Temporary Car Insurance in New Jersey: What You Need to Know (2024)

Drivers in New Jersey may be able to buy temporary car insurance. However, most reputable car insurance companies don’t sell policies with terms lasting less than six months. On average, a six-month liability policy in New Jersey costs $246 per month. And a six-month full-coverage policy costs $298 per month on average.

Find Six-Month Car Insurance in New Jersey

Enter your ZIP codeGet My Quotes

Secure. Free. Easy-to-use.

Based on 3,806+ reviews

4.8/5

Is temporary car insurance available in New Jersey?

Car insurance companies in New Jersey typically won’t let you buy car insurance for a period shorter than six months.^[1] Though some insurers may promote temporary insurance, such as a one-month policy, a policy shorter than six months might be inadequate or even an outright scam.

“Temporary car insurance is offered across the U.S. but can be challenging to find — depending on your location — and could be extremely expensive,” says Mark Friedlander, director of corporate communications at the Insurance Information Institute. “That’s because most national and regional insurers do not offer short-term auto coverage. The cost of underwriting risk for such a minimal time frame outweighs the benefits of selling this type of coverage.”

If you’re looking for temporary car insurance in New Jersey, you do have a few reliable options, including nonowner car insurance, cancellation of an existing policy, and rental car insurance.

Getting nonowner car insurance in New Jersey

Nonowner insurance provides basic liability coverage when you don’t own a car. It pays for damage and injury you may cause to others when you’re driving a borrowed car. Nonowner insurance doesn’t cover damages to the car you’re borrowing or your injuries.^[2]

Nonowner insurance works like a standard liability coverage policy for a car owner. A standard liability policy covers damage and injuries that the owner causes to others.^[3]

You can typically purchase a nonowner policy for either six or 12 months. You might need a nonowner policy in one of the following situations:

• You frequently borrow someone else’s car.

• You want to continue coverage when you’re temporarily without a car.

• You need to maintain coverage after a serious traffic violation, like a DUI.^[4]

Canceling your policy early in New Jersey

If you really need to, you can cancel a standard policy before the policy’s term expires. You might need to stop the coverage early if you’re switching to another insurer or moving to a state where your current insurer doesn’t do business.

You can cancel your car insurance whenever you want, regardless of the reason, but you may need to pay a cancellation fee. In some cases, you can cancel your policy online or over the phone, but certain insurers may require you to submit paperwork.

Since New Jersey requires liability coverage, you’ll need to obtain a new policy when canceling your current policy if you plan to drive your vehicle. And if you financed your car, the lender may require you to carry comprehensive and collision coverages too.

“You cannot drive a car without insurance in New Jersey, regardless of the situation,” says Gary La Spisa, vice president of the Insurance Council of New Jersey. If you do drive without car insurance in New Jersey, you could face fines, jail time, or suspension of your driver’s license or vehicle registration.^[5]

Getting car insurance for a rental car in New Jersey

If you’re renting a car in New Jersey, your existing insurance policy may cover you, so you might not need to buy coverage from the rental car company. But if you file a claim related to a rental car incident, your premium for your existing policy could increase.^[6]

You can also sometimes get rental car protection through the credit card you use to rent a car. Now, if you don’t want to risk the possibility of filing a rental car claim with your insurance company, you might consider purchasing temporary coverage from the rental car company when you book or pick up the rental car.

Best car insurance companies for short-term car insurance in New Jersey

The table below shows the average monthly liability-only quotes for a six-month car insurance policy in New Jersey. Quotes can vary significantly, based on a number of factors, including your age, driving history, and where you live in the Garden State.

How Insurify rates car insurance companies

Data scientists at Insurify analyzed more than 40 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partner providers across the United States to compile the car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations displayed on this page.

The car insurance data includes coverage analysis and details on drivers’ vehicles, driving records, and demographic information. Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.

With this information, Insurify is able to offer drivers insight into how companies price their car insurance premiums. The data included on this page represent averages across driver ages, genders, credit scores, and driver profiles for New Jersey drivers.

Car insurance for students in New Jersey

College students in New Jersey may have special car insurance needs, depending on how they plan to use their vehicles and whether they moved to New Jersey for college.

Some students may have moved to New Jersey to attend school and plan to drive their car while there. In most circumstances, a college student can stay on their parents’ policy if they’re only temporarily away from home for college.

Many students attending college in New Jersey may also decide to leave their car at home while at school. If the student goes to school more than 100 miles from home and doesn’t plan on driving an insured car, their parents can temporarily remove the student from the policy.

Parents can also qualify for a student-away-from-home discount if their student driver attends school 100 or more miles away but will still drive the car on occasion. Some insurers allow parents to downgrade their college student from a primary driver to an occasional driver.

Temporary car insurance in New Jersey FAQs