What Is Non-Owner Car Insurance?

You probably don’t need non-owner’s insurance if you only drive a car that isn’t yours on occasion, as you should be covered on the owner’s insurance policy. However, if you frequently drive a car that isn’t yours, you’ll want some degree of coverage on your own policy. Keep reading to find out how non-owner auto insurance works, how much it is, and how to get a quote.

Non-owner’s car insurance, also known as non-driver’s insurance, acts as a type of liability insurance that provides property damage and bodily injury coverages for a driver who doesn’t own the car they drive. So, if the driver were to get in an at-fault accident in a car they don’t own, their non-owner car insurance would kick in to help cover the expenses the other party might accumulate from damages to their vehicle or injuries. 

While most states require at least some degree of liability coverage for all drivers, some states, typically no-fault states, might also require uninsured motorist coverage, MedPay, and/or Personal Injury Protection (PIP). These coverage options add extra protection to you as the driver if you cause an accident. 

Non-owner car insurance is meant for people who often borrow cars or rent cars outside a typical rental agency. Most people use non-owner insurance as a temporary policy, either while they are visiting somewhere for an extended time or while they get on track to purchase their own vehicle.

If you live with someone who owns a car or rent cars infrequently, you probably don’t need or won’t qualify for a non-owner insurance policy. If you live with someone who owns a car (and has an insurance policy for that car), an insurance company may not give you a non-owner insurance policy because the car owner’s insurance policy would likely cover you if you were to drive their car.

Similarly, you probably don’t need a non-owner’s insurance policy if you rent cars infrequently. If you’re renting a car every once in a while, you can get rental car insurance through your own insurance policy if you have one or you can get a rental policy through the rental car company.

If you have non-owner car insurance, it’ll kick in if you’re deemed at fault in an accident while driving a car you don’t own. In most cases, it’ll act as a liability-only policy, which will only help cover medical expenses and damages to the other party’s vehicle up to your policy’s maximum.

Non-owner insurance won’t help cover expenses for the policyholder because it insures the driver, not a vehicle. You can’t have a non-owner insurance policy that includes comprehensive or collision coverage. That said, a full-coverage non-owner insurance policy can’t exist.

While most people with a standard liability-only policy would have to pay a deductible before their insurance would help to cover the cost of damages, a non-owner insurance policy typically doesn’t have a deductible. You’ll only be responsible for covering expenses that exceed your policy’s maximum. 

Getting a non-owner insurance policy is slightly different from getting a standard car insurance policy. Most standard car insurance policies can be purchased completely online, sometimes without speaking directly with a person at your insurance company. 

However, you can only purchase a non-owner car insurance policy in person or over the phone. You may not be able to get a quote for a non-owner insurance policy online, either. A non-owner insurance policy is slightly uncommon, and many insurers are often reluctant to sign these policies. Thus there are a few more barriers to entry when it comes to non-owner insurance.

You may find you can’t get a non-owner insurance policy over the phone, and the agent or the company representative may refer you to a local office to meet with an agent in person. 

As with any car insurance policy, factors like age, gender, where you live, and more determine how much you will pay in premiums. Non-owner car insurance typically costs anywhere from $200 to $500 annually, which is 25% to 69% cheaper than a standard policy with liability coverage, which costs, on average, about $650 per year. Non-owner car insurance is about 65% to 87% cheaper than a standard full-coverage car insurance policy.

A non-owner insurance policy tends to be cheaper than a standard liability-only policy because drivers with non-owner insurance tend to file fewer claims, partially due to the fact they typically drive less frequently than drivers who own and insure their own cars.

The cheapest non-owner car insurance costs about $200 annually. This is the lowest average rate for non-owner driver’s insurance, which is likely only available to people with a clean driving record who don’t live in a major city where the cost of living is high, therefore insurance rates are higher.

While most non-owner insurance policies are cheaper than any standard insurance policy, the cost will depend heavily on where you live and what insurance companies are available to you. If you live in Maine, where car insurance is the cheapest, you’ll likely pay less for pay-per-mile insurance than someone in Michigan, where car insurance is typically expensive.

The cheapest non-owner insurance policy you can get will be a bare-bones, liability-only, non-owner policy, meaning you’ll only have bodily injury coverage and property damage coverage on your policy.

Most major car insurance companies offer some form of non-owner insurance for drivers who don’t have a car. Namely, Geico, Progressive, Nationwide, and State Farm offer some form of non-owner car insurance.

Some companies won’t offer a non-owner car insurance policy to a driver who has never held a policy with them. Progressive is known for only offering non-owner car insurance policies to previous policyholders. 

You can buy car insurance without a car and get a quote without a car. In most cases, you’ll need to speak to an agent directly, either over the phone or in person, to get a quote for non-owner car insurance. Getting a quote for non-owner insurance online is virtually unheard of, as it’s an atypical car insurance coverage that car insurance companies don’t give out to just anyone. 

If you think you qualify for non-owner driver insurance, you may want to shop around to get quotes from a few different insurers before switching to non-owner insurance. To get a quote for non-owner car insurance, you can contact one of our agents directly by calling 833-255-4117.