How to get car insurance for temporary situations
No matter what temporary driving situation you find yourself in, you must be appropriately insured. Beyond being a legal requirement for getting behind the wheel, it will also protect you and the owner of the car in the event of an accident.
Each situation requiring temporary insurance varies, so it’s important to understand which type of coverage you need. Find the temporary or short-term insurance options you might consider depending on your needs below.
Purchase pay-per-mile insurance
With pay-per-mile insurance coverage, you only pay for the miles you drive, which the insurer tracks through a mobile app or a telematic device. Insurers who offer pay-per-mile policies, like Allstate, charge you either a monthly or daily base rate, plus a per-mile rate. Depending on which state you live in, the base-rate and per-mile rate may fluctuate up or down based on your driving behavior. With Nationwide, for example, you might pay a $60 per month base rate plus a $0.07 per mile rate. So if you only drive 100 miles in one month, your monthly cost will only be $67.
If you have to drive a long distance in a single day, most insurers provide a per-mile cap per day. For instance, if your insurer has a 250 mile daily cap and you drive 280 miles in one day, you’ll only pay the per-mile rate for the first 250 miles. Pay-per-mile insurance will only save you money if you genuinely don’t drive much because the per-mile rate adds up quickly if you put a large number of miles on the car. You can benefit from a pay-per-mile insurance policy if you temporarily don’t need to drive.
If you need pay-per-mile coverage for less than a standard six-month policy, you should be able to enroll in such a policy and cancel it once your needs change. If you do that, make sure you have another policy in place to cover you before canceling the first one so you have no lapse in coverage.
Worters warns, “What typically happens is the insurer will refund the remaining months, but usually charges a cancellation fee.”
Get temporary coverage for student drivers
If your college-aged child goes to school without their car, you may be eligible for a Student Away at School discount. This discount is generally available to drivers under the age of 25 who are still on their parents’ auto insurance and attending school at least 100 miles away from home. You must also ensure that the college-aged driver only drives the car occasionally, such as during school breaks.
Many insurers offer Student Away at School discounts. If you qualify for this discount, it presents a better option than taking your child off your insurance and purchasing temporary insurance for them when they are home on break. Your child will be covered anytime they come home, even if it’s not during a usual school break.
Consider permissive use
Permissive use refers to when you give a driver permission to use your car, which differs from listing drivers other than yourself on your insurance policy.[1] Listed drivers generally include the licensed drivers in the household, including the policyholder’s spouse and licensed children. A permitted driver, like a friend visiting from out of town, is not specifically listed in the policy.
Most insurers (but not all) include permissive use as part of a standard insurance policy. So insurance coverage follows the car, rather than the specific driver, as long as you’ve given permission to the driver to be behind the wheel.[2]
Some limits to permissive use apply. Most insurers who allow for permissive use only cover other drivers who occasionally use your car, with a limited number of uses per year. So you can’t allow your neighbor to drive your kids and her kids in your car for weekly carpool to hockey practice under permissive use. You’ll have to add the neighbor as a listed driver to be completely covered under repeated use. Additionally, some insurers may provide lower coverage levels under permissive use — possibly as low as the state-mandated minimums.
If you plan to allow someone to borrow your car, check your insurance policy to see if it covers permissive use and be aware of any limits before handing over the keys.
Read More: Can I add someone to my car insurance who doesn't live with me?
Purchase short-term car insurance for international visitors
International drivers coming to America for a short time must have a valid license and U.S. car insurance if they intend to drive during their stay, with the exception of drivers licensed and insured in Canada.
Each state recognizes valid driver’s licenses from foreign countries, which are typically valid for up to four months after you’ve entered the U.S. You can also apply for an International Driving Permit (IDP) before you arrive in the U.S., which will generally be valid for up to one year. You can’t get an IDP once you’re in the U.S.
If you’re renting a car in the U.S. for your stay, then you can usually purchase insurance coverage through the rental agency.
However, if you’re staying several months and intend to purchase a car that you’ll sell before you leave or borrow a car from a friend for the duration of your stay, you’ll need to purchase an insurance policy for yourself. A standard policy duration lasts a minimum of six months, but some insurers offer shorter policies.
Not all insurers are willing to cover foreign drivers, even if they have decades of driving experience in their home countries.
Get parked car insurance
If you don’t need to use your car for a period of time, purchasing comprehensive-only insurance, also known as parked car or car storage insurance, could lower your insurance costs. To qualify for this coverage, you have to store your car in one place. Generally, your insurer will want the car to be off the street and in a locked garage or storage facility. Parked car insurance excludes collision coverage and uninsured motorist coverage because it is unlikely your stored vehicle will be struck by another car. Your vehicle could still be hit by a falling tree branch, stolen, or otherwise damaged while in storage, which comprehensive insurance covers.
Insurers generally require your vehicle to be stored for at least 30 to 60 days to qualify for parked car insurance. Some insurers offer comprehensive-only coverage as a standalone policy, but you’ll have to prove that you have another vehicle that’s insured to at least the state minimums. Additionally, if you’re leasing or financing the vehicle that you’ll put in storage, you’ll likely have to maintain collision coverage to satisfy your auto loan servicer.
Purchase non-owner insurance
If you don’t own a car but regularly drive one, non-owner car insurance could protect you in the event of an accident. This insurance only provides liability coverage as a baseline, which means it won’t pay for damage to the car you’re driving or for your own injuries. A non-owner policy may also include uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection. Non-owner insurance coverage tends to be less expensive than standard insurance you might purchase for a car you own.
Here are some reasons why you might choose to purchase non-owner insurance:
You regularly rent cars.
You regularly borrow someone’s car.
You use a car-sharing service.
You want to prevent a lapse in car insurance coverage.
In most cases, you’ll have to call an insurance agent to get more information about non-owner insurance because very few insurers offer online quotes for this sort of coverage.
Consider rental car insurance
When you rent a car from a rental agency, you have the option of purchasing insurance at the same time. Four types of rental car insurance coverage may be offered:
Loss damage waiver (LDW) or collision damage waiver (CDW): Similar to collision coverage, this protects you if you get into an accident and damage the rental car. You may already have this coverage through a standard auto policy for your own car or the credit card you use to reserve the rental car.
Liability coverage: This will protect you in case you damage someone else’s property.
Personal accident coverage: This pays for your and your passengers’ medical bills if you’re injured in an accident. Your health insurance may also cover some portion of these bills.
Personal effects coverage: This protects any personal effects that might be stolen from your rental car, alongside any homeowners or renters insurance.
