Research

Temporary car insurance statistics

The numbers around short-term motor cover in the UK, from the Ministry of Justice, Home Office, DVLA, Department for Transport and the industry's own publications. Every figure links to where it came from.

Last updated 2026-10-24

Temporary car insurance covers a driver for an hour to 28 days. No official body counts how many such policies are sold, so this page does not guess at a market size. It sets out what the public record does show: who is driving without insurance and what happens to them, how many people hold a licence or are learning, how often cars change hands, what short-term cover costs by duration, and when people look for it. Figures are for the United Kingdom unless a source covers only England and Wales or Great Britain, and each one says which.

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a credit to Temp Insurance UK and a link to this page. Every chart has a Copy citation button and the data behind it. Download all series as CSV.

Key statistics

76,983 drivers convicted in court of driving without insurance in 2025 England and Wales, up 7% on 2024 Ministry of Justice
£467 average court fine for driving without insurance in 2025 England and Wales; the fixed penalty is £300 and six points Ministry of Justice
10.5 million provisional licence holders in Great Britain, alongside 43.2 million full licences DVLA, 15 August 2026 DVLA
August is the peak month for searches for temporary car insurance, 19% above the yearly average January is the quietest; UK Google searches, 2023 to 2025 Ahrefs

74% of adults in England hold a driving licence 2025, England Department for Transport
25% of households in England have no car or van 2025, England Department for Transport
2.0m car practical driving tests taken in a year April 2025 to March 2026, Great Britain The year before: 1,839,817 tests, 48.7% passed. Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
7.8m used cars changed hands in a year 2025, United Kingdom The release table gives 7,643,180 transactions for 2024. Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

Driving without insurance

The reason temporary cover exists is that driving a car for even one journey without a policy is an offence. The court figures below are for the single offence of using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks, which the Ministry of Justice publishes every year. Most cases never reach court: the roadside fixed penalty of £300 and six points settles them, and the Home Office counts those separately.

335,000 uninsured vehicles on UK roads on any given day, the MIB's estimate Current estimate, United Kingdom The MIB’s August 2024 figure was “an estimated 300,000 uninsured drivers on the roads every day”. Motor Insurers’ Bureau
120,000 uninsured vehicles seized in 2025 to early November, one every four minutes January to early November 2025, United Kingdom The MIB’s 2023 annual report put the full-year 2023 figure at over 129,000. Motor Insurers’ Bureau
8,206 new claims from victims of uninsured drivers in 2024, plus 14,712 hit-and-run claims 2024, United Kingdom Motor Insurers’ Bureau
£1bn a year is what uninsured driving costs the UK, on the MIB's estimate Annual, United Kingdom Motor Insurers’ Bureau

Court convictions for driving without insurance, 2010 to 2025

110,250 convictions in 2010, 76,983 in 2025: down 7% on 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

Source: Ministry of Justice, Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, Outcomes by Offence (published 30 April 2026), offence 80901

Show the data

Year	Proceeded against	Convicted	Average fine
2010	129,009	110,250	£285
2011	109,990	94,902	£288
2012	94,975	81,673	£322
2013	91,965	79,131	£346
2014	80,655	71,763	£371
2015	79,195	71,417	£388
2016	87,224	80,276	£441
2017	91,238	84,967	£461
2018	94,232	87,740	£475
2019	88,906	82,367	£479
2020	79,097	74,575	£486
2021	92,819	85,790	£479
2022	82,751	76,388	£483
2023	77,327	71,449	£480
2024	76,825	71,977	£466
2025	82,488	76,983	£467

The average court fine for driving without insurance

£285 in 2010, £467 in 2025. The roadside fixed penalty has been £300 since 2013.

Source: Ministry of Justice, Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, Outcomes by Offence (published 30 April 2026), offence 80901

Show the data

Year	Average fine	Disqualified (%)
2010	£285	16.1%
2011	£288	16.5%
2012	£322	16.1%
2013	£346	15.7%
2014	£371	14.5%
2015	£388	13.8%
2016	£441	13.1%
2017	£461	19.4%
2018	£475	20.7%
2019	£479	21.3%
2020	£486	20.3%
2021	£479	22.8%
2022	£483	21.8%
2023	£480	20.8%
2024	£466	20.2%
2025	£467	21.9%

What the police did at the roadside, 2011 to 2024

Of 60,054 insurance offences the police recorded in 2024, 34% ended in a fixed penalty and the rest went to court.

