Lauren Lewthwaite Last Updated On: August 20, 2024

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Weekend Car Insurance: What Is It & Does It Exist?

Weekend Car Insurance

Weekend only car insurance sounds like a good idea at first. After all, if you only use your car on weekends for getaways and errands, why pay the rest of the time? But car insurance is a legal requirement for a reason and having it occasionally on a vehicle that you have year-round is risky. Keep reading to find out why weekend car insurance isn’t a good idea and the alternatives you have to save money on car insurance.

Can You Get Weekend Car Insurance?

The short answer is, unfortunately, no. Weekend car insurance doesn’t exist and the reasons for it make sense: state laws require drivers to be protected by insurance when driving a vehicle. After all, if someone without insurance hits your vehicle and can’t afford to personally pay the damage, you’d be on the hook.

If weekend car insurance was available, people would only be protected on Saturdays and Sundays. If they happened to drive during any other days of the week, they’d be at risk and this understandably makes insurance providers uneasy. Any reputable insurance provider won’t offer insurance for terms less than six months, so weekend car insurance isn’t a true option. But you’re not out of luck.

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Weekend-Only Car Insurance: What Are My Options?

While weekend-only car insurance doesn’t exist, you do still have plenty of options for affordable car insurance that might suit your needs just as well. 

  1. Pay-per-mile car insurance: this is a great option for those that infrequently use their cars, or only use them for quick errands. The car insurance company is able to track your miles through telematics devices so that you’re only paying for when you do drive, and you’ll often get lower rates than standard auto insurance. You’ll also get rewarded for careful driving, which is an added benefit. 
  2. Car share insurance: it can often make more financial sense to get a car share like Zipcar for weekend trips, rather than paying for a vehicle and insurance year-round. When you rent a car-sharing service vehicle, you have the option to select their insurance, which covers the state minimum requirement for personal injury protection or liability insurance, and typically damage to the vehicle. 
  3. Non-owner car policy: there are specific insurance policies for those who don’t own a car but want to be insured for occasional driving when they borrow someone else’s car. It costs less and you’re still protected. Win-win. 
  4. Classic car insurance: if the reason you’re wanting weekend car insurance is to occasionally take an exotic, antique, or collector’s car out, you might want to consider classic car insurance. It typically comes with a lower premium, but users will need to be restricted to occasional pleasure driving and eligibility varies by provider. 
It’s important to note that if you’re using your vehicle on the weekends for ridesharing services like Uber or Lyft, you’ll need specialized car insurance since your standard auto insurance won’t cover you for this. 

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The Drawbacks Of Weekend Car Insurance

You might be considering stopping and starting insurance policies as you need them, to create your own version of “weekend car insurance”, but this would definitely be ill-advised. Stopping and starting insurance policies at will is generally not allowed by insurance providers. You’ll also go through periods of being uninsured, which can raise red flags to insurance providers when you try to get insurance again. You’ll then likely have to pay a higher rate when you sign up again since you are seen as a risk to providers, which pretty much defeats the purpose of trying to save money with weekend car insurance.

With weekend only car insurance, it also would mean you couldn’t legally zip over to the store or drive in an emergency. The idea of saving money on car insurance is great, but you also want to ensure you, your passengers and fellow drivers are financially protected from the unexpected.

Key Takeaways

 

Weekend only car insurance doesn’t exist, and for good reason. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with expensive car insurance. There are options for you to save money while being protected on the road, without putting yourself at risk without insurance. 

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Lauren Lewthwaite Lauren Lewthwaite has been freelance writing for almost five years writing content that ranges from health to insurance and everything in between. Lauren is also a trained translator in French and English and is a dog-mom to an adorable Australian Shepherd.

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