Non-Owner Car Insurance Quotes

What Is Non-Owner Auto Insurance?

Non-owner car insurance is car insurance for someone who occasionally drives another person’s car.

How It Works

Non-owner car insurance usually only provides liability coverage, which is why it’s less expensive than regular insurance. Sometimes, you can add personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured motorist coverage to pay for your medical expenses and property damage from an uninsured driver, but that’s it. Otherwise, with liability coverage only, non-owner car insurance will cover the damage and injuries third parties incur from accidents you cause.

Of course, insurance rates would be higher if you had full coverage, so at least non-owner car insurance provides liability protection for a lower price.

What It Covers

• Bodily injuries you cause to another party
• Property damage you cause to another party
• Your medical costs, if you have PIP
• Your bodily injuries and property damages from accidents caused by uninsured drivers (sometimes)

What It Doesn’t Cover

• Your property damages
• Your injuries, if you lack PIP

Can You Get Car Insurance Without a Car?

Yes, you can get insurance without a car – non-owner car insurance, to be specific.

Can You Get Car Insurance Without a License?

You may be able to get auto insurance without a license so long as you won’t be the one driving the car. However, not every insurance company offers insurance to nonlicensed people. Look for companies like The Hartford that let you list yourself as an excluded driver, reducing the risk to the provider.

Who Needs Non-Owner Car Insurance?

• A person who will frequently rent a car
• Someone who is between vehicles and doesn’t want to have a gap in coverage (as continuous coverage leads to lower rates)
• Someone the state requires to file an SR-22 certificate but doesn’t own a car (for example, if you have a bad driving history that includes a DUI conviction)
• Someone who borrows a friend’s car

Who Doesn’t Need Non-Owner Car Insurance?

• A person who owns a car
• A person who drives the car of someone in their household and is listed as a secondary driver on their policy

• Look for companies that offer non-owner car insurance. Not every insurance company offers non-owner car insurance, but two popular providers that do are GEICO and Allstate.
• Compare quotes. Get quotes from all of the providers you’re considering, entering the same personal information for each company to get comparable quotes.
• Contact agents. Once you’ve compared quotes, contact agents from each company to see exactly what your premiums would be, as the quotes are just estimates.

Non-owner car insurance costs about $475 per year on average and is usually within the range of $200 to $600 annually. Because they’re typically only liability insurance, non-owner policies cost much less than regular car insurance. They also don’t have deductibles.

Here are the lowest annual rates we’ve come across.

• USAA: $252
• GEICO: $455
• Travelers: $476

• Remain at the scene. If you leave the scene without exchanging information, it’s technically a hit-and-run. Stay at the site of the accident so you can record evidence and exchange information with the other party.
• Contact the police. You’ll want to file a police report for your claim. You may also be legally required to report a car accident to the police, depending on your state, the severity of the damages, or the amount of the monetary losses.
• Take notes and pictures. Take photos of the damages and note the conditions of the day. You’ll want this evidence to bolster your claim.
• Exchange information. Give your contact information to the other driver and the insurance information for the car you’re driving, if you have it.
• Contact the owner. Let the car’s owner know you got into an accident and give them the other party’s contact information.

If the accident was your fault, the party you hit can file a third-party claim with the car owner’s insurance provider. Learn more about third-party insurance.

What happens next will depend on the owner’s policy. If the policy has a permissive use clause and you borrowed the car with permission, you’ll get coverage for the accident. If there is no permissive use clause and/or you’re listed as an excluded driver, you will not get coverage and could face legal and financial trouble.

Generally, insurance follows the car, not the driver. That’s why someone would want to get non-owner car insurance for a car they don’t own, and not for themselves as a person. If they drive someone else’s car with the owner’s permission and don’t have non-owner car insurance for it, the owner would be liable for any damages the non-owner causes to third parties while driving their car.

Does Car Insurance Cover Drivers Not on My Policy?

Most car insurance does cover drivers not on your policy through permissive use clauses. Essentially, these clauses apply to anyone not on your policy who drives your car occasionally and borrows it with your permission. Only let someone borrow your car if you trust them completely, as you’ll still be responsible for any accident damages, assuming they don’t have non-owner car insurance.

Classic Car Insurance

Classic car insurance is usually more expensive than regular car insurance, as classic cars are no longer manufactured and thus more expensive to repair.

Mexico Car Insurance

While you’ll have no trouble using your U.S. auto insurance in Canada, Mexico is another story. If you want to drive south of the border, it may require additional coverage.

Sports or Exotic Cars

You may need a special policy for a sports car or an exotic car. These cars are more costly to repair and typically lack safety features, so expect to pay way more for insurance.

If you need non-owner car insurance, you’ll be happy to know it costs less than regular car insurance. However, with a liability-only policy, keep in mind that only the other party’s losses will be covered. You should have a good relationship with the owner of the car you’re borrowing — and brush up on your borrowed car coverage while you’re at it.