Short Term Car Insurance

Auto insurance is a product that the majority of us need to purchase every year for our vehicle. Usually we'll get a policy which covers us for the entire year and this arrangement suits us fine as we intend to drive the car on a regular basis throughout the calender year and are aware that we must legally be covered to do so.

But what do we do if we want to get insurance cover for a vehicle which we not only will we only drive for a very short period of time but which we might not even own? Many people seem to be unaware of the possibility of taking out short term car insurance even though many of us could make use of such a product at various times throughout our driving career. An example of a time you might want to use this specialist insurance would be if you don't have your own vehicle but can borrow one from a friend or family member for a specific purpose. Perhaps you want to go on tour for a couple of weeks and someone is kind enough to offer you their car.

I recently used short term car insurance for a new car which I purchased from Ebay. I already owned an insured vehicle which I was planning to sell in a couple of months but I wanted to be covered to drive my new purchase home from the seller who lived over 100 miles away. To solve my problem I sorted out a couple of days cover for low cost from my current insurer. You'll find that most companies actually offer this type of cover although they probably don't advertise it widely, you'll just need to pick up the phone and ask.

If you already have fully comprehensive insurance on a vehicle you own then you will probably know that you are allowed to drive someone else's car with their consent and be covered by your existing policy. However, you must be aware that this will only work if the car you want to drive is insured by the owner and also you will only have third party cover in the event of an accident. What this means is that if you hit another vehicle while driving you will not be recompensed for the damage to your friends car. It could turn into a very expensive trip. Is it worth it simply to save a few pounds or dollars?

The exact workings of a short term car insurance policy will obviously depend on the company you decide to use but in general you will find that you can get instant cover over the phone or Internet with a credit card payment. Usually you'll be allowed to arrange cover for anything from 1 to 28 days and will provide the same coverage as you have come to expect from your annual policy. This means you will get legal liability cover, accident recovery, theft and fire cover etc.

Getting a quote involves the same process as you will no doubt have become used to by now but with short term cover I wouldn't spend the same time as a with annual policies as the possible savings won't be as great. Maybe get a price from your current insurer then get a quote from a couple of other companies to satisfy yourself that you are not paying over the odds.

You won't need to have a great deal of information at your fingertips in oder to secure the temporary car insurance that you need so its the perfect product to use when you find yourself viewing a car that you really want to buy and don't want to miss the boat in case another buyer comes along before you can organize cover the traditional way. These days you can even use your iPhone to apply instantly from wherever you find yourself by plugging in your name and a few car details.