Less Than One Month
If you only need the policy for an extremely short amount of time your best option is to go with one of the online vendors. These companies specialize in short term auto insurance policies and therefore have applying for and receiving the insurance down to a very rapid science. It is extremely simple to apply online. You will need the registration number for your car, your driver’s license number, the make and model of your car, and other basic information. Once you fill out this information and submit it – provided there are no major problems, you haven’t received 8 tickets in the last six months for example – then you will be able to print out your temporary insurance cards in under and hour.
The beauty of this method is that it is quick, and you never have to talk to a short term car insurance salesman. Not that salesmen are bad, you’re just never completely sure that you’re getting the best deal. If you don’t need insurance in the next couple of hours, it’s not a bad idea to go to several of these websites and get different quotes before committing to one company. However, keep in mind that the shorter amount of time you need the policy, the less the price will matter. In other words, you’re probably not going to save 100’s of dollars no matter what you do, if you only need the policy for a week. Also, it is difficult to find this type of company in the United States. Online companies are more easily found in the UK.
One Month To Six Months
If you need a temporary policy for lengthier amount of time, it is a good idea to get several short term auto insurance quotes; both from online companies that specialize in temporary auto insurance, and from traditional companies. Again, this will depend on your circumstances, if you are only going to need the policy for two months, it might not be worth a ton of hassle and research to get your policy. You may just want to take the first policy that has a reasonable price.
There are however, some things to consider when working with an online company that only sells short term auto insurance. One, I couldn’t find any type of company or website that rated these companies on items such as customer service, percentage of payouts when a claim is made etc. You do run the risk of dealing with a headache should you have to make a claim.
If you have a great insurance rep at your usual auto insurance company, by all means consult with him and see what he can do for you. Most companies do offer short term insurance. It won’t be as quick of a process, but if you trust and like your company it may be worth the wait. If you aren’t satisfied with your company, call a couple of other traditional companies and see how their rates match up, I know that Geico and State Farm offer temporary policies in addition to their traditional ones.
Longer than 6 Months
In this situation it is usually best to buy a full term policy and then pay the cancellation costs. This is often cheaper than continually renewing your temporary policy. Of course, talk to an insurance representative about it, to make sure you are getting the best deal.