Temporary Car Insurance for 18 Year Olds

Whether you’re a student who’s come home from university for the summer, or a newly qualified driver borrowing your parents’ car until you buy your own, temporary car insurance for 18-year-olds can be handy for covering short-term periods – but it comes at a cost and can be quite difficult to find.

This guide explores the benefits of temporary car insurance for 18-year-olds, explains how you can reduce the cost of your cover, and tells you where to find the best short-term insurance policies and learner driver protection.

What is temporary car insurance?

Temporary car insurance is a type of cover that financially protects drivers in the event of an accident over short-term periods, usually a day, week(s) or month. It’s often a cheaper alternative to making permanent amendments to any existing policies and can suit people under a variety of different circumstances.

Most specialist short term car insurance providers enforce a maximum coverage of around 28 days, while others offer extended cover of around three to six months.

Unfortunately for those aged 18 and under, many temporary car insurance providers in the UK will be unwilling to cover you unless you have held your licence for 12 months or more, but it’s certainly worth researching to see what options are available to you.

You can get a temporary car insurance quote from Insure Daily today by using the button below, but it’s worth noting that they only provide cover for UK drivers aged 19–75.

How much does temporary car insurance cost for young drivers?

How much your car insurance costs will mainly depend on your age and driving experience, the make and model of your car, where you park the vehicle overnight, the type of policy you choose, and much more. This is the case for both annual and temporary car insurance policies.

The cost of premiums therefore differs between each policyholder, meaning that you will need to get a quote to find out the true amount you’d be required to pay.

The cost of temporary car insurance for young drivers – including 18-year-olds – is usually a lot more expensive than any other age category, due to two key factors:

• A lack of experience

• Industry statistics suggesting that young drivers are more likely to be involved in a road traffic accident and make a claim

The factors listed above give car insurance providers reasons to believe that young drivers are a higher risk to cover than any other age category, which therefore leads to higher premiums.

This is also the reason why so many temporary car insurance companies are unwilling to offer cover for those aged between 17 and 18, as young drivers are simply too high a risk.

To find out if you’re eligible and to see how much temporary car insurance would cost for you specifically, simply tap the button below and receive your quote within a matter of seconds.

Do young drivers need temp car insurance?

Young drivers might need temporary car cover for a variety of reasons, including:

• Students that want to use their parents’ car while they’re home from university for a few months.

• For long journeys where you may want to share the driving responsibilities with a friend or family member (to a festival or weekend away).

• Temporarily sharing a parent’s car while you look to buy your own.

• Learner drivers using their parents’ car outside of lessons – specialist learner driver insurance is also available.

Short-term cover for young drivers: FAQs

When can I get temporary cover? You often need to have been driving for at least 12 months before a provider will offer you short-term insurance, which means that many of them have a minimum age of 18, 19 or sometimes even 21.

Can I get temporary insurance with a provisional licence? You usually need a full UK driving licence, but it is possible to get temporary learner driver insurance with Insure Learner Driver.

Do all learner drivers need insurance? Yes, but it’s worth noting that insurance will usually be included within driving lesson fees. If you’re going to be driving a vehicle outside of lessons, then you will need your own cover.

Does temporary insurance include breakdown cover? Breakdown cover isn’t usually included as standard, but you might find that it can be added as an optional extra.

What if I don’t have insurance? If you’re caught without car insurance in place – which is legally required in the UK – you could face a fine, six points on your licence, and your car being destroyed.

Read more: The Consequences of NOT having car insurance

Is compulsory excess higher on short-term policies? Temporary car insurance providers usually set a high excess on short-term policies, with some reaching as much as £1,000 according to Money.co.uk.

How to get cheaper car insurance for young drivers

Although 18-year-olds and young drivers might be worse off than most other age groups when it comes to the cost of car insurance premiums, there are still ways in which you can reduce the price and minimise the financial burden of taking out cover (regardless of whether it’s short-term or annual).

Drive a sensible car

Try not to drive a car with a hugely powerful engine – it only increases your likelihood of speeding and insurers will inevitably see this as an increased risk.

The make and model of your vehicle is also taken into account when providers calculate your car insurance cost, as are car modifications; things as insignificant as football stickers could even void your insurance, so be careful!

Find out more in our guide to the best, cheapest cars to insure in the UK.

Increase your car insurance excess

As a rule of thumb, the higher you set your voluntary excess, the lower your premiums will be.

But, remember that you should only set your car insurance excess to an amount that you would be able to comfortably afford should you ever need to make a claim on your policy – setting it too high and not being able to pay the excess could place you in an even more difficult position than you are already in.

Get a suitable amount of cover

Always take out a level of cover that will protect you for all eventualities, and be sure to opt out of any optional extras that you don’t necessarily need. They can be expensive and, quite frankly, a few of them will be of no use to you.

Read more: Types of Car Insurance in the UK

Shop around – Compare temporary car insurance quotes

To get the cheapest deal, you must compare car insurance quotes from as many providers as possible, starting with companies like Insure Daily, Insure 4 A Day, and Insure Learner Driver; you can get a quote in seconds, so it really doesn’t take much effort at all on your part.

If you find that you aren’t eligible for cover from those providers, then you may want to consider looking elsewhere, including providers such as TempCover and Collingwood.

Cheap temporary car insurance for 18-year-olds

So, how do you get the cheapest temporary car insurance at the age of 18?

Firstly, if you haven’t passed your test, Insure Learner Driver is one the best and cheapest providers of learner car insurance, and what’s more, there are no age restrictions.

If you have a full UK driving licence, the best temporary car insurance providers are:

• TempCover
• Insure 4 A Day
• Insure Daily 

Both include age restrictions as standard and those under 18 may struggle to get cover.

If you are finding it difficult to get temporary car insurance for under 18-year-olds, there are alternatives, including being added as a named driver to someone else’s policy if you are not the main user of the vehicle – if you are the main driver, do not do this as it is considered ‘fronting’, which is considered fraud and could void your insurance if ever you need to make a claim.

Finally, to reduce the cost of your cover, it’s worth following these useful tips:

• Shop around and use comparison sites to get a range of different quotes so you can find the best deal (or get a car insurance broker to do all the hard work for you)

• Don’t be a loyal customer – switch providers if there are cheaper deals available

• Build your no-claims bonus slowly but surely

• Choose your vehicle carefully

• Improve your car’s security

• Look into black box insurance (telematics cover)

• Lower your mileage if possible

For more information on short-term car insurance, be sure to read our related guides below. To get a free temporary car insurance quote right now, simply tap the button:

• Complete Guide to Temporary Car Insurance
• One Day Car Insurance
• One Month Car Insurance