Temporary car insurance is a peculiar thing, and not something that many motorists have given much thought to before. But the market is growing, and more people than ever are engaging with this useful tool in their day-to-day lives. Many temporary car insurance policies do not affect annual policies, nor any claims bonuses within them. They are also extremely customizable, making them especially useful for the following purposes:
Remote Working
The biggest shift towards the temporary car insurance model has occurred as a result of sweeping changes in lifestyle for much of the UK’s working population. Since the coronavirus pandemic and government-mandated work-from-home orders, remote working has become much more common in professional roles. Even with work-from-home measures lifted, remote working policies proved popular – leading to nearly a quarter of the population benefitting from hybrid work agreements.
With workers commuting less on average, as a result of working from home more often, car usage at peak commuter times has declined overall. On an individual basis, people are simply using their cars less to get to work. In the case of remote workers, they may have eliminated their car usage. For many, then, an annual insurance plan is unnecessary. Instead, money can be saved here by buying temporary car insurance whenever the car is needed.
Lifestyle
This also applies to those who have made conscious changes to their driving habits, despite their working agreement. Many have opted to use public transport more often, for their commute or simple household errands, with two key motivators in mind.
Firstly, rising fuel costs have made car travel much more expensive than before – which, coupled with annual insurance costs, could be too much for certain budgets during the cost-of-living crisis. There are also sustainability concerns, with the ‘climate cost’ of fuel more starkly visible than ever thanks to unusual climate patterns in the UK. Many are adopting more eco-friendly travel alternatives, and only travelling by car when absolutely necessary.
Emergencies
‘Necessary’ car travel can be justified differently by different households, but most would share the belief that a personal or family emergency would necessitate swift and convenient travel. If a family member falls ill or has an accident, you may want to take out temporary car insurance to drive your car – or the nearest available car – without issue, and unnecessary expense.
Borrowing a Vehicle
Lastly, one of the more common pre-pandemic reasons for getting temporary car insurance was to simply borrow someone else’s car. There are many situations in which this may be useful to do, whether testing a car before purchase, planning for a road trip, or acting as a designated driver at a wedding. Whichever way, temporary car insurance is a useful tool for flexible and convenient driving.