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Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
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Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing experience
NPN: 21630969
Updated
In North Carolina, there isn’t any short-term car insurance, such as daily, weekly, or monthly policies. All North Carolina insurance companies offer auto insurance with either a six-month policy or a 12-month policy. Additionally, unless you pay in advance for your entire policy, you’ll need to make monthly premium payments.
You may be looking for temporary car insurance for a number of reasons, like when borrowing a friend’s car, staying with a family member and using their car, traveling, renting a vehicle, or waiting for a long-term auto insurance policy to start. But even though there’s no such thing as temporary car insurance in North Carolina, you still have several alternative insurance options.
You need to make sure you have continuous coverage, even if the break between one policy and the next is short. Any lapse in coverage can have serious consequences if you’re caught driving uninsured. North Carolina may revoke your license plate after a lapse in coverage and charge you fees of $50–$150, plus another $50 fee to return you to good standing. You may also have to pay civil penalties, interest, and late fees in addition to these costs.[1]
Although there’s no short-term car insurance in North Carolina, the table below lists the cheapest car insurance companies in the Tar Heel State offering standard auto insurance policies.
Insurance Company | Average Monthly Quote |
|---|---|
| Erie | $56 |
| Progressive | $61 |
| GEICO | $64 |
| Direct Auto | $65 |
| National General | $65 |
| Liberty Mutual | $66 |
| Safeco | $68 |
| Travelers | $70 |
| Dairyland | $75 |
| Allstate | $76 |
| State Farm | $92 |
Liability quotes start at $56/mo.
The best short-term car insurance alternative for you depends on your specific situation and why you need temporary coverage. Some common reasons for needing temporary car insurance include borrowing a friend’s car, staying with a family member and using their car, traveling, renting a car, and waiting for a long-term policy to begin.
In the table below, you’ll see which insurers are the best fit for various situations so you can determine the best way to maintain continuous coverage.
Situation | Best Option | How It Works | Watch For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drivers who need insurance for a short period | Early cancellation | Purchase a standard six-month policy and cancel it when you no longer need it | Some insurance companies charge fees for early cancellation |
| Drivers with a second vehicle | Pay-per-mile insurance | You pay a monthly base rate plus a per-mile fee; the insurer uses telematics to track your monthly mileage | You may pay higher costs if you drive a lot, and some states may have regulatory limits |
| Low-mile or seasonal drivers | Usage-based insurance | Your monthly premiums reflect your behavior behind the wheel; the insurer uses telematics to track your driving habits | Unsafe driving habits may increase your auto insurance costs |
| Drivers who frequently borrow a friend’s car | Non-owner car insurance | This liability coverage follows the driver, rather than the car and helps pay for property damage or bodily injury to others if you cause a car accident | Doesn’t cover personal injury protection or damage to the car you’re driving |
| Travelers renting a car for vacation or business | Rental car insurance | This kind of insurance may cover the rental vehicle’s property damage and loss via collision damage waiver, supplemental liability coverage, personal accident insurance, and personal effects coverage | Rental car insurance can be expensive since it’s often charged as a daily premium, and you may also be on the hook for out-of-pocket costs |
| Someone who will borrow a family member’s car for a short period | Joining someone else’s policy | You must add a driver to your policy if they live in your household and have access to your car | This can increase the auto insurance costs for the primary policyholder |
| Drivers who will be traveling for a long period | Stored-vehicle coverage | This is a type of comprehensive coverage that pays for damage to the stored vehicle while you’re away | You have no property damage or bodily injury liability coverage if you drive the car |
Best for: Drivers who need traditional auto insurance for their own vehicle for a short period. For example, if you’re planning to sell your car, leave the country, or move somewhere with public transportation.
How it works: Simply cancel your six-month policy prior to the end of the term. You may have to pay early cancellation fees, and not all states require insurers to disclose these fees. You can ask insurers to outline these cancellation fees when shopping around for an auto insurance policy.
Best for: Drivers with a second vehicle. For example, if you have a convertible that you drive only during warm weather, pay-per-mile insurance could be a good fit.
