Temporary Car Insurance in Florida

True temporary car insurance isn’t available in Florida, but drivers can still find short-term coverage options. One common approach is to purchase a standard auto policy and cancel it early if it’s no longer needed.

Some insurers also provide flexible monthly plans. For those without a vehicle, rental car insurance or non-owner policies may be good alternatives.

While there is no specific way of securing temporary car insurance in Florida, MoneyGeek’s research can help you identify various ways to buy the appropriate coverage for your needs.

• Need a full car insurance policy temporarily? Buy and cancel.
• Don’t own a car? Look into non-owner Insurance.
• Renting a car? Buy from the rental company or use your own policy.
• Working for a rideshare company? Buy rideshare insurance.
• Want to add or remove a driver? Alter your policy.
• Do you have student drivers? Add them to your policy.
• Do you have a stored car? You may qualify for a short-term discount.

In most states, insurers only sell car insurance policies with a minimum period of six months. In Florida, drivers pay an average of $1,104 for a 6-month temporary policy. That means you can only get short-term policies by canceling your temporary coverage early.

Typically, insurance providers will refund the balance of your policy premium from the time of cancellation. For instance, if you purchase temporary coverage for six months but you cancel after three months, you will pay roughly half the six-month cost, which is around $552.

Also, make sure that you do not have a lapse in your coverage when canceling your temporary policy since this can result in higher annual premiums.

If you do not own a car but need proof of insurance before your suspended license gets reinstated, purchasing non-owner car insurance may be the best option in Florida. On average, the cost of non-owner car insurance in the state is $999 per year.

Non-owner insurance is the most affordable policy for drivers who do not own cars but need to file an SR-22 with Florida.

If you already have car insurance, you may not need to buy rental car insurance because your policy should cover the costs if you get involved in an accident.

Additionally, various credit card companies offer collision damage waiver insurance for rental cars. This can help you save money.

Florida drivers who work for a rideshare company get temporary insurance coverage once they accept fare or start transporting a passenger. This leaves a lapse in coverage between fares and can be a great place for rideshare insurance to fill in this gap.

However, rideshare insurance policies vary across the states, and you can use MoneyGeek’s comparison to select the best rideshare provider that suits your needs while in Florida.

If you already have auto insurance in Florida but need to add or remove coverage, MoneyGeek recommends that you make changes to your existing policy. Drivers typically want to know about short-term car insurance if their teenager goes to college, when they are storing their vehicle or if someone is borrowing their car.

Ensuring your child is listed on your car insurance policy is crucial if they reside with you in Florida. When they attend college more than 100 miles away without a vehicle, you might qualify for a “distant student” discount, potentially reducing your premiums.  Alternatively, maintaining them on your policy ensures coverage during visits home. Consult your insurer to explore available options and discounts.

If you want to store your car in Florida, you can save money by asking your insurer for a car storage discount or making your coverage comprehensive-only.

In Florida, comprehensive and collision coverage with a deductible of $1,000 costs an average of $337 per year. That’s cheaper than the average annual cost of $1,206 for policies that include liability coverage.

Drivers from a military background and those on active duty may consider getting coverage from USAA, which not only provides the cheapest policies in the state but also offers car storage discounts to policyholders. An annual policy from USAA costs an average of $944.

If you allow someone that you don’t live with to drive your car in Florida, you do not need to add them to your policy since they are already covered. However, members of your household will need to be added to your insurance policy if they intend to drive your car regularly.

While the standard minimum duration for car insurance is typically six months, MoneyGeek also determined costs for policies with lower time spans, including 90-day and 30-day policies.

The most affordable insurance carriers in Florida for a three-month policy are GEICO with $334 per 90 days rate and State Farm with $467 per 90 days rate.

The costs used in this guide exclude cancellation fees since most insurers do not charge cancellation fees. After canceling your policy, insurance providers give you a refund for the months you have not used in your policy.

MoneyGeek obtained analysis data from Jacksonville and discovered that rental car policy costs range from roughly $46 to $57 per day. The cheapest provider in the state is Enterprise, at around $46 per year, while Avis and Hertz both charge $57 per year on average. This covers liability insurance as well as add-on coverages like personal accident insurance, supplemental liability and collision damage waiver.

Drivers who live with their children in Florida need to add them to their auto insurance policy. This may result in higher premiums. It costs around $4,403 to add an 18-year-old to your policy in Florida.

Based on MoneyGeek’s research, it costs an average of $734 in Florida to add a student to a policy for two months. Adding them for a year costs roughly $3,669 more.

In Florida, the company that saves you the most money if you temporarily exclude a student from your policy is Allied. Parents save roughly $7,498 with this insurer.

In Florida, obtaining temporary car insurance typically involves purchasing a standard six-month policy and canceling it early, with companies like GEICO offering one-month coverage for approximately $111. Alternatively, non-owner or rental car insurance can provide short-term solutions. In this article, we discussed these options to help you choose the best temporary coverage for your needs.

Temporary car insurance provides coverage to car owners and non-car owners alike. Here are some of the commonly asked questions about temporary coverage in Florida.

MoneyGeek compiled Florida auto insurance rates by collecting data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and Quadrant Information Services. We examined 240 quotes from five providers to identify the state's best and most affordable options.

Coverage Levels

We compared non-owner car insurance rates from companies in Florida using minimum coverage policies. The state-required minimum coverage includes:

• $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP)
• $10,000 in property damage liability

Drivers and Cars in Florida

To find the best and most affordable companies for non-owner car insurance in Florida, we used a sample driver profile with the following characteristics:

• 40-year-old male
• 2012 Toyota Camry LE
• Clean driving record
• Good credit history
• 12,000 miles driven annually

We modified the sample profile for SR-22 rates to include an at-fault accident causing property damage between $1,000 and $1,999.

Learn more about MoneyGeek's car insurance methodology.