What Is Non-Owners Car Insurance?

Can you get auto insurance without a car? It might seem like an odd question at first, but it’s worth asking.

By law, almost every state requires car insurance for drivers. But, you don’t necessarily need a vehicle to drive; you only need a license. So, it’s valid to wonder If you still need insurance if you have a license but no car.

The solution comes in the form of non-owner car insurance. You don’t always need it, but it can come in handy in various situations.

You’re not required to have insurance if you have a license but no car, but it depends on how often you drive other people’s vehicles. If you’re borrowing cars on occasion, you should be covered under the vehicle owner’s insurance. But, if you borrow or rent cars regularly, you might want to look into non-owner car insurance.

You generally need insurance to buy a car off the lot and drive it around. You also normally need insurance to register your vehicle. Every state except New Hampshire and Virginia mandates a minimum amount of liability insurance you need to have to drive your car.

If you don’t have a car, you have no vehicle to insure, but that doesn’t mean you can’t legally drive, of course. People who don’t own cars drive all the time, and that’s where non-owners car insurance comes into play.

Non-owner or non-driver car insurance is just what it sounds like. It provides liability coverage to protect other drivers on the road from damages you may cause. So, if you get in an at-fault accident, your non-owner car insurance would kick in to help cover the expenses the other party suffers, like vehicle damage or injuries.

It doesn’t pay for repairs of the vehicle you’re driving (collision or comprehensive coverage) because you don’t own the car you’re using.

Not only is non-owner car insurance useful if you rent or borrow cars consistently, but it may also come in handy if you’re between cars but don’t want your coverage to lapse. Allowing a car insurance policy to expire without getting a new one is a red flag for insurers that can make it more costly to get coverage in the future. Temporary non-owner car insurance is a way to maintain a policy without a car.

If you live with someone who owns a car, like a relative or spouse, and they own a car with an accompanying insurance policy, you should be listed on their plan to receive their coverage, which is common with teenagers. When giving policies, providers typically require all policyholder household members to be named. Insurance companies believe that anyone you live with is likely to drive your car at least semi-regularly. 

Having all drivers in the house listed on the policy lets the carrier fully understand the risks of covering the policyholder and charge the proper premium. For instance, living with someone who has a DUI will likely raise your rate, as that person is riskier to cover.

There are also instances when you receive coverage even when you don’t live under the same roof as someone. If you live on your own and drive a friend’s or relative’s car occasionally, you should receive coverage under the vehicle owner’s plan. Car insurance generally follows the car, not the driver, so when you borrow someone’s car (with the owner’s permission), insurers usually have no problem covering you temporarily while driving.

Similarly, you probably don’t need a non-owner’s insurance policy if you rent cars every so often without owning a car yourself, as you can purchase liability coverage from the rental agency when you get the vehicle. 

The primary instances when you’d need car insurance without a car are if you’re borrowing your friend’s car or renting cars several times a month or more. For example, you borrow your neighbor’s car weekly to get to work, or you travel for work and rent cars to get around regularly. You may want to look into non-owner car insurance in these cases.

The ability to be covered under someone else’s insurance while you’re driving their car, called permissive use, has its limits. Insurers don’t want to regularly be covering someone who isn’t on the policy. If you borrow or rent cars constantly, you should get car insurance for non-owners to be covered.

Non-owner car insurance kicks 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 has two aspects: bodily injury and property damage liability.

The bodily injury portion of liability coverage pays for medical expenses you caused in the accident, from hospital bills to lost wages and funeral costs. The property damage aspect of the plan compensates for losses you cause to other people’s property in the accident, including vehicles, fences, and landscaping. It may also cover associated legal expenses, if necessary.

As touched on earlier, non-owner car insurance doesn’t cover damage to the vehicle you’re driving, which most auto policies do. Standard car insurance plans often include collision and comprehensive coverage to protect against damage your vehicle can sustain in accidents (or from unexpected damage outside of crashes like weather and vandalism). The combination of these protections is called full coverage.

A non-owner auto insurance policy isn’t full coverage because you don’t own the car you’re driving. You can’t get full coverage non-owner car insurance.

Non-owner insurance won’t help cover expenses for the policyholder because it insures the driver, not the vehicle. 

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 liability car insurance policy typically doesn’t have a deductible. You’ll only be responsible for covering expenses that exceed your policy’s maximum. 