How it works: This insurance charges you a base monthly premium, plus a per-mile fee determined using telematics. Putting a lot of miles on your car could make this option more expensive than standard insurance options.
Best for: Low-mile or seasonal drivers. For example, snowbirds who drive only while they’re living in one of their homes may benefit from usage-based insurance. Similarly, drivers who work from home may also like this kind of insurance.
How it works: Usage-based insurance bases your monthly premium on your driving behavior, which the insurer tracks via telematics. Safe drivers and low-mileage drivers can generally expect to save money. But risky driving behaviors can cause your insurance costs to go up with usage-based insurance.
Best for: Drivers who don’t own a car. For example, someone who frequently borrows a friend’s car may be interested in a non-owner policy. But non-owner insurance can also provide continuous coverage for a driver who doesn’t currently have a car and doesn’t want a lapse in coverage. This is often a consideration after receiving a DUI.
How it works: Non-owner car insurance in North Carolina typically offers the state’s minimum required coverage for bodily injury liability and property damage liability, as well as uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.[2] This coverage follows the driver, rather than the vehicle. But a non-owner policy won’t cover damage to the car you’re driving, nor does it offer personal injury protection.
Best for: Travelers renting a car. For example, drivers who get behind the wheel only when they rent a car may benefit from rental car coverage.
How it works: Rental car companies typically offer optional rental car insurance when you pick up the vehicle. If you pay for the rental car with a credit card, many of these protections may also be covered by your credit card without paying for separate rental car coverage. Additionally, rental car insurance can get expensive since you pay for it by the day.
Best for: Drivers with regular access to a car. For example, anyone with a valid driver’s license who lives in a household with a car needs to be added to the auto policy covering that vehicle. In addition, a driver who plans to regularly borrow a friend’s car should be added to their policy.
How it works: A policyholder has the right to give permissive use of their vehicle to someone else. If the other driver gets into an accident, permissive use means the auto insurance policy covers the costs the same way it would if the policyholder had been driving. But permissive use is for occasional rather than regular use. Uninsured drivers with regular access to a car must join the policy covering that car. Depending on the added driver’s history on the road, this could increase the policyholder’s monthly premium.
Best for: Drivers planning to store their vehicle. For example, travelers who plan to garage their car while they’re away and active-duty military members who are deployed.
How it works: While there’s no dedicated car storage insurance product, these are typically comprehensive-only insurance policies people use while storing their vehicles. These policies cover any non-collision damage your vehicle suffers while it’s in storage. But it doesn’t pay for things like wear and tear, and you have no property damage liability or bodily injury liability coverage if you take the car for a spin without replacing your regular coverage.
Save up to $1,100 per year on coverage
How much you’ll pay for different temporary car insurance options depends on a number of factors.
The price of a standard six-month policy that you plan to cancel when you no longer need it will depend on whether you choose liability-only coverage or full coverage, how you set your deductibles, your liability limits, and whether your insurer charges cancellation fees. Your driving history and credit can also affect your monthly premium.[3]
A non-owner policy is typically cheaper than a standard six-month policy, since it covers less. But your driver profile can affect your costs, especially if you’re purchasing non-owner insurance after a DWI citation.
Pay-per-mile and usage-based insurance can potentially offer significant savings for low-mileage drivers. But if you inadvertently drive more than expected or practice unsafe driving habits, these insurance options could be more expensive than a standard six-month policy.
The best way to determine the actual cost of any temporary auto insurance alternative is to request quotes from multiple insurance companies. Make sure you ask about cancellation fees and discounts, look at comparable liability limits, and compare similar deductibles.
With the exceptions of non-owner car insurance and stored-vehicle coverage, most of the temporary car insurance alternatives in North Carolina allow you to choose your coverage types within the policy. This means your coverage will depend on what level you choose and your situation.
These are the common coverage types you may typically choose when purchasing temporary car insurance alternatives in North Carolina.
