Why on earth would you want to buy short term car insurance? Well, your pet banshee might have had a heart attack after seeing itself in the mirror and you may need a larger car to take it to the taxidermist. Your wastrel son could be back for a six-month holiday from University wanting to borrow your new Jag to impress his purple haired girlfriend with his handbrake turns, power slides and wheel spinning. You may wish to borrow your neighbour's hearse for a Transylvanian castle holiday. But, to be serious for just a short while; whatever reason you need it for, short term car insurance is very easy to arrange, in fact you could easily have a policy in place within the next 5 minutes.

There are two types of short term car insurance available in Britain at the moment; one is for very short periods of between just a single day and four weeks, and you can pick any number of days you wish, between one and 28; the other is a rolling monthly 'pay as you go' policy and for this one you buy a minimum of one month's cover and the policy is renewed every month, unless you give at least two weeks notice of cancellation. This can last up to a maximum of eight months under current legislation.

Sometimes, if you wish to have insurance for more than a couple of weeks or so the monthly 'pay as you go' policy could prove to be the cheapest option, as well as giving you a little leeway, depending upon your own circumstances, but it is very important of course that you remember to cancel it in good time otherwise you may end up being charged for two months usage.

Both these types of policy offer either third-party or fully comprehensive cover, and are valid within the UK and the EEC, although it must be borne in mind that EEC cover is third-party only. You do however have the option to upgrade this to fully comprehensive cover. You can also arrange optional roadside assistance if you wish, both in the UK and the EEC. More than one car can be insured, and you can insure more than one driver for each vehicle if you so wish.

You, or the driver(s) you nominate, can insure a car or van of up to 3.5 tonnes; it can belong to you or someone else. Alternatively you can arrange for someone else to be insured to drive your car.

You'll need to be between 18 and 75, with no more than eight penalty points on your licence, and have held a full driving licence for a minimum of six months. Other conditions apply, as is usual with a car insurance policy.

Buying a short term car insurance policy online is very quick and easy, and once you have paid for the policy you can download the documentation and print it on your home printer if you wish so that you can have proof of your insurance if it is necessary to produce it. If the vehicle has not been insured for a period prior to this you would be well advised to make sure that you do in fact print these documents out and carry them with you, just in case you are stopped by the police for any reason; they will check with the motor insurers database as a matter of routine and since it takes a little time, usually several days, for this database to be updated they may not accept that you are in fact insured without some evidence.

If you have previously made a SORN declaration in respect of the car you do not have to inform anyone if you insure it and drive it on the roads provided that it is taxed and holds a current MOT as well; but you must make another SORN declaration when this cover runs out, unless it is replaced with another policy.

If you wish to use short term car insurance to tax a vehicle, this is now permitted provided that the insurance company is in agreement; the companies that we link to are perfectly happy with this.

You can arrange short term car insurance at very short notice indeed, in fact they can be purchased online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year and it only takes a few minutes to arrange a policy. Some people do in fact get theirs just before they set out on a journey, but you can buy one in advance if you wish, with up to 30 days notice, specifying the day and time that you wish cover to begin. This could save you having to get out of bed 10 or 15 min earlier on the morning of your journey!