120+ more)
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Licensed auto and home insurance agent
4+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
NPN: 20564519
Featured in
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Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing experience
NPN: 21630969
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25 years teaching risk management and insurance course
Former commercial lines underwriter
Updated
Non-owner insurance is a type of car insurance for drivers without a car. It provides liability coverage when you occasionally drive a vehicle you don’t own.
A non-owner car insurance policy in California pays for bodily injury and property damage liability if you cause an accident. It doesn’t pay for damage to the vehicle you’re driving. The vehicle owner’s auto insurance policy usually handles that.
For example, if you borrow your friend’s car and rear-end another driver, your non-owner coverage can help pay the other driver’s medical expenses and repair costs after you exhaust your friend’s liability limits. The vehicle owner’s collision coverage would pay for the damage to their car.
Non-owner policies average $47 per month
California doesn’t require non-owner car insurance coverage for every driver. But it requires you to take financial responsibility for any vehicle you drive on public roads, even if you don’t own the car.[1] The most cost-effective way to do that, if you aren’t a car owner, is to get a non-owner auto insurance policy that meets or exceeds the state’s minimum requirements.
California’s minimum liability requirements for all drivers are at least:[2]
$30,000 per person for bodily injury liability
$60,000 per accident for bodily injury
$15,000 per accident for property damage liability
Even though buying the minimum coverage satisfies California law, it’s likely not enough to protect you financially. Buying enough liability insurance to cover your net worth can protect your finances if you cause a serious accident.
Non-owner car insurance makes sense for California drivers who don’t own a vehicle but still drive regularly. California law may require non-owner coverage if you need an SR-22 filing after a suspended driver’s license or driving under the influence (DUI) conviction.
You might need a non-owner policy if you:
Borrow cars from friends or family
Drive a rental car for work or travel, and you don’t buy the rental company’s optional insurance
Need SR-22 insurance but don’t own a vehicle
Want continuous coverage to avoid higher rates later
Use a rideshare or car-sharing service
Non-owner insurance provides secondary coverage, meaning the vehicle owner’s primary policy covers an accident you cause before your policy starts paying. That can happen if their liability coverage isn’t enough to cover all the damages. If the car’s owner has low coverage limits, non-owner auto insurance with higher limits can help protect you when driving.
An SR-22 is a form that proves you meet the state’s minimum car insurance requirements. You may need an SR-22 in California if the state or a court mandates it, which is usually after a:
DUI conviction
Reckless driving conviction
Driving without insurance or enough coverage
Having too many violations in your driving history
Drivers who don’t own a vehicle can meet the SR-22 requirement with a non-owner car insurance policy. If you’re in a collision without insurance, the state can suspend your license for up to four years. But by filing an SR-22 and maintaining it for three years, you can reinstate your driving privileges.[3]
To file, you buy coverage from an insurance company that offers SR-22 services, pay a filing fee, and have the insurer submit the form to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) electronically. SR-22 requirements apply to high-risk drivers, so if you need one, your insurance rates may be higher than for someone with a clean driving record.
In California, liability insurance costs $96 per month, while full coverage averages $200, according to Insurify data.
At $47, non-owner insurance is usually less expensive than a standard liability-only policy. This is because the insurer is insuring you, the driver, rather than a specific vehicle. It also costs less than a full-coverage policy, which includes collision and comprehensive coverage for a vehicle you own.
More than 20% of California drivers are uninsured, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Adding optional coverages like uninsured motorist and medical payments coverage (MedPay) to your non-owner policy can increase your California car insurance costs. But it can also help cover your injuries and property damage if someone hits you and has no insurance or insufficient liability coverage to pay your expenses.
Below is how much non-owner car insurance costs in California compared to the national average, according to Insurify data.
Non-Owner Car Insurance | Average Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| California average | $47 |
| National average | $46 |
Find a non-owner policy and get covered in minutes
Follow these steps to get non-owner car insurance in California:
Compare car insurance quotes from several insurers that offer non-owner coverage.
Confirm that the insurance company offers SR-22 filing services if you need it, and what the filing fee is.
Decide how much liability coverage you need beyond California’s minimum requirements.
Consider adding optional coverages, like uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) or MedPay, to your policy for additional protection.
You typically need a valid driver’s license to qualify for non-owner auto insurance. But some insurers may work with drivers who are reinstating driving privileges. Be honest about your driving history because insurers check your driving record before issuing a policy.
If you buy a vehicle later, you must switch from a non-owner policy to a standard auto insurance policy that covers that car. Non-owner policies don’t extend coverage to a newly purchased vehicle, as traditional car insurance policies usually do, so you’ll need to get a vehicle-specific policy in place before finalizing your purchase.
Below are answers to common questions about non-owner car insurance in California.
Yes. California insurers offer non-owner car insurance for drivers who don’t own a vehicle but still need liability coverage to occasionally drive someone else’s car.
Non-owner insurance doesn’t cover damage to the car you’re driving. The vehicle owner’s insurance coverage generally applies first, so their collision coverage would pay for the damages. Although non-owner insurance doesn’t have a deductible, collision coverage usually does.
Yes. Non-owner insurance is a type of policy for Californians who drive cars they don’t own. It provides liability coverage for the driver in any vehicle they drive, whether it’s a friend’s, a relative’s, or a rental car.
Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 250 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 500+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.
Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).
Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:
Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.
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Licensed auto and home insurance agent
4+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
NPN: 20564519
Featured in
Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing experience
NPN: 21630969
25 years teaching risk management and insurance course
Former commercial lines underwriter
At Insurify, our goal is to help customers compare insurance products and find the best policy for them. We strive to provide open, honest, and unbiased information about the insurance products and services we review. Our hard-working team of data analysts, insurance experts, insurance agents, editors and writers, has put in thousands of hours of research to create the content found on our site.
We do receive compensation when a sale or referral occurs from many of the insurance providers and marketing partners on our site. That may impact which products we display and where they appear on our site. But it does not influence our meticulously researched editorial content, what we write about, or any reviews or recommendations we may make. We do not guarantee favorable reviews or any coverage at all in exchange for compensation.
