LONDON, UK. October 21st, 2026 – An estimated 7.5 million people with a UK driving licence have purchased temporary car insurance, according to research commissioned by Covertime.com. The results show that short-term cover is used for a range of everyday driving circumstances, from borrowing a relative’s car to bringing a new vehicle home.
The survey, conducted for temporary insurance specialist Covertime.com, included 1,532 adults living in the UK, of whom 1,224 held a driving licence. It explored public awareness of temporary car insurance, previous purchasing habits and opinions on policy costs.
Among licensed respondents, 18% said they had taken out temporary insurance at least once. Applying that percentage to the approximately 42 million valid UK driving licences recorded by the DVLA gives an estimated total of 7.5 million users.
Borrowing a car from someone they knew was the most common reason respondents had purchased temporary cover. Almost half of previous users, 49%, identified this as their reason.
The next most common scenario was driving a newly purchased car home, reported by 35%. Other circumstances included sharing the driving during a long trip, learning to drive and moving belongings between homes.
The likelihood of having used temporary insurance also varied according to car ownership. Those who owned a vehicle were nearly twice as likely to have purchased short-term cover as people without a car.
Younger respondents reported higher levels of use than older motorists. Among drivers aged 21 to 30, 25% had previously bought temporary insurance, compared with 14% of people aged 61 and above.
The cost of temporary policies generally did not come as a surprise to customers. According to the survey, 89% of previous users paid either considerably less than expected or approximately the amount they had anticipated. Most reported spending between £21 and £40, whether their insurance was arranged for a single day or a period of several weeks.
Annual comprehensive cover typically involves a much larger commitment. The Association of British Insurers has reported an average UK premium of £566 for this type of motor insurance.
The research also explored why some drivers had never purchased temporary cover. The overwhelming majority, 82%, said they had never needed it, while only 3% cited cost as the reason.
Tom Warsop, motor insurance expert at Covertime.com, said: “This data shows that temporary car insurance has already become a normal part of how millions of people drive, even if most people don’t realise quite how widely it’s used.
“The reason more people haven’t tried it is not because it’s confusing or expensive, it’s that most people simply don’t realise how many everyday situations it can help with.
“Picking up a new car before you’ve sorted your annual cover, test driving one you’re buying privately, letting your son or daughter use the car while they’re back from university, or lending yours to a family member while theirs is off the road are all moments where proper short-term cover can be relevant.
“The more people know it exists for these situations, the easier it is for drivers to consider the appropriate cover when they need to use a vehicle temporarily.”
Read the complete findings and explore the statistics on Covertime.com.