Source: Home Office, Police powers and procedures: roads policing, to December 2024 (published 19 March 2026), table FPN3, offence classification 809 "Vehicle insurance offences"

Show the data

Year	Fixed penalty	Sent to court	Total
2011	23,589	20,256	44,028
2012	24,042	23,128	47,316
2013	20,887	27,994	49,085
2014	16,779	29,517	46,736
2015	14,838	32,959	47,951
2016	17,548	42,929	60,665
2017	17,392	47,246	64,809
2018	18,010	49,749	67,973
2019	19,587	50,736	70,751
2020	21,811	53,688	75,899
2021	18,752	46,345	65,206
2022	18,266	41,700	60,149
2023	20,885	39,611	60,656
2024	20,284	39,539	60,054

Vehicles seized for no insurance

542,370 vehicles seized across the UK in the four years to 2021, from 40 forces answering a Freedom of Information request. No national series has been published since.

2018 115,946
2019 120,531
2020 129,652
2021 111,559

Source: AA Insurance Services, Freedom of Information requests to every UK police force, "Uninsured Vehicle Seizures by Police Force", September 2022

Show the data

Year	Vehicles seized (UK)
2018	115,946
2019	120,531
2020	129,652
2021	111,559

Convictions per 10,000 licence holders, by age, 2025

The youngest drivers are convicted far more often for their numbers. Licences held in each band are DVLA figures as at 15 August 2026.

15 to 17 13.4
18 to 20 31.0
21 to 24 42.4
25 to 29 34.9
30 to 39 23.3
40 to 49 13.2
50 to 59 5.7
60 to 69 2.1
70 and over 1.0

Source: Ministry of Justice, Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, Outcomes by Offence (published 30 April 2026), offence 80901; licences held by age from DVLA, GB Driving Licence Data (tables DRL0102, DRL0131 and DRL0132), published by the Department for Transport on data.gov.uk

Show the data

Age band	Convicted	Licences held	Per 10,000 licences
15 to 17	917	683,629	13.41
18 to 20	6,500	2,096,758	31
21 to 24	12,226	2,880,606	42.44
25 to 29	14,421	4,128,719	34.93
30 to 39	22,320	9,577,948	23.3
40 to 49	12,402	9,425,672	13.16
50 to 59	5,422	9,545,677	5.68
60 to 69	1,895	8,981,213	2.11
70 and over	629	6,467,780	0.97

Where convictions are highest and lowest, per 10,000 vehicles, 2025

The five police force areas with the most convictions for their vehicle numbers and the five with the fewest, out of 42. England as a whole: 21.2 per 10,000; Wales: 15.01.

England and Wales

Metropolitan Police 59.4
West Yorkshire 40.5
Northamptonshire 38.2
South Yorkshire 30.7
Cleveland 28.9
Thames Valley 8.4
Devon and Cornwall 8.8
Surrey 9.1
Cumbria 9.3
Bedfordshire 9.5

Source: Ministry of Justice, Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, Outcomes by Offence (published 30 April 2026), offence 80901; licensed vehicles from Department for Transport, Vehicle licensing statistics table VEH0105, licensed vehicles at end of 2025

Show the data

Force area	Convicted	Per 10,000 vehicles
Metropolitan Police	17,895	59.36
West Yorkshire	5,610	40.48
Northamptonshire	2,077	38.16
South Yorkshire	2,392	30.66
Cleveland	914	28.88
Thames Valley	2,009	8.42
Devon and Cornwall	1,145	8.81
Surrey	737	9.07
Cumbria	339	9.33
Bedfordshire	423	9.46

For context, the same courts convicted 9,303 drivers of driving while disqualified and 7,534 of driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence in 2025. The full force-by-force picture, with every year since 2010, is in the uninsured driving enforcement map.

Who holds a licence, and who has a car

Short-term cover is bought by people who drive without owning the car they are driving: borrowers, learners, new drivers, people between cars. The official picture of licence holding and car access sets the size of that group.