All auto insurance policies in North Carolina must meet minimum liability requirements, which include bodily injury liability, property damage liability, and uninsured/underinsured motorist liability coverage.
This optional coverage will pay to repair damage to your vehicle if you’re at fault in an accident.
Another optional coverage, this insurance will help pay for damage to your vehicle from anything other than a collision, such as weather, fire, or vandalism.
If you’re injured in an accident that you caused, PIP will help cover your medical payments.
Depending on what type of temporary car insurance alternative you purchase, the policy will have important limits and exclusions. Make sure you understand what the type of policy you’re considering doesn’t cover.
Specifically, here are the common exclusions for each temporary car insurance alternative in North Carolina:[4]
Standard car insurance: Typically excludes routine maintenance, intentional damage, commercial use, unlisted drivers, and personal items stolen from the vehicle.
Pay-per-mile and usage-based insurance: May exclude optional coverage beyond state-minimum liability requirements, collision coverage, and comprehensive coverage, depending on the size of the insurer.
Non-owner car insurance: Excludes any collision or comprehensive coverage.
Stored-vehicle coverage: Excludes liability coverage and collision coverage.
North Carolina state law requires all drivers to carry the following minimum levels of auto insurance coverage:[1]
Bodily injury liability coverage: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
Property damage liability coverage: $50,000
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: North Carolina requires uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage policy limits at the same level as bodily injury and property damage coverage. This currently means $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury liability coverage and $50,000 for property damage liability coverage.
Full-coverage quotes in North Carolina start at $89/mo.
It’s illegal to drive in North Carolina without car insurance, and drivers who risk it face serious penalties.
North Carolina requires insurance companies to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) if liability coverage on a vehicle is canceled or lapses for any reason. The DMV will then send an insurance termination notice to the car’s registered owner, who has 10 days to respond; otherwise, the DMV considers the insurance lapsed.
North Carolina imposes a $50 fee for the first insurance lapse, a $100 fee for a second lapse, and a $150 fee for every subsequent lapse.
But there are additional penalties, according to the North Carolina DMV. Each time there’s a lapse in coverage, North Carolina may revoke your vehicle’s license plate, which will require a $50 restoration fee to return your vehicle to good standing. You may also face civil penalties, late fees, interest, and collections on top of the listed fees, which can make any lapse in coverage much more expensive.
Drivers with a DUI citation may need their insurer to file a DL-123 insurance form (similar to the SR-22 form other states require) to serve as proof of insurance.[5]
If you’re looking for temporary auto insurance in North Carolina, the answers to the following questions can help you find a policy that will give you the best coverage for your needs.
No. There’s no such thing as daily, weekly, or monthly car insurance in North Carolina.
No. If you need only one month’s worth of coverage, it might make sense to purchase a standard six-month policy and cancel it early, although you may have to pay cancellation fees.
The cheapest alternative depends on your specific circumstances and coverage needs. Someone who doesn’t own a car but has access to one may find that a non-owner policy is their cheapest option, while someone who owns a car but plans to sell it within the next two months may find it cheaper to buy a standard six-month policy and cancel it early. If you drive only occasionally, pay-per-mile or usage-based insurance might be the cheapest option.
No. You must always have coverage under someone’s insurance, even if it’s not your own. For example, you might borrow a friend’s car for a single errand, which means you have coverage under permissive use. But if you regularly use your friend’s car, you must either be on the friend’s insurance policy or have your own non-owner policy.
At a minimum, North Carolina charges uninsured drivers $50 for the first lapse in coverage. But there’s also a $50 fee for reinstatement of the vehicle’s license plate, and there may also be civil penalties, late fees, interest, and collections on top of that listed fee.
North Carolina requires all drivers to carry these minimum liability coverages:
Bodily injury liability coverage: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
Property damage liability coverage: $50,000
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: Policy limits at the same level as bodily injury and property damage coverage
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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Plutus Award winner
Over 12 years writing about insurance and personal finance
Featured in
Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing experience
NPN: 20461358
Featured in
Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing experience
NPN: 21630969
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