At times it’s convenient to arrange a car insurance for one day. For example when you’re fixing a car, you just finished and you want to sell the car. You don’t want to get a normal insurance that lasts for at least one year. So you get a one day car insurance for your car. For this you can go to a specialist like Insure4aday.co.uk where you can quickly get a one or two day car insurance. Alternatively you first compare different insurance offers, e.g. by visiting Compare the Market, which is a good place to compare various offers for a short term insurance. As conditions per person and car can always be different, only by comparing you are sure you can get a cheap one day car insurance.
Other examples include
- Dayinsure. They offer short term comprehensive temporary car insurance ranging from 1 to 28 days. You can add up to 4 more other drivers to the policy. You can apply online and drivers with up to 8 points can be insured. However, you cannot manage your policy online. You can buy the policy while you are teaching your child to drive.
- Insuredaily.co.uk. You can apply for temporary car insurance if you are aged between 19 and 75 years. You can apply, pay and manage the policy online. A driver with up to 6 points can be insured.
- Veygo by Admiral. This is an excellent temporary car insurance option for people with shared driving. The cover is available for between 1 hour and 30 days. You can buy the policy online and build on your No Claims Bonus.
Single day car insurance
A single day car insurance has been available for several years now, and short term insurance like this is a tried and tested product with hundreds of thousands of regular users. Prices are very reasonable, buying a policy is extremely quick and easy, and since it is done online you can set one up at any time of day or night you wish, from the comfort of your own home. Policies can be purchased for any daily period between a single one and a maximum of 28; and although there are certain conditions (for instance you must be over 19, with a reasonable car and a fairly decent driving record) the vast majority of British motorists will not have any problem with the short proposal form.
One day car insurance cover
You can insure a car which belongs to you, but which you have perhaps kept off the road for a while; or you can cover one that you have borrowed from a friend, neighbour, relative etc. Alternatively you can lend your own car to someone else who can insure it in a similar way. Provided that the car you wish to cover is registered in the UK, is unmodified and is not a personal import it is likely to be on the insurers’ database, which means that it can probably be covered.
Does it take long?
The simple proposal form only takes a matter of a minute or so for getting a quotation; and then provided that you have the registration details of the car you want to cover it is only another couple of minutes before you can pay for the policy online and download your documents.
When does cover begin?
You have the choice of either arranging cover to start at some time in the near future, or immediately. This means that you can have your insurance arranged in good time if you are going to need it soon, but in an emergency it can be arranged extremely quickly.
Is it expensive?
Obviously on a cost-per-day basis a full year’s policy usually works out cheaper but short term cover can still be surprisingly economical and premiums are generally far lower than they were before specialised companies came into the market. Plus: it only takes a very short time to get a quote so why not see for yourself.
Is it safe?
All insurance companies operating in the UK have to be authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority which of course gives access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the unlikely case of an insurer becoming insolvent.
How are documents delivered?
You are sent a link to your documents a moment or two after you have bought your policy. You can download these and print them on your home printer if you wish, but this is not a legal requirement. However, bearing in mind that the details of the insurance cover will probably not be on the Motor Insurance Database (which police forces check up on from time to time) for several days it is very advisable that when you are buying any insurance, including short-term insurance, you carry the cover note with you for the first few days just in case you need to present it.
When can a one day car insurance come in handy?
There are situations when it’s a good idea to get a car insurance for just one day:
- You’ve been fixing an old car and now you want to drive out with it to sell it.
- You want to buy a new vehicle and test drive it for one day.
- Similarly: you want to cover someone else test driving your vehicle.
- Insure relatives or friends driving your car.
- When borrowing a car from a friend.
- On a long trip it can be convenient to share driving with someone.
- When importing a car from abroad it you want to drive.
You can do this with several car insurance companies. Covers can already start from 10 pounds a day.
One car car insurance cover
With most insurance companies a one day car insurance can cover some of the following situations:
- Up to several million £ worth of damage to property of 3rd parties. This is the minimum that any car insurance has to provide, if you go for this minimal insurance, it’s called TPO, Third Party Only.
- In case of 3rd party claims: Legal obligations covering injury or property damage.
- Fire, theft and vandalism. TPFT (Third Party Fire Theft) is one step above TPO.
- Emergency medical treatment for driver and passengers, this is definitely a good idea to get as well.
- Damage caused to the vehicle in an accident. Only do this if your vehicle is worth at least £4,000.
Under 21?
Several companies offer one day car insurances to young people under 21. If you’re 18 year old it gets tough though, it might be better to wait a year or two. Car insurance for teens is very expensive. And as of December 2012 there is no cheap way out for women. Insurance companies are not allowed to have different premiums based on gender. As a young woman this means you’re in the same category as young high-testosterone males, with the accompanying high premiums. The other option is to move to the United States.