Reader’s Question:

A relative of mine will be lending me his car for my vacation trip but he said he will do it if I can purchase a short term car insurance. What is that really for?

Gertrude

Wilmington DE

A common misconception about car insurance policies is that many people thought its duration should be at least a year. They thought that a person purchasing car insurance policy is bound to that policy for a year. But this should not be the case. Temporary car insurance, commonly known as short term car insurance, is also available for people who needs insurance coverage in order to drive a vehicle for only a few days or weeks.

For those borrowing or renting a car from a friend or a relative, you may have to consider purchasing a short term car insurance to give your friend or relative a peace of mind. They have to make sure that their car will be replaced or repaired in case it will be lost, damaged or stolen while it was under your possession.

If you were the one lending your car to a friend, or if you want to have additional named driver to your car but not to be written under your personal car insurance policy, you may also consider advising your friend to get a short term car insurance. In this way, in case he’ll get into a road accident involving your car, claims will be filed against the short term insurance and not against your personal car insurance policy.

You may also want to purchase a short term insurance if you’ve just bought your car and needs to drive it immediately but you are still looking for an annual car insurance policy yet.

Having a temporary car insurance will cover you for the liabilities that you may have to other people in case you caused an accident while driving a car during the short duration of time. Even if you’re just temporarily using the car, we cannot be sure when accidents could happen. Thus, the temporary car insurance is very essential.

As the name imply, temporary car insurance should only be temporary. It is only good for a few days or weeks. Longer than that, you should consider getting an annual policy since it’s more cost-effective.

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