35.1m adults in England hold a full car licence, the survey's estimate 2025, England Read from the published ODS table; the figure is an estimate grossed up from the survey. Department for Transport
79% of men hold a licence, barely changed since 2002 2025, England Department for Transport
69% of women hold a licence, up nine points since 2002 2025, England Department for Transport
34.5m cars licensed on UK roads at the end of 2025 End of December 2025, United Kingdom Table 3 of the release, thousands: licensed cars, of which zero emission, and the zero emission share. Department for Transport

Who holds a full licence, by age, England 2025

Only 32.5% of 17 to 20 year olds hold a full licence, against 83.7% of those in their fifties. The under-30s are the borrowers and the learners.

All adults

17 to 20 32.5%
21 to 29 60.7%
30 to 39 72.1%
40 to 49 80.6%
50 to 59 83.7%
60 to 69 83.8%
70 and over 74.3%

Source: Department for Transport, National Travel Survey table NTS0201a: full car driving licence holders by age and sex, England

Show the data

Age band	Full licence holders (%)
17 to 20	32.5
21 to 29	60.7
30 to 39	72.1
40 to 49	80.6
50 to 59	83.7
60 to 69	83.8
70 and over	74.3

Drivers with penalty points on their licence

3,389,249 full licence holders carry points, and 11,177 hold twelve or more and still have a licence. Points are declared on every temporary insurance quote.

3 points 2,425,536
4 points 28,725
5 points 19,628
6 points 718,598
7 points 11,285
8 points 22,404
9 points 137,268
10 points 9,563
11 points 4,850
12 or more 11,177

Source: DVLA, GB Driving Licence Data (tables DRL0102, DRL0131 and DRL0132), published by the Department for Transport on data.gov.uk

Show the data

Points	Drivers
1	47
2	168
3	2,425,536
4	28,725
5	19,628
6	718,598
7	11,285
8	22,404
9	137,268
10	9,563
11	4,850
12	7,669
13	636
14	527
15	1,264
16	255
17	121
18	373
19	47
20	37
21	75
22	20
23	10
24	64
25	6
26	3
27	17
28	4
29	3
30	17
31	1
32	1
33	5
36	8
37	1
39	1
42	6
43	1
44	1
45	2
48	1
62	1

Learners and new drivers

Learner cover sits alongside a parent's or friend's policy, and the first weeks after a pass are when a new driver most often needs a short policy on someone else's car. The test pipeline is the measure of both.

1.0m learners passed a car practical test in the year to March 2026, each a new driver April 2025 to March 2026, Great Britain Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
50.0% of car practical tests were passed, up from 48.7% a year earlier April 2025 to March 2026, Great Britain Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
11.6 weeks median wait between booking a car test and taking it September 2026, Great Britain DVSA’s older measure, the first week in which at least 10% of slots are available, stood at 19.7 weeks in the same month and 21.5 weeks for the year to March 2026. Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
2.9m car theory tests taken in the year, the start of the pipeline April 2025 to March 2026, Great Britain Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

Car practical tests taken and passed, by financial year

1,998,621 tests in the year to March 2026, the most of the three years, with the pass rate climbing from 47.9% to 50.0%.

Financial year	Tests taken	Passed	Pass rate
2023 to 2024	1,945,225	931,494	47.9%
2024 to 2025	1,839,817	895,368	48.7%
2025 to 2026	1,998,621	1,000,043	50.0%

Three years of near-identical totals, so a table says it better than bars. The latest quarter, April to June 2026, saw 543,773 tests and a 51.3% pass rate, against 449,874 and 50.1% a year earlier.

Source: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Driving test and theory test data: cars, table DRT121A

Provisional licence holders by age, Great Britain

10.5 million provisional licences in issue. Fewer than half belong to the under-30s: millions of adults over 30 still hold a provisional licence.

15 to 16 157,942
17 to 20 1,522,155
21 to 29 2,465,224
30 to 39 2,184,650
40 to 49 1,645,281
50 to 59 1,399,389
60 to 69 1,136,627
70 and over 28,604

Source: DVLA, GB driving licence data, 15 August 2026, table DRL0101 (provisional and full licences by age and gender). Bands summed by Temp Insurance UK from the single-year rows

Show the data

Age band	Provisional licences
15 to 16	157,942
17 to 20	1,522,155
21 to 29	2,465,224
30 to 39	2,184,650
40 to 49	1,645,281
50 to 59	1,399,389
60 to 69	1,136,627
70 and over	28,604

DVLA warns that a valid licence does not mean the holder is driving, resident or alive, and points to the National Travel Survey for estimates of active drivers. DVSA's own waiting-time measure, the first week in which a tenth of test slots are free, stood at 21.5 weeks for the year to March 2026 against a target of seven.

