone else’s annual policy, hiring a car, or driving uninsured. For a few hours or days it usually costs far less than a year of cover, and a claim on it does not touch the owner’s no claims discount. It is not worth it as a way of insuring a car you keep and drive all year, because a month of temporary cover costs more than a month of an annual policy.

Yes. A single temporary policy can run for any length from one hour up to 28 days, so two weeks is well within range. The broker’s published starting price for a fortnight was £54.11 in the period December 2025 to May 2026. If you need longer than 28 days you can take out a second policy when the first ends.

Yes, as long as the car is not declared SORN and has a valid MOT. A temporary policy is a full policy in its own right, so it does not need an annual policy underneath it. The most common case is a car you have just bought, where temporary cover lets you drive it home legally while you shop for annual insurance. The car still has to be taxed, and if it is SORN the only journey allowed is to a pre-booked MOT.

From one hour up to 28 days on a single policy, in whatever length you choose: a few hours, a day, a weekend, a week or the full four weeks. Hourly cover runs from one to 24 hours. If you need longer than 28 days, a second policy can follow the first.

Yes. Every temporary car policy is comprehensive: damage to the car you are driving, damage you cause to other people and their property, fire and theft, with business class 1 use included. It is not a third party only product, and the excess is shown on the quote before you pay.

21 to 75 for the car product, with a full UK licence, or an EU or EEA licence held with 12 months of UK residence. Drivers under 21 cannot buy it. The one exception is learner cover, which runs from 17 on a provisional licence with a supervisor, and has its own page.

Yes. The policy does not need an annual policy underneath it, so it works for a car you own that is between policies, just bought, or coming off SORN for a trip. The car must have a valid MOT and tax, or be driven only to a pre-booked MOT, and the policy covers the named driver on that car alone.

You choose the start time, and it can be within minutes of buying. Acceptance is not automatic: the insurer still has to be satisfied with the answers given about the driver and the vehicle, and cover only exists once the policy has been issued and you have the certificate. Never drive on the assumption that a quote is a policy.

Yes. Temporary policies are reported to the Motor Insurance Database, which is what an automatic number plate recognition check reads. The broker submits its policies four times a day. It is still sensible to keep the emailed certificate on your phone, because the database is not always instant.

No. Getting a quote is free and you are under no obligation to buy. We may be paid a fee by the broker if someone takes out a policy after being introduced by us. It does not change the price you are quoted.