Temporary Car Insurance in Massachusetts

If you own a car, one way to get temporary car insurance in Massachusetts is to purchase a standard policy and cancel before six months are up. In Massachusetts, a three-month policy costs $278 on average.

If you don’t own a car or are renting one when visiting Massachusetts, rental car insurance may be an ideal option for you.

MoneyGeek also analyzed options to get temporary car insurance in Massachusetts for other scenarios, such as when drivers need to get their license reinstated or work for a ridesharing company.

In Massachusetts and elsewhere, drivers can obtain temporary car insurance in different ways depending on their circumstances. Car owners can buy a regular car insurance policy and cancel it early, while those who don’t own a car could purchase non-owner car insurance or rental car insurance.

Reputable insurance companies across the state and elsewhere only offer policies with a term of at least six months. The average cost of a six-month car insurance policy in Massachusetts is $556.

You can get a shorter coverage period by canceling your policy early, which will entitle you to a refund for what’s left of the term. For example, a driver who paid an average amount of $556 for a six-month policy can get a refund of around $278 if they cancel with three months remaining.

If you follow this approach, be careful to avoid having an insurance lapse since this may cause your annual car insurance rates to go up.

MoneyGeek calculated the cost of car insurance by company for a typical six-month policy as well as for a one-month and a three-month policy.

On average, the following insurance companies offer the cheapest policies in Massachusetts for a three-month term:

• Safety Group: $183 per 90 days
• Plymouth Rock Assurance: $195 per 90 days

MoneyGeek excluded cancellation fees from this calculation since insurance companies don’t usually charge them when you cancel your policy. Most major companies will refund your unused premium.

If you currently have car insurance, making alterations to your policy if you need to add or remove coverage can be the simplest option to get the coverage you need. The most common questions about temporary car insurance concern families with a teen going to college, those who will be putting their cars in storage or car owners who lend their car to someone else.

If your child lives with you, you’ll have to include them in your car insurance policy. This can be expensive. In Massachusetts, the annual cost of adding an 18-year-old driver to a car insurance policy is $2,442 on average.

If they are leaving home for college, you can temporarily remove them from your policy if they live more than 100 miles away, seek distant student discounts or keep them on your policy.

MoneyGeek’s analysis shows that having an 18-year-old on your policy for only two months a year costs around $407, while keeping them on your policy for the entire year costs an average of $2,442.

Progressive gives you the biggest savings for temporarily removing a student from your policy.

When putting your car in storage temporarily, you can save money by either switching to comprehensive-only coverage or seeking car storage discounts.

If you won’t be driving your car, there’s no need to pay for liability insurance coverage, but you may still need comprehensive coverage. A comprehensive and collision insurance with a $1,000 deductible will cost you roughly $456 per year. In comparison, a policy with comprehensive and collision coverage and liability insurance costs an average of $1,059 annually.

Active military members could take advantage of car storage discounts offered by USAA. Their policies are affordable and cost around $928 on average per year before the discount.

Family members driving your car should be listed on your car insurance policy. If you give permission to someone outside your household to drive your car, they’ll be automatically covered under your policy and you won’t need to adjust it.

If you are temporarily driving in Massachusetts, you don’t have to purchase a regular auto insurance policy as most rental companies offer basic liability insurance. You have the option to add collision damage waivers, supplemental liability insurance and personal accident insurance, which can cost around $34 to $58 per day depending on the company. You may be able to mix and match these additional coverages to save money based on your situation.

MoneyGeek’s data from the city of Boston shows that car insurance rates cost from around $34 to $58 per day. Average daily rental car insurance rates with supplemental liability, collision damage waiver and personal accident insurance cost $34 from Enterprise, $57 from Avis and $58 from Hertz.

You may not need to buy all these additional coverage if you have an existing car insurance policy that has liability, collision and medical payments coverage or a credit card provider that covers you for collision damage waiver on rental cars.

Non-owner car insurance is the cheapest way to get insurance for those who don’t have a car but drive regularly. The average cost of non-owner car insurance in Massachusetts is $535 per year.

If you’re working for a rideshare company in Massachusetts, you have insurance coverage when you accept a fare or when you’re transporting a passenger. However, you have a gap in your coverage when you’re not doing either of these things. Rideshare insurance addresses this gap.

While rideshare insurance is not offered in all states, MoneyGeek researched the best rideshare insurance policies in each state where they’re available.

Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions on how to get temporary car insurance in Massachusetts.

MoneyGeek collected the costs of car insurance and non-owner car insurance in Massachusetts in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services. The data gathered in the study was based on a 40-year-old driver with full coverage as described on our methodology page. Rates for a student represent the average cost of adding an 18-year-old driver to a policy.

MoneyGeek calculated the costs of one-month and three-month policies on a prorated basis, assuming a full refund from the insurance company. To collect rental car insurance costs, we used online tools from Avis, Enterprise and Hertz.