The motor insurance market behind it

A temporary policy is a motor policy like any other, written by the same insurers and counted by the regulator inside the motor total. The Financial Conduct Authority does not report short-term cover separately, so these are the figures for the market it sits in.

34.1m motor policies in force on average in 2025, with temporary cover counted inside 2025, United Kingdom Temporary motor cover is not reported separately; it sits inside Motor (All). Average policies in force 34,137,450. Financial Conduct Authority
£11.9bn paid out by UK motor insurers across 2.5 million claims in 2025 2025, United Kingdom Association of British Insurers
98.7% of motor claims were accepted in 2025, the highest of any insurance product the FCA measures 2025, United Kingdom Product table value 98.73%; claims frequency 9.25%; average payout £3,857.58. Financial Conduct Authority
59% of motor premiums went out in claims in 2025, up from 54% 2025, United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority

Cars changing hands, and cars off the road

Every used car sold is a drive-away moment, and every car declared off the road is one that cannot be driven until it is taxed and insured again. Both feed demand for cover by the day.

2.0m used cars changed hands between April and June 2026, the latest quarter April to June 2026, United Kingdom Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
42.3m licensed vehicles on UK roads, up 1% in a year End of December 2025, United Kingdom Department for Transport
7.1m vehicles declared off the road (SORN) End of December 2025, United Kingdom Table row: cars, motorcycles, light goods, heavy goods, all goods, buses and coaches, other, total. The 2024 total was 6,683,344. Department for Transport
2.6m new vehicles registered in the year 2025, United Kingdom Department for Transport

Untaxed vehicles on the road, DfT roadside survey

1.3% of vehicles seen in traffic in 2023 were untaxed, about 497,550 vehicles. A car that is untaxed is very often uninsured too.

Source: Department for Transport, Vehicle Excise Duty evasion statistics: 2023 (published 2023-12-07), tables VED0101 to VED0403

Show the data

Survey year	Untaxed in traffic (%)	Untaxed vehicles (thousands)
2007	0.986	521.67
2008	0.62	289.26
2009	0.491	224.61
2010	0.772	307.28
2011	0.659	249.36
2013	0.622	212.82
2015	1.452	558.55
2017	1.796	755.07
2019	1.634	633.75
2021	1.852	718.93
2023	1.329	497.55

What temporary cover costs

No official body publishes temporary insurance prices. The starting prices below are the lowest GoShorty sold at each duration, as it publishes them, so they show the shape of pricing rather than what any one driver pays. The annual premium alongside is the market average every short policy is judged against.

£566 average annual motor premium, the benchmark for short cover April to June 2026, United Kingdom The tracker records the price customers paid, not the price they were quoted. Association of British Insurers
£58 lower change in the average annual premium over a year 2025 against 2024, United Kingdom Association of British Insurers
6.0% annual change in the price of motor insurance in the consumer prices index 12 months to September 2026, United Kingdom The same series read 3.7% in August 2026 and -4.0% in September 2025. Office for National Statistics
£11.72 starting price for one hour of temporary car cover, rising to £54.11 for two weeks Lowest prices GoShorty sold between December 2025 and May 2026, as published on goshorty.co.uk GoShorty

Starting price by length of cover

A day costs about twice an hour, and a fortnight about two and a half times a day. The longer the policy, the less each day costs.

1 hour £11.72
4 hours £17.73
1 day £21.87
3 days £30.93
1 week £46.59
2 weeks £54.11

Source: GoShorty, published starting prices. Lowest prices GoShorty sold between December 2025 and May 2026, as published on goshorty.co.uk

Show the data

Duration	From	Per day
1 hour	£11.72	£281.28
4 hours	£17.73	£106.38
1 day	£21.87	£21.87
3 days	£30.93	£10.31
1 week	£46.59	£6.66
2 weeks	£54.11	£3.87

The same prices, per day of cover

Measured per day, a one-hour policy is the dearest way to be insured and a two-week policy the cheapest.

