Hourly car insurance lets you buy cover by the hour instead of a full day or year. It suits a test drive, collecting a car, or any short trip where you only need to be insured for a few hours — also searched as 1 hour car insurance and pay per hour cover.
What is hourly car insurance?
Hourly car insurance is short-term motor cover sold in hours rather than days or months. InstantCover temporary car insurance starts from 1 hour and can run up to 28 days if you need longer.
People also search for 1 hour car insurance, one hour insurance, car insurance by the hour, hour by hour car insurance and car insurance for a few hours — they all mean flexible short-duration cover.
When hourly cover makes sense
Hourly policies are useful when the job is short:
- Test-driving a car you might buy
- Collecting or dropping off a vehicle
- A few hours in a friend’s car
- Emergency cover while you wait for a repair
- Any trip where a full day of insurance would be unused time
Hourly vs 1 day car insurance
If you will be driving across a whole day, 1 day car insurance is usually simpler. If you only need the car for a couple of hours, hourly cover can cost less because you are not paying for unused time.
You can still upgrade to daily, weekly or monthly temporary car insurance on the same quote flow if your plans change.
How to get cheap hourly car insurance
Price depends on the driver, vehicle and start time. The main saving is choosing the shortest duration that still covers your trip — often 1 or 2 hours instead of a full day.
Get an InstantCover quote with the registration plate and compare hourly against 1 day before you pay. We do not promise to be the cheapest every time; we do let you avoid paying for hours you will not drive.