Back for summer: How to borrow your parents’ car without hassle

Either way, you won’t have to commit to a full year’s cover. With temporary insurance, you’d only have to pay for the time you need.

What’s the difference between adding a named driver and getting short-term cover?

To become a named driver, parents add their child to their existing annual policy. As this is likely to be a mid-term adjustment (MTA), it will cost an admin fee and could push their premium up. If you have an accident while driving their car, the claim will be against their policy, meaning their no-claims bonus is affected - even if it wasn’t your fault.

With temporary car insurance, the child gets to take out a stand-alone policy that will run alongside their parents’ insurance. Completely separate to any existing cover, it’s comprehensive and will start at the time you suggest - for the time you need. Any claims will sit on this policy, not the parents - meaning their no claims bonus is unaffected.

Short-term cover could work better when someone only drives during half-terms, holidays and Christmas. Being a named driver may be more suitable if the child lives with their parents and needs to use the car on a more regular basis.

One thing to watch out for, especially if you’re a named driver, is the act of fronting. This illegal act happens when a named driver drives more than the main driver in order to keep costs down. If you’re found guilty of fronting, you could be given six penalty points and the policy could be invalidated completely.

How much does it cost?

The cost of insurance, whether temporary or annual, depends on a number of factors including:

• Your age
• How long you’ve held your licence
• The car make and model
• How long you need cover for

Younger and newer drivers tend to pay more for all types of cover, as they are deemed as being more at risk.

Adding a named driver to an annual policy typically means an admin fee (often somewhere between £25 and £50, depending on the insurer) plus a possible premium increase that can run into hundreds of pounds a year. That’s before factoring in any risk to the no-claims bonus…

Temporary cover works differently. You pay upfront for exactly the days you need, with no ongoing commitment and no effect on anyone else's policy. For a few days or a couple of weeks over summer, this often works out cheaper overall. But the only way to know for sure is to compare quotes.

What are the options for drivers with a provisional licence?

If students want to get extra practice in their parents’ car over the summer holidays, they can either be added as a named driver or take out some learner driver insurance. With the DVSA recommending 45 hours of professional driving lessons and 22 hours of private practice ahead of taking a test, a few days or weeks’ learner insurance can really help them master their skills.

There are some rules for learner drivers, especially around supervisors. They must:

• Be at least 21 years old (for Tempcover’s policies, it’s 25+)
• Hold a full licence for the type of car you’re driving
• Have held that licence for a minimum of three years

Both driver and supervisor should be sober and not use any devices with their hands. The supervisor needs to be ready to take over when needed. You also can’t pay a supervisor for their time.

What do parents need to know about children borrowing their car?

If your son or daughter wants to borrow the car, your no-claims bonus is at risk unless they've got their own policy. Temporary car insurance is a separate policy that allows them to drive without any impact on any existing no claims discount.

You should only let them drive the car once the policy has started and you have confirmation they are legally insured to drive it. This can be checked via the Motor Insurance Database (MID), the system the police and DVLA use to check cars are legally insured to be on the road.

If your child is not correctly insured, you could face a penalty or even have your car seized. With short-term cover, there will be no paperwork or time waiting around on hold. You can get them a quote in under 2 minutes via www.tempcover.com or our app.

How to get a Tempcover quote

Ready to share your summer driving with the family? You can get a quote for temporary car insurance from Tempcover in next to no time.

Sources

https://www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/car-insurance/temporary-car-insurance-amRaU8d6OwSM

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supervise-a-learner-driver

https://www.gov.uk/driving-lessons-learning-to-drive/practising-with-family-or-friends

https://readytopass.campaign.gov.uk/helping-learner-driver/rules-for-supervising-learner-driver/

https://www.mib.org.uk/

https://www.abi.org.uk/news/blog-articles/2023/8/tracking-the-trackers/

https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2026/4/motor-premiumsremainstablebutcost-ofrepairsstill-high/