Buying Low-Cost Temporary Car Insurance

In certain circumstances, it may be necessary to buy a temporary car insurance plan. Even buying car insurance for the short term is not an excuse to pay more than needed. The cost of this insurance will depend on how long you need it and what type of insurance you buy.

Buying temporary car insurance requires that you know precisely how long that you will need it.

Short term insurance of any sort is cheaper than long term insurance because the period of risk is smaller. However, when compared day to day, the actual cost per day may be more on the short term because of the costs involved in initiating a policy. Having to purchase the same temporary policy several times in a row can become expensive. Make sure that you know the term ahead of time to minimize the cost involved in buying this type of policy.

Do not buy insurance that you do not need.

Often with temporary policies, there are some aspects that you can live without. Comprehensive insurance that covers broken glass, theft and storm damage may be a waste of money if you are only going to insure the car for a couple of weeks. This is especially true if you will only be doing a limited amount of driving and be in safe neighborhoods. Towing, car rental packages and other add-ons are not good options for temporary insurance unless you know specifically that you need them for some reason.

Keep all coverage as low as possible.

Because the risk to you is small, you can keep the insurance small. Insist that the agents that furnish you insurance quotes give you only minimum liability insurance amounts. While you are assuming a slight amount of extra risk, it should be worth it for the savings on the insurance premiums.

Make deductibles high.

High deductibles on car insurance are not usually considered a good idea. However, with temporary insurance, you really just want to avoid being put into a position where you cannot possibly cover the loss. Most people can cover a higher loss than their comfort zone. With temporary car insurance, it will generally be the best option to raise the bar a little on the comfort zone to realize the savings on the cost of the insurance.

If the temporary car insurance is on an older vehicle that you own, leave off the collision insurance.

If you do not have a loan on the car, buy only the state required liability insurance at the state minimum amounts. Agents hate to sell this small of a policy, but it should be all that you need. By getting five or six quotes, you should be able to find a policy for a very small amount of money if you do not need it very long.