Temporary Car Insurance in Georgia: The Cheapest Options and What You Need to Know
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Updated: 2/8/2023
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You can create temporary car insurance by buying a regular policy and canceling it before it expires. You’ll get a refund by canceling early. In Georgia, the cost of a three-month policy on average is $410.
Rental car insurance is your best option in Georgia if you’re only visiting and you need to drive but you don’t own a car.
MoneyGeek also evaluated other scenarios when you might need temporary car insurance. This includes buying non-owner insurance to help get your license reinstated or if you’re driving for a rideshare company.
Can You Get Temporary Car Insurance in Georgia
In Georgia and other states, temporary car insurance can mean different things, and you can get them in various ways. If you own a car, you can buy a full car insurance policy and cancel it early. Meanwhile, if you don’t own a vehicle, you can get rental car insurance or non-owner car insurance.
There are many ways to get temporary car insurance in Georgia depending on your needs and situation, and MoneyGeek evaluated all the options.
- Need a full car insurance policy temporarily? Buy and cancel
- Want to add or remove a driver? Alter your policy
- Renting a car? Buy from the rental company or use your own policy
- Don’t own a car? Look into non-owner Insurance
- Working for a rideshare company? Buy rideshare insurance
Buying a Six-Month Georgia Insurance Policy and Canceling It Early
In Georgia and other states, reputable insurance companies only sell car insurance with a minimum coverage of six months. On average, a six-month car insurance policy in Georgia costs $819.
You can get a shorter coverage term by canceling your car insurance early. Most credible insurers will refund the premium of your remaining term.
For example, you can buy a six-month car insurance policy in Georgia and cancel it after 90 days. You’ll pay roughly $410 overall, which is half of what you would pay for a six-month policy.
If you’re using this strategy to get temporary car insurance, make sure to avoid having a lapse in insurance coverage. This can cause your rates to go up by hundreds of dollars per year.
Cheap Temporary Car Insurance in Georgia
MoneyGeek assessed the potential cost of car insurance in Georgia for a typical six-month policy. We also calculated the cost of a three-month and a one-month temporary car insurance policy.
On average, these companies offer Georgia’s cheapest car insurance policies for a 90-day period:
- Nationwide: $343 per 90 days
- Allstate: $349 per 90 days
The figures quoted above exclude cancellation fees. However, most major insurers do not charge cancellation fees, and they refund unused insurance premiums in full.
Annual Cost of Car Insurance in Georgia by Policy Length
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Altering Georgia Car Insurance Temporarily Depending on Your Needs
In Georgia, making alterations to your existing car insurance policy can be your best solution if you need to temporarily add or remove coverage. Certain situations may cause you to need temporary car insurance. These include when you need to store your vehicle, if someone borrows your car or when your teenage child goes away to college.
When You Should Alter Your Policy Temporarily
If your child is attending school elsewhere in Georgia, you can temporarily remove them from your policy. You can also ask for a discount from your insurer.
If you’ve stored your car, you can save by removing everything except your comprehensive insurance. If you’re in the military, you can also take advantage of USAA’s car storage discounts.
If you lend your car to someone else, you should only consider adding them to your policy if they drive your vehicle regularly.
Cheap Temporary Car Insurance for Students in Georgia
In Georgia, you’re required to add your child to your car insurance policy if they live with you, which can be costly. Based on MoneyGeek’s research, the average cost of adding an 18-year-old to a car insurance policy is $4,234 per year.
You can reduce this cost by taking them off your policy if they live more than 100 miles away, using distant student discounts or keeping them on your policy.
If your child will stay with you for two months during summer, the average cost of adding them to your policy for that timespan is $706, which is roughly $3,528 lower than having them on the policy for the whole year. In Georgia, you can save up to $3,920 with Progressive by temporarily taking a student off your policy.
Annual Cost of Adding an 18-Year-Old to Car Insurance in Georgia
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If you’re unable to temporarily take your child off your policy since they are studying nearby in Georgia, you can still save by shopping around and comparing offers. MoneyGeek evaluated the cheapest insurance companies for teens to help you find the best deal.
