Temporary car insurance

It’s completely legal. Like annual insurance, temporary policies are listed on the same [askMID](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/is-my-car-insured-check-askmid) database that the police use for their ANPR detection technology. It's all fully legit and regulated (our FCA number is 690273).

However, it’s important to understand that it is illegal to leave the car uninsured when you're not driving it. You can use temporary insurance to [borrow](https://www.cuvva.com/car-sharing/borrow-a-car) or lend a car, or as part of a ride-sharing group, but the car must be covered by an underlying policy - even if it's just parked up outside your house or in a garage in-between rides. Put simply, you can't just insure a car when you want to drive it, and leave it uninsured otherwise.

The cost of temporary car insurance varies based on factors such as coverage duration, the insurance group of your vehicle, [driver age](https://support.cuvva.com/en/articles/6119006-age-restrictions) and history, starting location of the policy, and how far in advance you book through the app. For instance, with Cuvva, the cost for 1 hour of coverage starts from just £11.07, 1 day is £15.44, 1 week is £33.70, 2 weeks is £46.92, and 28-day is around £62.03.

Keep in mind that these are average rates in 2023 and may vary. If you're uncertain about the duration you require, the most common coverage length is 1 hour. Should you need an extension for an hour, a day, or a week, you can easily extend your policy in the app.

Pretty much. Cuvva’s temporary car insurance allows you to pay for your own standalone policy in your name when you borrow anyone’s car - and the car owner, whether it’s your friend, family member or colleague, won’t have to pay anything.

The car can be valued up to £60,000, unless you're a learner driver in which case it's up to £30,000. For vans, it's up to £40,000. Depending on a few different factors, you may not be able to get a quote for cars in higher insurance groups.

Lots of [modifications](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/car-modifications) are accepted, including any that aid a disability, but some aren’t.

However, be aware that temporary insurance isn't available for private hire vehicles (like taxis), rental cars, or fleet vehicles, even for personal use. This restriction extends to courtesy and most company cars.

Yes, that’s one of the biggest appeals! In under 5 minutes, you can get comprehensive short-term car insurance for hours, days, or weeks on most cars and vans. This is ideal for borrowing a vehicle, ride-sharing, or learning to drive with a provisional licence. Just remember, the policy is tied to the vehicle, not the driver - so you'll need to get a separate policy for each car you want to drive.

You can also get temporary car insurance for vehicles on finance (‘Personal Contract Plan’), or long-term leases (‘Contract Hire’), whether you're the car’s owner or just borrowing it for a while. Just don’t forget, the car can’t be left uninsured once your policy ends.

Absolutely, you can use temporary insurance to [tax your car](https://support.cuvva.com/en/articles/5913663-taxing-a-car-with-temporary-insurance) or van once your policy details are reflected on the [MID (Motor Insurance Database)](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/motor-insurance-database-mid). While it can take up to 24 hours for these details to appear for the tax process, your insurance coverage is effective immediately if you book it to start instantly. For planning ahead, the app allows you to schedule your coverage [weeks in advance](https://support.cuvva.com/en/articles/2614228-can-i-purchase-for-a-future-date) - but a day’s cover should do the job when it comes to taxing the car.

If you own a car and you're considering adding a temporary driver to your annual insurance policy, you have a couple of options. First off, you could contact your insurer and add them as a named driver. However, this process could be lengthy, might jeopardise your no claims bonus, and potentially increase future premiums. If the named driver had an accident while using your car, the claim would be associated with your policy, not theirs.

An alternative option is to have the borrowing driver buy their own short-term insurance policy. They could easily buy a separate, fully comprehensive policy in their name that starts instantly and is manageable right from their phone. Your no claims bonus would be protected and your policy wouldn’t be impacted if they have to make a claim while driving your car. 1m+ UK drivers have already taken this route with the Cuvva app.

