Using temporary car insurance to share a long drive

We all love a road trip! Hours of playing driving songs, overfilling the car with snacks (with stop-offs at every service station, of course), and chatting and laughing with friends.

The downside is the actual driving - especially if it’s a long way and only one of your group is insured to drive the car.

With Cuvva’s temporary insurance, however, it’s easy to split the driving and keep everyone fresh. Here’s how it all works 👇

What is temporary insurance?

Temporary insurance is exactly what it sounds like: a quick and easy way to borrow or lend a car on a short term basis. It’s ultra flexible, with policies from just one hour, and it’s as easy to get insured on a friend’s car as it is your own.

It’s also fully comprehensive and the car owner’s no claims bonus is protected. Plus, it can all be sorted from your phone in minutes. Easy!

And it only takes a moment to get a quote.

How is temporary car insurance different to being a named driver?

A named driver is a second person added to a car insurance policy. The main driver (the person who does most of the driving) can add a named driver to reduce their, or the other driver’s, annual premium, depending on who is the more experienced driver.

Named drivers can’t do the majority of the driving on the car (this would constitute a type of insurance fraud called fronting) but they can use the car whenever they want - which differs to temporary insurance.

With temporary insurance, unlike when you’re a named driver, you have your very own policy. The car owner’s no claims bonus is protected, and won’t be impacted if you need to make a claim. Their premium also won’t be hit. Plus, because it starts instantly, you don’t need to sit around for days waiting for the policy docs to arrive in the post - they’ll be emailed over and available on your account instead.

Being a named driver can be a great option if you’re looking for annual insurance on a car you drive regularly. It’s a good alternative to purchasing your own policy because it tends to be cheaper, and it’s an easy way to share a car with the same people for a long period of time.

Temporary insurance is more suitable if you’re looking to lend your or borrow someone’s car. To become a named driver, you’d usually have to call up an insurance company, pay a fee, and get added to the policy. With temporary, you need a new policy each time you drive, but it only takes a few minutes and begins instantly.

How to get temporary car insurance: step-by-step

The easy way to buy a policy, especially if you're mid-road trip and want to take over the driving, is to download the Cuvva app, enter a few details, choose your duration of coverage, pay and take the wheel. It should take less than 5 minutes.

Here’s what to do next, if you want to get insured on a mate’s car to split the drive:

• Enter the car number plate. If we can insure the car, you’ll progress to the next step.
• Enter personal details. You’ll need to tell us a little more about yourself. For example, your driving history and your licence number. This should only take a few minutes.
• Choose your policy length. For this example, we’re choosing 1 hour. The app will show you when the policy will expire and how much it’ll cost. If you need to extend the policy later, you can do it with just a few taps in the app. We’ll also send you a reminder when your policy is about to expire.
• Take a photo of your car in the app. Make sure the entire front of the car is visible, and that the photo isn’t blurry or the wrong way around.
• Pay, and the cover will start instantly.

If you and all your drivers can get a quote, then you’re good to split the drive 🎉

Get insurance

Wherever you're going, you need to be insured before you hit the road - and Cuvva's policies from 1 hour to 28 days might be able to help, with cover starting from just £11.90.

• Temporary car insurance for borrowing or lending a car in minutes.
• Learner driver cover for driving lessons, getting practice in with a supervisor, or taking the driving test.
• Drive away insurance for getting your new car home from the dealership.
• Temporary van insurance for moving home, dropping things to the recycling centre, or carrying a heavy load.

And it only takes a few minutes to get a quote.