What to Do About Car Insurance if You’re Storing Your Car in Georgia
You can save money if you’re temporarily storing your car by switching to a comprehensive-only car insurance policy or seeking a vehicle storage discount.
If your vehicle is in storage, removing liability insurance coverage and switching to a comprehensive-only policy is a great way to save money. Comprehensive and collision insurance with a $1,000 deductible on average costs $390 per year. A policy that has comprehensive, collision and minimum liability insurance costs roughly $1,283.
Active-duty military members may find USAA to be an appealing option. This insurer has a car storage discount, but it also offers one of the cheapest car insurance policies in Georgia at $931 per year on average.
What to Do If You Let Someone Else Drive Your Car
If another person in your household is driving your car, they need to be insured on the same policy. However, if you give permission to someone outside your home to drive your car, they will be covered by your policy.
Buying Rental Car Insurance in Georgia
In Georgia, you don’t need to buy car insurance if you’re renting a car. You can use the rental company’s car insurance and get basic liability insurance. You also have the option to add collision damage waivers, supplemental liability insurance and personal accident insurance. MoneyGeek found that the average cost of adding all these coverages in Georgia is $46 to $56 per day. You can mix and match coverages based on your needs.
Finding Cheap Rental Car Insurance in Georgia
MoneyGeek collected data in Atlanta, Georgia, and found that rental car insurance costs $46 to $56 per day.
The average daily cost of rental car insurance is $46 from Enterprise, $54 from Avis and $56 from Hertz. These policies include supplemental liability, collision damage waiver and personal accident insurance.
If you already have a car insurance policy, your liability, collision and medical payments coverage remain in effect, and you don’t need to include them in your rental car insurance.
Many credit card companies also offer collision damage waiver coverage for rental cars, so you can decline this coverage to save money.
Cost per Day of Rental Car Insurance in Georgia
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Buying Non-Owner Car Insurance in Georgia
Non-owner car insurance is a good option if you don’t have a car but you temporarily need proof of insurance to file for a SR-22 to have your license reinstated. In Georgia, non-owner car insurance costs around $817 per year.
Due to its limited coverage, non-owner car insurance is the cheapest way to get temporary car insurance in Georgia for drivers who don’t have a car but need proof of insurance to file an SR-22.
How to Get Temporary Rideshare Car Insurance for Rideshare in Georgia
In Georgia, rideshare company employees are covered by insurance once they accept a fare or are transporting a passenger. However, if they haven’t accepted a fare, they temporarily have a gap in coverage.
Rideshare insurance policies are a solution for this issue but have limited availability across states. If you’re looking for the best rideshare insurance in Georgia, MoneyGeek evaluated providers that offer such a policy to help you find good deals.
Frequently Asked Questions About Temporary Car Insurance in Georgia
We answered some of the frequently asked questions about temporary car insurance in Georgia to help you decide if it’s a good fit for you.
Yes, you can get temporary car insurance in Georgia by canceling your car insurance early. You can also buy a rental or a non-owner car insurance policy.
If you cancel your car insurance, most insurers will refund any unused insurance premiums as long as you cancel before your sixth month.
Methodology
MoneyGeek gathered car insurance and non-owner car insurance quotes across Georgia in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services. The policies in this guide are full coverage and for a 40-year-old driver as described on our methodology page. Quotes for student drivers represent the average cost of adding an 18-year-old driver to a policy. Figures for one-month and three-month policies are calculated on a prorated basis and assume a full refund from the insurance company. Rental car insurance quotes were manually collected by MoneyGeek using the online tools of Avis, Enterprise and Hertz.
About Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick is a Licensed Property and Casualty Insurance Producer and MoneyGeek's Head of Insurance. He has analyzed the insurance market for over five years, conducting original research and creating personalized content for every kind of buyer. He has been quoted in several insurance-related publications, including CNBC, NBC News and Mashable.
Fitzpatrick earned a master’s degree in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He is passionate about using his knowledge of economics and insurance to bring transparency around financial topics and help others feel confident in their money moves.