One-Day Car Insurance

One-day car insurance, also called daily car insurance, refers to temporary auto coverage lasting 24 hours or a few days. Such coverage for just 24 hours is not available. Be cautious of providers claiming to offer such coverage. Most major insurers offer policies with a minimum term of six months. You may fall victim to an insurance scam if you're not careful.

One-day car insurance costs about $4 on average nationwide, but that's not what you'll actually pay. Since insurers don't sell true daily policies, you're looking at the prorated cost of buying a standard policy and canceling it immediately—and you'll still owe at least one month's premium plus any cancellation fees.

Shopping around helps you find the cheapest temporary coverage. If you're buying a six-month policy with plans to cancel after a day or week, find an insurer that doesn't charge cancellation fees so you'll get a full refund for unused premiums. The table below shows what you'll pay on average for three-month and six-month coverage across all states and Washington, D.C.:

* Rates above are for a full car insurance policy with 100/300/100 limits. Rates may vary in your state based on your desired coverage.

One-day car insurance doesn't exist as a standalone product, but you have several alternatives for temporary coverage. The most common solution is buying a standard six-month policy online and canceling it early, though you'll pay at least one month's premium and potentially a cancellation fee.

You can get one-day coverage through rental companies, your credit card or by extending your existing auto policy for rental cars. If you're borrowing someone else's car, the owner's insurance may already cover you through permissive use, eliminating the need for separate coverage.

We answer common questions about one-day car insurance and temporary coverage options:

Drivers needing short-term coverage face a frustrating reality: most insurers require six-month or annual policies, making true one-day car insurance nearly impossible to find. We built this analysis to show you what temporary coverage actually costs when you buy a standard policy and cancel early, so you can make informed decisions about your short-term insurance needs without overpaying.

Car insurance rates vary based on multiple factors. We analyzed 83,056 quotes from 46 companies across 473 ZIP codes to calculate average costs for short-term coverage options and show you the financial impact of early cancellation.

We used a 40-year-old male with a clean driving record operating a 2012 Toyota Camry LE, logging 12,000 miles annually. From there, we adjusted age, gender, vehicle type, credit score, and driving record to reflect different situations common in short-term insurance needs.

Our primary analysis used 100/300/100 comprehensive and collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible: $100,000 bodily injury liability per person, $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident, and $100,000 property damage liability per accident. You'll pay the $1,000 deductible out-of-pocket before your insurance covers the rest, with higher deductibles generally leading to lower premiums.

We also analyzed 50/100/50 liability-only and 50/100/50 comprehensive and collision policies, calculating costs for annual, six-month, and monthly payment options to show how canceling early affects your total cost.

Finding accurate one-day car insurance rates is challenging because standard policies require longer commitments. Understanding how insurers calculate these rates helps you evaluate your short-term coverage options and avoid overpaying for temporary financial protection. Our analysis reveals the true costs of buying standard policies with plans to cancel early, including any fees or refund calculations that affect what you actually pay.