With Cuvva, you cannot get a new temporary insurance policy if you have a lapsed [MOT certificate](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/can-you-insure-a-car-without-an-mot), even if you are driving it to a MOT centre for a test or repairs - and it could impact your claim if you have an [accident](https://support.cuvva.com/en/articles/89942-reporting-an-accident-theft-or-damage-to-your-vehicle-what-to-do-and-how-to-make-a-claim) while doing so. Some insurers may allow this but you should always check before hitting the road.

When looking for a [cheaper temporary car insurance quote](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/cheaper-car-insurance), several factors play a role in [determining the price](https://support.cuvva.com/en/articles/5904197-how-does-our-pricing-work). While Cuvva considers many factors each time you request a quote, the most influential ones typically include your age, driving licence details, the [vehicle type](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/insurance-groups-explained) and its insurance group.

You’ll typically get a cheaper quote with a car in a [lower insurance group](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/top-10-popular-cheap-cars). Your location and the time also impacts the premium. Generally, the price tends to rise as the day progresses - so if you need to borrow a car to run an errand, try and do it in the morning if you want to keep the cost down.You can use the 'What affects your price?' tool located at the bottom of the quote screen in the app to gain insights into your own price fluctuations as you enter your details.

With Cuvva, you can add 24/7 breakdown cover, with nationwide roadside assistance and recovery services, to a policy from an additional £1.03 per hour. This service is available if you break down more than a mile away from your home or departure point.

To cover a car with Cuvva’s temporary insurance, you must be 19 and 70. For those under 21, you may have to have held a full licence for at least one year and have no at-fault or joint-fault accidents or claims. For Cuvva’s learner driver policies, you must be between 17 and 40 years old and have possessed your provisional driving licence for no more than 5 years.

You can buy Cuvva’s temporary car insurance policies using a GB licence in England, Scotland, or Wales, and you'll be covered for comprehensive driving in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. Our temporary insurance will also cover you to drive in the EU (including the Republic of Ireland) plus Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia and Switzerland.

It's crucial, however, that your policy starts and finishes within England, Scotland, or Wales. You also can’t extend your policy once you’re outside of England, Scotland, or Wales. So you could start a policy in Wales, travel via car ferry to Ireland and drive there for a few days, before returning to Britain before your policy ends. To steer clear of potential risks, try and build in a buffer in your coverage, like an extra day at the end of your trip.

Yes, it’s a great way to use Cuvva’s temporary insurance. Sure, if you're [buying a car](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/buying-your-first-car), some dealerships might have their own 'demonstration' or 'trade plate' insurance for test drives, though it's wise to approach with caution. This isn't the standard, fully comprehensive insurance you're likely familiar with (for example, the type Cuvva offers on all its policies). The insurance offered by dealerships usually only protects the dealership, covering potential damages to their vehicles and certain third-party liabilities during test drives. However, if a mishap occurs, you could find gaps in coverage, particularly for personal injuries. This might leave you with unexpected costs, high excesses, or even legal disputes. Test driving a car from a private seller usually involves no insurance cover whatsoever, so you’ll need to sort your own.

For a more transparent and safer choice in both scenarios, Cuvva’s short-term cover could offer the solution. Within minutes, you can secure temporary, fully comprehensive car insurance, with a standalone policy just for the test driver. Plus, all policy details are easily accessible from the app.

You need a GB licence to use Cuvva. This means a licence from England, Wales or Scotland. This is because when you sign up to Cuvva and scan your licence, the app pulls your licence details from the DVLA’s MyLicence portal. This is a GB-only service, meaning we can’t accept licences from Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. We’d like to insure different licences in the future - but we’ll have to wait for other licensing agencies to start providing online access to their licence data, first.

Yes! Cuvva makes it easy, and you can choose a policy length that suits you perfectly via the app. [1 week insurance](https://www.cuvva.com/car-insurance/temporary/1-week) is handy if you need to borrow a car a few times during a short period, or if you’ve bought a new car and need to get it home from the dealership before you sort annual cover. All you need to do is download the app, take a picture of your licence and the number, add your personal details, and choose the policy that suits you. Don’t forget, if you need more time, you can extend your policy in the app.

