Temporary Car Insurance in Maine

You can create short-term insurance for a vehicle you own by buying a six-month policy and canceling it early. Most major insurers offer a full refund for the remainder of your policy.

For instance, the cost of a three-month insurance policy in Maine is $152.

If you’re driving a rented vehicle in Maine while visiting or you don’t own a car in Maine but need to drive, you can purchase rental car insurance.

MoneyGeek analyzed all situations where you may need temporary car insurance, such as buying non-owner insurance to help get your driver’s license reinstated or when you are working for a rideshare company.

You may think you need temporary auto insurance, but it is important to know that temporary car insurance means different things in different states, including Maine. If you own a car in Maine, you could be better off with a full car insurance policy that can be canceled when you want. Otherwise, rental car insurance or non-owner car insurance might be better options.

Most of the prominent insurance companies in Maine offer temporary car insurance for a minimum period of six months at an average cost of $303.

If you are looking to cover your vehicle for a shorter duration, you can purchase a six-month policy and cancel before the end of the term. Most reputable insurance providers generally give a full refund for the remaining policy period.

For instance, a three-month policy in Maine costs $152 on average, which is half the cost of a six-month policy.

MoneyGeek advises that you ensure your insurance coverage does not lapse. Any lapse in coverage could lead to a substantial increase in your insurance premiums.

MoneyGeek’s research broke down insurance costs for one-month, three-month and six-month policies in Maine based on quotes from multiple providers.

On average, the insurers offering the cheapest car insurance for drivers looking for a 90-day policy in Maine are:

• GEICO: $115 per 90 days
• MetLife: $125 per 90 days

Since most insurers provide full refunds for the remaining duration of the insurance policy without charging any cancellation fees, MoneyGeek’s evaluations did not take cancellation charges into account.

Drivers in Maine who have existing auto insurance policies but are looking to add or remove coverages to meet temporary requirements can do so by modifying their current policies. The main questions about short-term car insurance pertain to when a family has a young student moving to college, drivers looking to temporarily store their vehicles or lending vehicles to drivers who are not included in an existing policy.

If you have a teenage driver living with you in Maine, they must be on your insurance policy. Adding a young driver to an existing policy costs $1,378 on average, which is expensive. MoneyGeek evaluated these costs considering an 18-year-old driver in Maine.

If you have a young driver in your family and are looking to reduce car insurance costs, you can utilize the student discounts that your insurance company may provide, take the student off the policy for some parts of the year or continue to keep them on your policy.

Based on our research, the average cost of including a student in your policy for two months during the summer is $230, as compared to the annual cost of around $1,378.

In Maine, choosing State Farm to temporarily take a student off an existing policy helps you save the most.

If you plan to store your vehicle temporarily, you can modify your car insurance to only include comprehensive coverage or look for a storage discount.

Switching to comprehensive only coverage helps you save on liability costs while your car is in temporary storage. The average cost of an insurance policy in Maine that comes with comprehensive and collision insurance with a $1,000 deductible is approximately $189 per year whereas, a policy with liability insurance costs $530 per year on average.

If you are an active military member, you could be better off choosing USAA as your insurer. At an average of $367 per year before any discounts, it is one of the cheapest options in Maine and offers storage discounts.

Drivers who live with you must be covered under your same policy. However, you will not have to make any modifications to your existing policy if you lend your car to someone who does not live with you.

If you are looking to drive temporarily using a rented vehicle in Maine, rental companies typically include car insurance costs in their quotes for policies that typically cover only basic liabilities. You can also add supplemental liability insurance, collision damage waiver and personal accident insurance to your rental policy. You could pay roughly $39 to $60 per day depending on your needs and the rental car company that you choose.

MoneyGeek’s analysis on rental car insurance costs in Maine was based on rates collected from several companies in Portland. Insurance costs range from $39 to $60 based on the company.

Enterprise offers the cheapest insurance with an average cost of $39 per day, while the policies offered by Avis and Hertz cost at an average of $57 and $60 per day, respectively.

Your existing car insurance policy may already have some coverage options, and you may also be able to utilize a collision damage waiver through a credit card you own. This means that you may not need these coverages from your rental company, saving you money on rental car insurance costs.

Non-owner car insurance is ideal if you don’t own a vehicle but need proof of insurance to file an SR-22 to reinstate your license.

In Maine, you will have to pay roughly $188 per year for non-owner auto insurance. Non-owner car insurance is the most affordable option if you need to file an SR-22 without owning a car.

Individuals who work for rideshare companies in Maine should be aware that insurance policies do not cover damages when drivers are waiting to be matched with riders.

Although not all rideshare policies are available in every state, MoneyGeek's research found the best rideshare insurance in Maine.

There are many scenarios in which temporary car insurance may be useful. We answered some of the most frequently asked questions about temporary car insurance to help you determine if it’s the right solution for you.

MoneyGeek collected car insurance and non-owner car insurance policies from several insurers in Maine in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services to determine average rates based on our methodology.

These rates were collected for a full coverage policy that included comprehensive and collision insurance along with higher liability limits (100/300/100). MoneyGeek considered a 40-year-old male driver while collecting rates for full coverage policies, while costs for adding a student to an existing policy are for an 18-year-old driver.

Costs for one-month and three-month policies were determined on a prorated basis, assuming a full refund from the insurer. Rates for rental car insurance policies in Maine were manually collected by MoneyGeek through the online resources of Avis, Enterprise and Hertz.