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Temporary Car Insurance
Borrowing a car, sharing the driving or taking a trip for work? Temporary car insurance is an easy, flexible way to get short term cover. You can be on the road within 15 minutes.
Temporary car insurance allows you to pay only for the time you need – an hour, a week, a month. If you’ve only paid for a day and need more, no problem. You can top up instantly online to get up to 30 days. Temporary car insurance can be taken out alongside an annual policy. The vehicle owner's No Claims Discount won’t be affected if you make a claim.
Say hello to flexible short term car insurance from the RAC
Available for 1 hour to 30 days. And add extra hours online if you need to.
Get covered within 15 minutes. Or buy up to 28 days in advance.
How does temporary car insurance work?
Temporary car insurance is a flexible type of short-term insurance. It allows you to drive a car for a short period of time, without needing to take out an annual insurance policy. Our short-term car insurance policies provide comprehensive cover from as little as 1 hour up to 30 days at a time. So you can borrow a car, or share the driving on a long trip.
It only takes a few minutes to apply and you can manage your policy online 24/7. Add more hours or days as you need them.
There’s no annual contract, so when the policy expires that’s it. If you’re borrowing someone else’s car, it means they don’t have to pay more to add you to their policy. If you need to make a claim, their Protected No Claims Discount won’t be affected either.
Looking for learner car insurance? Take a look at our provisional driver's insurance |
What’s included with temporary car insurance?
Everything you'd expect from an annual car insurance policy. Business† and leisure usage are included as standard.
Loss, theft, fire or vandalism
Child seat replacement
Replacement locks
New car replacement
Of the same make, model and specification
Accident recovery
And an approved repair service*
Legal liability
If another person is injured or dies, or their property's damaged
Personal accident
Up to £2,500 per claim (or £5,000 per insurance year)
Legal costs
Up to £5,000,000
Personal belongings
Cover up to £150
+ RAC Breakdown Cover
You can add RAC Breakdown cover to your purchase
+ European car insurance cover
If you want to drive your car in the EU, you can add cover for that when you buy your policy
+ Excess Protection
You can add excess protection when you buy your policy. It reimburses any excess charges, if you need to make a claim
Read more about our optional cover
Quick and easy
Why choose RAC Temporary Car Insurance?
Our partners Dayinsure have a 4.8-star rating on Trustpilot and our policies are underwritten by Aviva, the UK’s largest general insurer. And we’ve the RAC has been looking after drivers for over 120 years. So you know you’re in safe hands with our short-term car insurance.
What our members say
What are the alternatives to temporary car insurance?
If you’re borrowing someone else’s vehicle, they could add you as a named driver on their policy. Or you could take out an annual policy on another vehicle and cancel it when you no longer need it. However, these options are likely to cost more for you or the car owner. And they could impact the owner’s Protected No Claims Discount in the event of a claim by the person driving it.
Other alternatives include:
- Temporary van insurance: it could be that you need to borrow a van to move house or transport furniture. Our temporary van insurance works much like our short-term car policy, where you only take cover for the time you need. We also cover motorhomes and campervans.
- Temporary car insurance for business use: if you need to take a business trip but aren’t covered to use your car for business on your existing annual policy, our temporary car insurance will cover for temporary business use.
- Test drive insurance: if you’re buying a car privately and want to test drive it, or if you’re setting up test drives for a car you’re selling, we’ll cover that.
Temporary Car Insurance Explained
Q. Can I cancel my policy?
Yes, you can cancel your policy at any time. You’ll be entitled to a full refund of your premium, if you cancel the policy before cover has started. If you cancel the policy after cover has started, you’ll be entitled to a partial refund.
Q. Can I get insured on a car for a day, a week or a month?
Yes, you can. RAC Temporary car insurance policies can be bought for as little as 1 hour up to 30 days at a time. If you need more time, you can always top this up online or take out another policy. You can top up to a maximum of 30 days. Once you’ve reached 30 days, you’d need to buy a new policy.
Q. Can I get RAC Temporary Car Insurance for more than 30 days?
Yes, even though our maximum policy length is 30 days you can purchase multiple policies. If you require annual cover then get a quote for RAC Car Insurance or call us on 0330 159 1019.
Q. Can I get temporary car insurance when learning to drive?
No. RAC Temporary Car Insurance only covers qualified drivers who have held a full and valid driving licence for over a year. Read our full requirements for temporary car insurance.
If you only have a provisional licence, you can get RAC Learner Driver Insurance for your car or a friend or family member’s car. Cover is available from 2 hours to 5 months.
Q. Can I get temporary insurance if I already have an annual policy?
Yes, that’s not a problem. And if you needed to make a claim on your temporary policy, it won’t affect the no claims discount on your annual policy. You just need to make sure you declare the claim to your annual insurer.
Q. Can I take out insurance for my MOT?
You can’t drive a car to get an MOT without insurance. That is where a temporary car insurance policy could help. You can take out a short-term policy from as little as an hour.
You should check your insurance policy wording if you’re planning to drive a car to a garage without an MOT. Some policies don’t cover this, potentially making your insurance void.
Q. Can you tax a car with temporary insurance?
Yes. Just keep in mind that, if you’re taxing your car online, you’ll have to wait for the Motor Insurance Database (MID) to update. We notify the MID of all new insurance policies within 24 hours. It’s still legal for you to drive during these 24 hours – but it’s always worth double-checking that you’ve received and checked your insurance documents.
Q. Can I use temporary car insurance to drive in Europe?
Only if you buy our additional cover for Europe (this is an optional extra). Journeys must start and finish within Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, and cover is only available for cars registered in the UK.
Q. Does temporary car insurance cover business use?
Yes, as long as you’re not using your vehicle for transporting goods or people for hire or reward (for example, a taxi service or courier).
Our short-term cover is ideal if you’re insuring a car for a few days away at another office or business conference. It’s also a good solution if you only travel for business now and then, as it can be more cost effective than adding business cover to your annual car insurance.
Q. Does temporary car insurance show up on ASKMID?
We guarantee to update the Motor Insurance Database (MID) every 7 days and in some cases more often, but we recommend always having a copy of your Insurance Certificate with you during the period of cover. You can drive the vehicle legally between the dates and times shown on the insurance certificate issued to you.
Q. How do I extend my insurance policy?
You can extend your policy quickly and easily online. Simply log in to your account to add more time.
Q. How does the claims process work?
For more information on the how to make a claim, see our Existing Customers page. Our claims line is available 24 hours a day. You must contact the police if the car has been stolen or if anyone has been injured as the result of any claim.
Q. I'm driving less miles now, could I be saving on my car insurance?
Q. What happens if I have an accident while I’ve got temporary cover?
RAC Temporary Car Insurance offers fully comprehensive cover. That means you’ll be covered up to the car’s current market value if you need to make a claim. Also, the no claims discount of the vehicle’s owner won’t be affected, so you don’t need to worry about that. Repairs are covered and will be carried out by an approved provider.
Q. Why have I been declined cover?
Car insurance cover is declined for several reasons. These could include:
- your location
- you may not fit into the age restrictions
- previous convictions
- vehicle modifications
Q. Will I build up my no claims discount with temporary car insurance?
No. RAC Temporary Car Insurance is a flat-rate policy for a short, fixed period. This means you won’t build up any no claims discount on this policy, even if you don’t make a claim.
Q. How old do you have to be to get temporary car insurance
To be eligible for a temporary car insurance policy, you’ll need to be aged between 18 and 75.
Q. Will I need a Green Card to drive in Europe?
No, from 2 August 2021 you don’t need to have a Green Card, please see our Brexit related FAQs page for more information on driving in Europe.
