Imported Car Temporary Insurance
Compare Imported Car Temporary Insurance Quotes
Compare short-term insurance quotes for imported cars, from a panel of specialist import brokers, in one quick form.
Get Import QuotesImported Car Temporary Insurance
Short-term cover for an import, whether you’re road-testing, borrowing, or need cover for a few days.
- Cover for a few hours, days or weeks
- Access to brokers who understand import specs and values
- Suitable for registered imports and vehicles awaiting registration
- Compare multiple specialist quotes in one form
What Is Imported Car Temporary Insurance?
Imported car temporary insurance is short-term cover built specifically for imported vehicles, useful if you’re road-testing a car before buying, borrowing an import for a short trip, or only need cover for a few days rather than a full annual policy. It’s different from a standard annual policy, and different again from cover built for the vehicle’s registration status.
If your import hasn’t been registered with the DVLA yet, you may need chassis number insurance instead, that’s a distinct, VIN-based product built specifically to bridge the gap before a standard UK plate is issued. Temporary insurance on this page assumes the vehicle already has a UK registration, or is being covered for a short period around that process.
MultiQuoteTime can provide access to a panel of specialist brokers who cover short-term insurance for imports. Mainstream temporary insurers often won’t quote for an import at all, see our guide to car insurers not on comparison sites for more on why.
What Affects the Cost of Temporary Import Insurance?
Short-term cover for an import is priced differently to a standard temporary car insurance policy.
Whether the car is registered yet
A car that’s still going through NOVA notification and registration is generally harder to price than one with a UK registration number and V5C already in place, so cover taken out before that point can cost more.
The make, model and specification
Rarer models, higher-performance variants and cars with a smaller UK parts network can all push the price up, since insurers have less claims data to work from. Left hand drive imports typically cost more to insure too, for reasons covered on our left hand drive car insurance page.
Any modifications from standard
Imports often arrive with changes already made, from performance parts and body kits to the alterations needed just to pass UK approval, and any of these can push the price up.
How long you need cover for
Short-term policies are typically priced by the day or the week, so the exact number of days between collection and your annual policy starting makes a real difference to the total cost.
Your driving history
The usual factors still apply on top of the above, including your licence history, claims record and any convictions.
When You’ve Just Landed Your Import
The weeks right after an import arrives in the UK come with their own insurance timing problems.
Collecting the car from the port or import agent
Once a vehicle clears customs, someone still has to get it from the docks, compound or agent’s yard to where it’s actually going to live, and that trip needs cover in its own right if it isn’t going on a transporter.
Driving to a booked IVA, MSVA or MOT appointment
Under gov.uk guidance, a newly landed import generally can’t be driven on public roads until NOVA notification, registration and approval are complete, with one specific exception: driving to a pre-booked test appointment. That single legal journey still needs insurance in place before you set off.
Bridging the gap before your annual policy starts
Most annual policies need a registration number and V5C before they can go live, so there’s often a short window between the car clearing approval and full annual cover starting, one short-term policy can cover that gap.
Moving it to a specialist for prep work
Many imports go straight from arrival to a specialist garage for checks or modification work, such as headlamp conversions on an LHD car, before they’re ready for daily use, and that short trip needs its own cover too.
What Affects the Cost of Temporary Import Insurance?
Duration and vehicle type both play a big part in the price.
Length of cover
A few hours or a single day generally costs less than a policy running several weeks, but per-day rates aren’t always linear, it’s worth comparing rather than assuming shorter is always cheaper.
Vehicle value and spec
As with annual cover, an import’s value and specific spec affect pricing, and a broker familiar with import valuations is more likely to price it accurately.
Driver history and age
Standard factors like driving history and age still apply to short-term cover, the same as any other motor insurance policy.
Short-term quotes can vary a surprising amount between specialist providers, so it’s worth comparing more than one rather than taking the first price you’re offered, a cheaper headline rate isn’t always the best value once you check what’s actually included.
Imported Car Temporary Insurance FAQs
Yes, though many mainstream temporary insurers won’t quote for imports. A specialist broker is more likely to offer short-term cover for an imported vehicle.
No. Chassis number insurance is specifically for imports that aren’t yet registered with the DVLA, identified by VIN rather than a UK number plate. Temporary insurance on this page is short-term cover for an import that’s already registered, or being covered briefly around that process.
This varies by provider, some offer cover from a few hours up to several weeks. Check the exact durations available when you compare quotes.
Per day, short-term cover is typically more expensive than annual cover works out to be, but it can still be the cheaper overall option if you only need cover briefly rather than for a full year.
There’s no fixed price, it depends on the length of cover, the vehicle’s value and spec, and your own driving history. Comparing quotes from specialist providers is the best way to find out what you’d actually pay.
Comprehensive short-term cover from a specialist provider is generally the best fit, since it’s more likely to correctly value the vehicle than a generic temporary policy built for mainstream UK cars.
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