Temporary Car Insurance in Texas: The Cheapest Options and What You Need to Know
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Updated: 2/8/2023
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If you are a car owner and need temporary car insurance in Texas, you may purchase a policy and cancel it before six months expire. To get a refund on your premium, you will need to cancel the policy early. An average driver in the state pays about $329 for three months of car insurance.
If you don’t own a car or are visiting Texas using a rental car, you could get rental car insurance.
MoneyGeek also explores other circumstances under which you will need to get temporary car insurance in Texas, such as working for a rideshare company or acquiring proof of insurance so that your license gets reinstated.
Can You Get Temporary Car Insurance in Texas
Different states define temporary car insurance differently, including Texas. If you are a car owner, for instance, you can convert your full coverage car insurance policy to temporary coverage by canceling the policy before six months. Drivers who do not own cars may, on the other hand, consider purchasing rental car insurance or non-owner car insurance.
While in Texas, you may not find a direct way of purchasing temporary car insurance. However, MoneyGeek found several possible procedures that you can follow to secure temporary insurance for your needs.
- 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 Texas Insurance Policy and Canceling It Early
In Texas and most other states, you won’t be able to purchase car insurance with a term that’s less than six months. Texas drivers pay an average of $658 for a six-month policy. If you need a shorter term for your policy, canceling your policy before the full term elapses might be the solution. Most insurers will refund the remaining balance of your policy costs after cancellation. For instance, if you cancel your six-month policy after three months, you will pay approximately $329, which is only half of the six-month coverage cost.
When canceling car insurance, you must ensure that you do not have a coverage lapse. Otherwise, you might pay higher car insurance rates in the future.
Cheap Temporary Car Insurance in Texas
MoneyGeek determined average car insurance costs in Texas for the standard six-month term as well as three-month and one-month periods.
From this research, the cheapest temporary car insurance providers in Texas for a 90-day policy are, on average:
- Farmers: $205 per 90 days
- State Farm: $231 per 90 days
The costs used in this guide exclude cancellation fees since most insurers do not charge cancellation fees. After canceling your policy, insurance providers give you a refund for the months you have not used in your policy.
Annual Cost of Car Insurance in Texas by Policy Length
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Altering Texas Car Insurance Temporarily Depending on Your Needs
Drivers who have already purchased car insurance in Texas but need to remove or add temporary coverage may simply consider adjusting their current policy to suit their temporary needs. The most common questions concerning temporary car insurance are about the available options for teenage drivers going away to college, drivers who wish to store their cars as well as letting people borrow a car.
When You Should Alter Your Policy Temporarily
Texas car owners with teenage drivers away at college may temporarily exclude their children from their policies or request a discount from the insurer.
When storing your car, it makes sense to eliminate all coverage options from your policy except comprehensive insurance. If you are an active military member, you can take advantage of USAA’s car storage discounts to save costs.
If someone else drives your car often, you can consider adding them to your policy.
Cheap Temporary Car Insurance for Students in Texas
Can you get temporary car insurance for young drivers in Texas? If you live with your children in Texas, it is essential that you include them on your car insurance policy. However, the cost can be quite high. Typically, you will pay an average of $2,998 to add an 18-year old driver to your policy in Texas.
To save on your premiums, you can opt to remove your teenage student from your policy if they live more than 100 miles away during their school term, retain the student on your policy or ask your provider for a distant student discount.
Parents pay an average of $500 in Texas to add a student to their policy for two months during the summer. That’s cheaper than the $2,998 average rate to keep them on a policy for a full year.
In Texas, the insurer that saves you the highest cost if you exclude a student from your policy is Nationwide.
Annual Cost of Adding an 18-Year-Old to Car Insurance in Texas
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If you are unable to secure a discount from your insurance provider or your student driver is too close to home to temporarily take them off your policy, you can still find the best cheap car insurance coverage in Texas by shopping around. MoneyGeek determined the best car insurance carriers in Texas for teens to help you save on your premiums.
