20+ years in insurance and personal finance content creation
Contributor to top brands like USA Today
John specializes in insurance, personal finance, real estate, and health and wellness. In 2022, he authored a guide on content marketing for beginners.
3+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
Katie uses her knowledge and expertise as a licensed property and casualty agent in Massachusetts to help readers understand the complexities of insurance shopping.
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Drivers in New Jersey may be able to buy temporary car insurance. However, most reputable car insurance companies don’t sell policies with terms lasting less than six months. On average, a six-month liability policy in New Jersey costs $246 per month. And a six-month full-coverage policy costs $298 per month on average.
Quick Facts
New Jersey requires drivers to carry a minimum amount of car insurance, including liability, personal injury protection (PIP), and uninsured motorist coverage.
New Jersey motorists can obtain short-term, or temporary, coverage by purchasing nonowner car insurance.
Driving while uninsured in New Jersey can result in fines, driver’s license suspension, mandated community service, and more.
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Is temporary car insurance available in New Jersey?
Car insurance companies in New Jersey typically won’t let you buy car insurance for a period shorter than six months.[1] Though some insurers may promote temporary insurance, such as a one-month policy, a policy shorter than six months might be inadequate or even an outright scam.
“Temporary car insurance is offered across the U.S. but can be challenging to find — depending on your location — and could be extremely expensive,” says Mark Friedlander, director of corporate communications at the Insurance Information Institute. “That’s because most national and regional insurers do not offer short-term auto coverage. The cost of underwriting risk for such a minimal time frame outweighs the benefits of selling this type of coverage.”
If you’re looking for temporary car insurance in New Jersey, you do have a few reliable options, including nonowner car insurance, cancellation of an existing policy, and rental car insurance.
Getting nonowner car insurance in New Jersey
Nonowner insurance provides basic liability coverage when you don’t own a car. It pays for damage and injury you may cause to others when you’re driving a borrowed car. Nonowner insurance doesn’t cover damages to the car you’re borrowing or your injuries.[2]
Nonowner insurance works like a standard liability coverage policy for a car owner. A standard liability policy covers damage and injuries that the owner causes to others.[3]
You can typically purchase a nonowner policy for either six or 12 months. You might need a nonowner policy in one of the following situations:
You frequently borrow someone else’s car.
You want to continue coverage when you’re temporarily without a car.
You need to maintain coverage after a serious traffic violation, like a DUI.[4]
If you really need to, you can cancel a standard policy before the policy’s term expires. You might need to stop the coverage early if you’re switching to another insurer or moving to a state where your current insurer doesn’t do business.
You can cancel your car insurance whenever you want, regardless of the reason, but you may need to pay a cancellation fee. In some cases, you can cancel your policy online or over the phone, but certain insurers may require you to submit paperwork.
Since New Jersey requires liability coverage, you’ll need to obtain a new policy when canceling your current policy if you plan to drive your vehicle. And if you financed your car, the lender may require you to carry comprehensive and collision coverages too.
“You cannot drive a car without insurance in New Jersey, regardless of the situation,” says Gary La Spisa, vice president of the Insurance Council of New Jersey. If you do drive without car insurance in New Jersey, you could face fines, jail time, or suspension of your driver’s license or vehicle registration.[5]
Getting car insurance for a rental car in New Jersey
If you’re renting a car in New Jersey, your existing insurance policy may cover you, so you might not need to buy coverage from the rental car company. But if you file a claim related to a rental car incident, your premium for your existing policy could increase.[6]
You can also sometimes get rental car protection through the credit card you use to rent a car. Now, if you don’t want to risk the possibility of filing a rental car claim with your insurance company, you might consider purchasing temporary coverage from the rental car company when you book or pick up the rental car.
Best car insurance companies for short-term car insurance in New Jersey
The table below shows the average monthly liability-only quotes for a six-month car insurance policy in New Jersey. Quotes can vary significantly, based on a number of factors, including your age, driving history, and where you live in the Garden State.
The below rates are estimated rates current as of: Thursday, November 30 at 11:00 AM PST.
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
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How Insurify rates car insurance companies
Data scientists at Insurify analyzed more than 40 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partner providers across the United States to compile the car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations displayed on this page.
The car insurance data includes coverage analysis and details on drivers’ vehicles, driving records, and demographic information. Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.
With this information, Insurify is able to offer drivers insight into how companies price their car insurance premiums. The data included on this page represent averages across driver ages, genders, credit scores, and driver profiles for New Jersey drivers.
College students in New Jersey may have special car insurance needs, depending on how they plan to use their vehicles and whether they moved to New Jersey for college.
Some students may have moved to New Jersey to attend school and plan to drive their car while there. In most circumstances, a college student can stay on their parents’ policy if they’re only temporarily away from home for college.
Many students attending college in New Jersey may also decide to leave their car at home while at school. If the student goes to school more than 100 miles from home and doesn’t plan on driving an insured car, their parents can temporarily remove the student from the policy.
Parents can also qualify for a student-away-from-home discount if their student driver attends school 100 or more miles away but will still drive the car on occasion. Some insurers allow parents to downgrade their college student from a primary driver to an occasional driver.
Temporary car insurance in New Jersey FAQs
Although most car insurers in New Jersey don’t offer temporary coverage, you can still find short-term policies through nonowner insurance, policy cancellation, and rental car insurance.
Can you get temporary insurance in New Jersey?
It’s possible to get so-called temporary insurance, but car insurers in New Jersey and elsewhere typically only sell policies that last either six or 12 months. You can obtain shorter-term insurance through a nonowner policy or a car rental policy.
Is temporary car insurance legit?
Temporary car insurance is available, but it may not be legit. Major insurers don’t usually sell temporary car insurance. In fact, any policy shorter than six months might lack adequate coverage or be a scam. If you need temporary coverage, you might look into buying a six-month policy and canceling it early, but you may have to pay a cancellation fee. You might try pay-per-mile insurance if you don’t drive that often.
Can you drive a car without insurance if you just bought it in New Jersey?
You must provide proof of insurance before you take possession of a new or used vehicle at a dealership, according to Gary La Spisa, vice president of the Insurance Council of New Jersey. The state requires a minimum amount of liability, personal injury protection (PIP), and uninsured motorist coverage.[7] Some insurers do provide a grace period, such as seven days, for notifying them about a newly purchased car that you plan to add to an existing policy.
How long can you be without car insurance in New Jersey?
All drivers in New Jersey must have proof of car insurance. So you can’t drive while uninsured in the Garden State. If you receive a conviction for driving without insurance, you’ll face a fine between $300 and $1,000. The state may also mandate community service and revoke your driver’s license for up to one year.
John Egan is a freelance writer and content marketing strategist in Austin, Texas. His specialties include personal finance, real estate, and health and wellness. John’s work has been published by outlets such as CreditCard.com, Bankrate, Forbes Advisor, Experian, Capital One, The Balance and U.S. News & World Report. He is the author of The Stripped-Down Guide to Content Marketing.
Edited byKatie PowersAuto and Life Insurance Editor
Katie PowersAuto and Life Insurance Editor
Licensed auto and home insurance agent
3+ years experience in insurance and personal finance editing
Katie uses her knowledge and expertise as a licensed property and casualty agent in Massachusetts to help readers understand the complexities of insurance shopping.