1 day £21.87
3 days £10.31
1 week £6.66
2 weeks £3.87

Source: GoShorty, published starting prices, divided by the days covered. Lowest prices GoShorty sold between December 2025 and May 2026, as published on goshorty.co.uk

Show the data

Duration	Per day
1 day	£21.87
3 days	£10.31
1 week	£6.66
2 weeks	£3.87

A starting price is the lowest sold to anyone, not a typical price, and every quote is individual. Current prices are on each cover page, for example one day car insurance.

When people look for temporary cover

With no sales figures published, search demand is the best public measure of when short-term cover is wanted. These are Ahrefs' estimates of UK Google searches for the exact phrase "temporary car insurance" each month.

Searches by month of the year, index on the annual average

August runs 19% above the yearly average and January 21% below it. Summer is the season for borrowed cars.

Annual average

January 79
February 81
March 95
April 97
May 102
June 108
July 118
August 119
September 104
October 98
November 94
December 107

Source: Ahrefs, Keywords Explorer, monthly search volume for "temporary car insurance", United Kingdom

Show the data

Month	Index (annual average = 100)
January	79
February	81
March	95
April	97
May	102
June	108
July	118
August	119
September	104
October	98
November	94
December	107

Monthly searches for "temporary car insurance", 2023 to 2026

An average of 102,198 searches a month in 2023 and 134,060 in 2025, up 31%.

Source: Ahrefs, Keywords Explorer, monthly search volume for "temporary car insurance", United Kingdom

Show the data

Month	Searches
2023-01	69,589
2023-02	75,769
2023-03	86,623
2023-04	91,867
2023-05	103,127
2023-06	118,845
2023-07	115,419
2023-08	123,330
2023-09	111,540
2023-10	106,376
2023-11	103,355
2023-12	120,536
2024-01	107,740
2024-02	107,524
2024-03	123,565
2024-04	123,302
2024-05	131,220
2024-06	130,047
2024-07	149,975
2024-08	146,168
2024-09	133,793
2024-10	117,398
2024-11	114,333
2024-12	126,028
2025-01	109,228
2025-02	110,220
2025-03	133,594
2025-04	134,992
2025-05	134,073
2025-06	140,624
2025-07	160,314
2025-08	159,823
2025-09	131,267
2025-10	129,941
2025-11	123,250
2025-12	141,397
2026-01	119,451
2026-02	124,217
2026-03	142,509
2026-04	142,568
2026-05	145,855
2026-06	151,587
2026-07	162,838
2026-08	160,424
2026-09	143,145
2026-10	137,737

Estimated monthly Google searches in the UK for the exact phrase. Ahrefs models volume from clickstream data, so treat the level as an estimate and the shape as the finding.

What the public record does not tell you

No regulator or statistics body publishes how many temporary motor policies are sold in the UK, how many drivers have ever used one, what they paid or whether they thought it worth it. The only figures of that kind are from surveys commissioned by sellers of the product, and they are not reproduced here. If a national survey is commissioned for this page it will say so, with the sample, the method and the questions.

Nor is there a national series on vehicles seized for no insurance after 2021; the figures above come from a Freedom of Information request to every force. The Motor Insurers' Bureau's estimate of uninsured drivers on the road is in the enforcement map alongside the court data.

Sources and method

Court figures are the Ministry of Justice's Criminal Justice Statistics outcomes by offence, for England and Wales. Roadside outcomes are the Home Office's police powers and procedures tables. Seizures are the AA's Freedom of Information returns from police forces. Licence and penalty point counts are DVLA's GB driving licence data. Licence holding and car access are the Department for Transport's National Travel Survey, for England. Untaxed vehicles are the Department for Transport's roadside survey. Driving test figures are the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency's. Used car sales are the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders'. Premiums are the Association of British Insurers' tracker and the Office for National Statistics' consumer prices index. Search demand is Ahrefs' estimate. Starting prices are GoShorty's, as published.

Rates per 10,000 vehicles use the Department for Transport's licensed vehicle counts for the matching area and year; rates per 10,000 licence holders use DVLA licence counts by age. Where a publisher gives a range or a rounded figure, the page uses the publisher's figure and says so. Each series is rechecked when its publisher releases a new edition; the date at the top is the last review of the whole page.

Reuse is free under CC BY 4.0 with a credit to Temp Insurance UK and a link to this page. For a regional cut, the data behind a chart or a comment, use the contact page.