What is Temporary Car Insurance? Do I Need It in Florida?

Understanding Temporary Car Insurance in Florida

In the state of Florida, you cannot drive a vehicle without car insurance. If you are between policies or have borrowed a car, it may make sense to purchase temporary car insurance, while you shop around for a better or less expensive policy. It’s important to understand that temporary car insurance usually means purchasing a six-month policy.

In fact, most car insurance companies only offer 6 or 12-month policies. While car insurance with shorter durations used to be more popular, they are now extremely hard to find, and in some cases, completely banned. The reasoning behind the discontinuation of car insurance policies for less than six months was that insurance providers found that drivers would only insure their vehicles in order to renew their car’s registration and plates. Once they had their new plates, the drivers would cancel the policy. This led to people driving who did not have car insurance. Today, driving without car insurance is illegal, and anyone caught driving without insurance could face fines, driver’s license suspensions, and the impounding of their vehicle.

Temporary Car Insurance When Renting a Car

If you are planning to rent a car for a vacation or for another reason, the car rental agency typically offers temporary car insurance for the length of the rental. This insurance offers some protection if you were to get into a car accident while driving the rental company’s car. Typically, these coverages include liability, collision, comprehensive and bodily injury. However, before agreeing to purchase car insurance from the rental company, make sure you understand what it does and does not cover.

If you already have an insurance policy for your car, it might also cover any cars you may rent.

Therefore, it’s best to check with your insurance agent to determine if your existing auto insurance policy also covers you if you are driving a rented vehicle. If your existing coverage does cover rental cars, you could save money when renting a vehicle.

Should You Get Temporary Car Insurance in Florida?

The truth is that you may not be able to find car insurance in Florida that lasts less than six months. Not to mention, if you change policies frequently, you could accidentally create lapses in your car insurance coverage. While a lapse may not sound bad, especially if you are not driving your car while it’s uninsured, it can lead to higher premiums. This is because drivers who let their policies lapse for any reason while in the possession of a vehicle are considered high-risk drivers. Insurance companies assume that if you own a car and do not have insurance that you are driving the vehicle uninsured.

What to Do to Make Your Car Insurance More Affordable

Instead of looking for temporary car insurance every few months, consider getting a longer-term policy but taking steps to reduce the monthly premiums. One of the easiest ways to decrease the cost of an auto insurance policy is by raising the deductible. Deductibles typically apply to collision insurance, which is required if you still owe money on your car. By raising the deductible or the amount you pay for accident-related damage to your vehicle, you are assuming more of the risk. This typically results in lower monthly premiums.

If your car is paid off, you can choose to lower your car insurance to liability insurance only or state minimum insurance. Both of these coverages are less costly than full coverage. However, it’s important to note that if you are found to be the at-fault driver, you would be responsible for your own car repairs.

Lastly, make sure you are getting all the discounts you are eligible for, including good student, multi-line, defensive driving course discounts, low-mileage driver and car safety, and anti-theft discounts. If you aren’t sure if you are eligible for a discount, ask your insurance agent at Fearnow.

Car Insurance with Fearnow in Florida

Are you thinking about buying temporary car insurance for a vehicle that you are renting or won’t own or drive very long? Here at Fearnow Insurance in Florida, we offer many types of car insurance policies, even six-month policies.

If you need a car insurance policy for six months or longer, our agents in Florida can help. We offer car insurance policies that are tailored for your specific driving needs. Just give us a call at 813-689-8878.