Do I qualify for short term car insurance?

Are you a young driver wondering whether you qualify for short term car insurance? Or maybe you have a bad driving record and were wondering the same thing?

Short term car insurance companies do not follow one simple standard in determining who is eligible for insurance. If you find that you are ineligible for insurance coverage from one company, then you can look elsewhere for other opportunities.

Generally, all short term insurance companies have certain age restrictions that you must meet in order to qualify for an insurance policy. In the UK, the common minimum age is 21 or 25 years, while the maximum age is commonly 75 years.

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All insurance companies will require that you have a valid UK or EU driver’s license, and many will require that you should have possessed this license for a minimum number of years. For example, many companies require that must have held a valid driver’s license for at least two years prior to obtaining insurance.

Short term car insurance for young and new drivers

While the number of insurance companies that will cover young and new drivers is more limited, they do exist. The only trouble is finding such a company especially if you do not live in the big cities.

One way that insurance companies determine who qualifies for an insurance policy is to calculate the risk associated with a specific driver profile. Over the history of the insurance business, complex methods have been developed to determine the risk posed by certain types of drivers.

Insurance companies cannot afford to take on too much risk because they could end up not having enough money to cover all the claims from their policy holders.

Companies that offer short term car insurance to young and new drivers are taking on extra risk and they compensate for this by increasing their rates. Therefore, while young and new drivers can find companies that will cover them, they will also likely be required to pay higher premiums.

What about my driving record?

Many short term insurance companies will not accept customers who have motoring violations that involve drugs or alcohol, or any type of reckless or dangerous driving.

Some companies only require that you do not have such violations for a certain period -- commonly 5 years – prior to applying for insurance. Offences with Conviction Offence Code prefixes DR, CD, DD and UT are commonly used to exclude drivers from insurance eligibility.

If you have been disqualified from driving or have filed too many insurance claims in the past, this may also disqualify you from some policies. Other reasons for disqualification can include:

• Too many insurance penalty points
• Conviction for other types of crimes not related to driving
• If you are insuring a car, the vehicle must meet certain standards, for example, in relation to structure or the types of materials stored or transported by the vehicle.

Again, you may still be able obtain short term car insurance, but the premiums will likely be higher.

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