Short Term Car Insurance for Visitors to the UK

Can Visitors to the UK find short term car insurance?

Yes. Policies are available if you meet the following criteria:

• You have a valid driving licence from one of these countries: UK, EU/EEA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa or Switzerland, and are aged between 18 and 75

• You have a valid driving licence from one of these countries: Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Mauritius, Malaysia, New Zealand or Singapore and are aged from 19 to 75

• We can also find cover for 17 year olds who are UK or EU licence holders now living in the European Union.

If you’re planning a trip back to the UK for business or pleasure and you meet this criteria a short term policy is an easy and straightforward way to get comprehensive insurance.

If you are looking for short term car insurance to cover you whilst on a UK visit, temporary car insurance is readily available. Whether you are an expat returning home to see the family or a non UK resident visiting the UK and looking to borrow a car whilst here, we have policies which can help you. Some of the reasons our non UK based clients use short term car insurance include the following:

• You used to live in the UK, and plan to return so you have mothballed a vehicle in storage here. It's off the road and uninsured but you now want to use it during a visit.
• You have family or friends who own a car and you want to borrow it during your stay. Borrowing it can be a lot cheaper than hiring - but don't risk their car or their insurance policy - taking out your own short term car insurance policy means you protect their no-claims bonus and ensures your friends remain friends!
• Rather than renting you decide to buy an older vehicle to use as your chariot during your stay.
• Maybe you live here but are going to lend your car out to friends or family visiting the UK. Ensure your no-claims bonus is safe - especially as it will be on unfamiliar roads and a different vehicle for them. Take out a short term car insurance policy and you are covered.
• Visitors from the EU should note that the insurers require a passport number and a European ID card is not accepted.

Different companies do appeal in different circumstances, hence we discuss the strengths of a variety of companies - so here are a few thoughts you might want to take into account when you are searching for a short term car insurer.

Please note that this can only be purchased by a debit or credit card owned by the person that the insurance is in the name of, it cannot be purchased by a third party. Some customers have reported that you may not be able to run a quote or pay for it outside the UK so you may have to wait until you are in the UK before purchasing.

Short Term Car Insurance for Non UK Residents

Insure Daily

Insure Daily – Fast access to competitive quotes for licences issued in the UK, EU/EEA and a number of COMMONWEALTH countries.

insuredaily.co.uk offer insurance to not just UK RESIDENTS but also those with a licence from an EC/EEA country, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, FALKLAND ISLANDS, GIBRALTAR, MALAYSIA, MAURITIUS, NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, SOUTH AFRICA or SWITZERLAND. They offer policies from one day up to 28 days. Full cover only applies in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and during sea journeys between these places

insuredaily.co.uk say visitors from abroad should use the address at which they are staying as their address, or the garage from which they obtained their car if this is not appropriate.

Day Insure

Day Insure – Covers Aussies, Kiwis, South African and Swiss residents as well as UK, EC and EEA policyholders.

Flexible policies offering cover from just one day up to 30 days. Ideal if you need to borrow a car for a weekend or want to borrow one for a few weeks whilst on a visit to the UK. The Day Insure policy covers not just UK, EC and EEA licence holders, but also drivers with AUSTRALIAN, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICAN and SWISS licences. The company may not quote on some vehicles over 10 years old for overseas residents. Insurance quotations from Day Insure are provided online only. Non residents should use their home address when requesting a quote.

If you are unable to find cover from either of these two insurers do try getting a car hire quotation instead.

Short Term Car Insurance for UK Residents (or past UK Residents now living in the EU) with an EU Licence

Temp Cover

Temp Cover - UK (full and provisional), EU and International Driving licence holders covering for UK use and an option to extend comprehensive cover to EU countries. Tempcover policyholders do however need to have been permanently resident in the UK for 12 months, or a British expat who previously lived in the UK.

Temp Cover offer the additional option of allowing you to buy comprehensive cover if you are planning on taking the car to another EU country.

Moving to the UK permanently?

If your move to the UK is permanent, you'll want a longer term solution. See our page for Car Insurance for those moving to the UK.

Consider Car Hire Instead

Lastly do consider renting a car instead - it might be cheaper! Try our car hire comparison service for great rates, and don't forget - before you pay for expensive excess insurance at the Car Hire station we also offer that cheaper through our Car Hire Excess Insurance comparison service.

This content was last reviewed on 24/09/2019