You can get car insurance without a car from many large, common car insurance companies as long as they offer non-owner car insurance. Car insurance for non-owners is difficult to quote online, so you usually need to call the company or an agent to get a policy. Also, you’ll need a valid driver’s license to get a quote.

Usually, when getting auto insurance quotes online, companies ask about vehicle details, like make, model, parking location, and safety features, to understand the underwriting risk when offering insurance. If you don’t own a car, you can’t provide any of these details, so you probably can’t easily quote online. You’ll likely need to speak with an agent or customer representative at some point in the process to ask other questions that inform your risk profile so they can offer you auto insurance without a car.

The best non-owner car insurance company for you depends on your location and needs. Some carriers may only offer non-owner car insurance in some states or only to existing policyholders. You usually need to call the company to get a quote, as quoting non-owners insurance online is more complicated.

Companies that offer non-owners insurance include:

There’s no way to guarantee one company being better than another since every policyholder is different. Personal preference may also come into play, with customer service more important for some than others. Your best bet for securing non-owner driver’s insurance is to compare quotes with multiple carriers. This will allow you to find the best rates.

Non-owner car insurance cost varies by person, as factors like age, gender, and where you live greatly impact rates, but you should be able to bind a policy for less than $500 for six months. Non-owner car insurance should be cheaper than most standard car insurance plans, but with so little policyholder information to go off of, it’s hard to determine how much your rates will be until you get a quote. 

Also, for high-risk drivers, it’s possible that car insurance with no car may not be cheaper than car insurance with a car.. You may even pay more than you would for standard car insurance coverage if you’ve recently had a DUI or license suspension.

Non-owner auto insurance is a liability-only policy, which usually tends to be cheaper than most full coverage plans. Also, non-owner drivers tend to drive less than standard drivers, which often results in lower rates since companies may ask how many miles you expect to drive. 

However, since non-owner insurance is so dependent on outside factors, which we’ll explain below, companies may rely on these outside factors more than usual, which could negatively impact your rates more.

Non-owner car insurance cost can vary from as little as $300 to over $700 annually, depending on a few factors, like your driving history, location, and how much liability coverage you choose. The most significant factors are:

Rats for auto insurance without a car vary by location. Places with more accidents or uninsured drivers usually have higher premiums. Drivers in big cities will likely pay more for non-owner driver insurance than those in rural areas.

Also, having a history of filing auto insurance claims will raise your rates. Having a spotty accident or claims record indicates to carriers that you may be a dangerous driver, which will often result in higher non-driver car insurance rates. Having any DUIs can also significantly raise your rate.

The policy limits also directly impact your premiums. Some states require more liability coverage than others. Some companies may also let you add protections like uninsured or underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage to your non-owner car insurance plan, and doing so can raise your rates.

The cost of non-owner coverage varies by insurer, so compare rates from multiple companies to see who has what you need at the best price. Also, know that if you opt for your state’s minimum required amount of liability coverage, you’ll pay a more affordable rate when getting insurance without a car. But, if the damages you cause in an accident exceed your policy limit, you’ll be personally liable for the remaining bill.

The best way to get cheap non-owners insurance is to shop around. Calling multiple companies may take some time, but it’s the only way to find the carriers offering the cheapest coverage.

Shop Around: Rates vary by company because every carrier has slightly different ways of determining risks and calculating rates, called underwriting. Companies have different business strategies and needs that inform how they price their coverage, which results in price differences among companies for the same policy. The cost of non-owner car insurance will vary by company. 

Note Coverage Details: Required liability limits vary by state. Opting for your state’s minimum required amount will likely result in the lowest rates. However, note that any damages exceeding your policy’s limits will likely come out of your own pocket, so be wary when doing this. 

Also, car insurance for non-car owners typically doesn’t have a deductible, so you can’t adjust this to lower your premiums. Optional coverage add-ons are limited with non-owner insurance, as well. You may have the option to add uninsured or underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage to your plan when getting non-owners insurance quotes. Adding this will raise your rates. 

If you want to buy non-owner car insurance, remember that shopping around is the best way to find the best deal. Working with an independent insurance agency, like Clovered, can make the process easy of getting non-owners insurance quotes easy.

To get non-owner car insurance quotes without hassle, you can contact one of our licensed agents directly by calling 833-255-4117 during business hours. You can also email us at [email protected] with any questions.