What to Do About Car Insurance if You’re Storing Your Car in Texas
In Texas, drivers who wish to store their car temporarily may save on their premiums by requesting a vehicle storage discount from their insurer or switching to comprehensive-only coverage.
Comprehensive and collision car insurance with a $1,000 deductible costs roughly $436 annually, which is lower than policies that include the state minimum liability coverage that cost an average of $994 per year.
If you are a current military member, you can also consider purchasing car insurance from USAA. The company offers the lowest rates in the state in addition to car storage discounts. Drivers with a USAA policy pay an average of $885 per year.
What to Do If You Let Someone Else Drive Your Car
If you lend your car to drivers who are outside of your household, it may not be necessary to add them to your insurance since they are already covered in the policy. For members of your household, however, you need to ask your insurer to list them if they plan to drive your car.
Buying Rental Car Insurance in Texas
Can you get temporary car insurance in Texas if you intend to use rented cars? You can use rental car insurance from your rental car company in this scenario.
In Texas, rental car insurance includes standard liability coverage, and you have the opportunity to purchase extra coverages like supplemental liability insurance, personal accident coverage and collision damage waivers. It costs an average of $55 to $60 per day to add all of the optional coverages to your policy. This rate may vary based on the insurer you choose. Selecting only the add-on coverages you need can save you money.
Finding Cheap Rental Car Insurance in Texas
MoneyGeek collected rental car insurance information from Houston, Texas. Based on the findings, rental car insurance policies cost an average of $55 to $60 per day. On average, Enterprise offers the lowest rate of $55 daily, while Hertz is the most expensive at $60 daily, and Avis costs $57 daily. The rates are for renters insurance that comprises liability insurance plus additional insurance such as collision damage waiver, personal accident insurance and supplemental liability coverage.
If you already have car insurance, you may not need to buy all the additional coverages offered by your rental company because your policy may cover liability, collision and medical payments. Most credit card companies also provide collision damage waiver insurance for rental cars. If you have this, you may decline this type of protection from your rental company and save on your premiums.
Cost per Day of Rental Car Insurance in Texas
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Buying Non-Owner Car Insurance in Texas
Drivers who do not own cars but need to file an SR-22 may have to prove that they have insurance before getting their suspended licenses back. Non-owner car insurance serves this purpose, and you can get it in Texas at $571 per year on average.
This type of car insurance is the cheapest option for you if you do not own a car.
How to Get Temporary Rideshare Car Insurance for Rideshare in Texas
If you work for a rideshare company, you get insurance coverage once you accept fare or as soon as you start transporting a passenger. Before accepting the customer, you will have a temporary lapse in your coverage and might need to purchase rideshare insurance.
Rideshare insurance policies vary from one state to the other and may not be available in all states. MoneyGeek’s rideshare insurance comparison can help you identify the best rideshare options available in Texas.
Frequently Asked Questions About Temporary Car Insurance in Texas
Temporary car insurance is essential for drivers who need short-term insurance policies. Some of the commonly asked questions about temporary insurance in Texas are answered below.
You can purchase temporary car insurance in Texas in various ways. While the minimum period for standard car insurance is six months, you can shorten your policy’s term by canceling it early. If you don’t own a car, your best options may be rental car insurance or non-owner car insurance.
Temporary car insurance providers refund drivers part of the premium after canceling the policy. Insurers will return the cost of the unused coverage in the remaining months of your policy.
Methodology
MoneyGeek gathered car insurance and non-owner insurance data in Texas using a 40-year-old sample driver with a full coverage policy. The policy limits can be found on our methodology page. This research was done in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services.
Car insurance costs for students were sourced using an 18-year-old driver added to their parent’s policy.
MoneyGeek collected 30-day and 90-day policy rates on a prorated basis. The overall assumption in this research is that insurance providers will offer a refund after the policy is canceled.
We also calculated rental car insurance costs manually using online tools from Avis, Hertz and Enterprise.
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.