Can I Drive a New Car Home Without Insurance?

No – car insurance policies apply to specific vehicles and specific drivers. Just because you’re insured on your old car doesn’t mean you’re automatically covered to drive your new one.

If you’re replacing your car, you could contact your insurer and transfer your existing policy. But this usually involves:

• Paying an admin fee
• Recalculating your premium based on the new vehicle
• Delays or gaps in cover if your insurer can’t update it instantly

And if your new car isn’t replacing your old one? You won’t be able to transfer the policy at all.

Some comprehensive policies include a ‘Driving Other Cars’ (DOC) clause – but this won’t cover you for a vehicle you own, would still leave the new car uninsured, and it typically only provides third-party cover. So even if your old policy includes DOC, it’s not valid for collecting your new car.

Unless you’ve already arranged cover in advance, the safest and simplest option is temporary insurance. It lets you get your car home legally and gives you time to sort out a longer-term policy without rushing. With temporary insurance, you can get covered in minutes and avoid the risk of driving uninsured. That way, you know you’re covered from the second you get behind the wheel.

If the car doesn’t have a valid MOT, you can only drive it on public roads to a pre-booked MOT test. Even then, it must be insured, luckily temporary insurance can be used to insure a car to take it to its MOT. 

A car without an MOT is technically not road legal – in most cases, especially if you’re buying from a dealership, they should sort the MOT for you before you drive it home. 

If the car you’re purchasing doesn’t have a valid MOT, you should: 

• Ask the seller to MOT the car before you drive it home
  
• If they aren’t able to MOT the car you should pre-book the test and drive the car directly to it from the point of purchase.

Buying from a private seller means you’re fully responsible for organising your own insurance and tax. Unlike dealerships, there’s no default cover or paperwork support.

Before you set off with your new car, make sure:

• You’ve got insurance in place.
• You’ve taxed it and transferred ownership using the V5C/2 slip.
• You’re certain the car has a valid MOT certificate.

With our temporary options, you can get covered on the spot – even while you’re standing on the seller’s driveway. So whether you’re needing to arrange insurance for a private test drive, or just drive your new wheels home from a private seller – temporary insurance is always a solid option.  

If you don’t already have your own annual policy in place, or don’t want to commit straight away, temporary insurance is a smart, flexible option. It gives you the time you need to get your car home and sort continuous insurance without feeling rushed.

You can:

• Get covered in under two minutes.
• Only pay for the time you need (from 1 hour to 28 days).
• Get proof of insurance instantly so you can tax the car without delay.