If you’re borrowing someone’s car, you’ll get an insurance policy in your name even if they already have insurance in theirs. This means their no claims bonus is protected and you’ll get your own fully comprehensive cover. It’s also technically legal to get [multiple policies on your own car](https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/two-insurance-policies-one-car) in your name - but there’s no benefit to it, unless you wanted to temporarily upgrade your insurance for a short period (for example, getting fully comp insurance over third party). Just keep in mind, insurers won’t pay out twice for the same accident even if you have two policies on your car.

Insurers usually provide an [NCB](https://support.cuvva.com/en/articles/2616510-no-claims-bonuses) document when a driver has been insured constantly for a year, without any at-fault or joint-fault claims. At Cuvva, our temporary policies are a maximum of 28 days long, so we can’t provide NCB documents, even if you get 12 policies consecutively.

You can get a Cuvva policy from just 1 hour to 28 days and it’s all sorted through the app. All you need is a GB licence and a taxed car with an up to date MOT. Plus, if you don’t know how long you actually need it for, you can extend your cover with a few taps. [1 day car insurance](https://www.cuvva.com/car-insurance/temporary/1-day) is fully comprehensive, too.

You can get insurance through the Cuvva app or the website in under 5 minutes. We’ve rebuilt insurance from the ground-up to make it as efficient as possible.

Our temporary car insurance policies cover you for SDP (social, domestic, pleasure), commuting, and class 1 business use. This means that you can use your car to drive to and from work or drive to other places for business (that aren't where you usually work), as well for leisure.

We try to insure as many people as we can, but we do need to work within some restrictions imposed by our underwriters. If we can’t insure you, the app will usually say why. But in general, sometimes we can't give cover if a customer provides invalid vehicle photos, we think an account is being used by multiple people, there are some modifications we can’t cover, or you don’t meet age, licence or driving history requirements.

You must [report all incidents](https://support.cuvva.com/en/articles/89942-reporting-an-accident-theft-or-damage-to-your-vehicle-what-to-do-and-how-to-make-a-claim) within 24 hours, even if you aren’t going to claim.This includes accidents, damage or theft, and injuries, to you, third parties or third party property. Cuvva is the insurance broker, so we don't handle claims. You should speak with the underwriter of your policy, which you can find on your policy documents. Mulsanne (Key Claims) is on 020 3828 7127 and Wakam (Crawford) is 020 3828 7381.

You can [cancel your policy](https://support.cuvva.com/en/articles/89947-can-i-cancel-my-policy-or-get-a-refund) whenever you want, just chat to our customer support team. However, keep in mind that we can’t offer refunds for temporary policies. This is because there are lots of things we have to set up in the background to set up your policy in the first place.

Once you've bought temporary car insurance with us, you can extend your policy in the app on the go - just tap the green 'Extend' button, and then pay. You'll need to have completed at least 25% of your cover (e.g. if you've booked 4 days' insurance, you can extend on day 2).

Our longest policy is 28 days. But you can start a new one instantly when it finishes - and there are no limits on how often you can buy a policy.

With Cuvva, yes. But if you’re under 21, you need to have held a full licence for at least a year. You also need to have had no at-fault or joint-fault claims during that year.

Don’t break the golden rule - it’s just not worth it. Here’s what our insurance and underwriting expert Alan Wright FCII has to say: “There are no two ways about it: you need car insurance to drive - even if it’s just for an hour. Breaking the rules could mean more than a fine and points on your licence. The police could seize or destroy your vehicle - even if you’re only moving from one parking spot to another! As well as this, your future premiums will increase, and you may be forced to pay out further if the Motor Insurer’s Bureau (MIB) have to compensate someone injured as a result of your actions. Uninsured driving - even for a single hour - just isn’t worth the risk.”