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Who We Cover

Making Motoring More Accessible

It’s our goal to make temporary vehicle cover more accessible, so at GoShorty not only can you get a quote in seconds, but we’re also able to insure more motorists.

The breadth of our vehicle insurance acceptance criteria means that if you can’t get car or van insurance elsewhere, all is not lost.

How Does Car Insurance Underwriting Criteria Work?

Insurers have a checklist of key criteria that you must meet to be eligible for short-term vehicle cover. The core list of variables that underwriters follow is generally the same: 

  • Age
  • Type of vehicle (and model value)
  • Previous claims made
  • Motoring convictions 
  • Location 

A combination of the above criteria will ultimately determine the level of risk involved in insuring someone on the roads. However, insurers will all have different interpretations of risk levels, which means some motorists will find it easier to get certified with one company over another. You can get more details about vehicle insurance acceptance criteria here.

Simply put, as GoShorty works with a wider pool of partners, your chances of getting a quote are greater. This is emphasised by the number of people who are repeat customers with us.

Which People Do We Typically Cover?

The average age of our typical customer is 33, but we’re also hugely popular among young drivers. In fact, more than one in three people (34%) insured through GoShorty are under 25. 

For private vehicles, the average value that we insure is £7,370, but we routinely provide policies for vehicles under £1,000. At the other end of the scale, we’ll cover vehicles that are worth up to £65,000 too. 

A motorist’s occupation can also be a factor in how likely they are to get insured (and how much it will cost). Some jobs carry more risk than others, a concept that we’ve previously covered in our guide to car insurance occupation categories. 

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of who we typically insure…

Short Term Car & Van Insurance Eligibility Criteria

Before you get a quote for short term car and van insurance, you need to know that you’re eligible.

MID: Please note that all our Short Term Insurance policies are submitted to the Motor Insurance Database (MID) at midnight every day. We recommend always having a copy of your Insurance Certificate with you during the period of cover.

About the driver

  • Private Car driver aged 18 to 75
  • Commercial Vehicle driver aged 19 to 75
  • Has a current permanent address as stated throughout this application (please note you may be asked to provide proof of residence in the event of a claim)
  • Has not ever been refused insurance, had a policy cancelled or voided
  • No conviction for any criminal offence or any possible prosecution pending.
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About the vehicle and its usage

  • Cars and Commercial Vehicles (up to 3.5 tonnes)
  • Minimum value Cars and Vans: £1* subject to age restrictions
  • Maximum value Cars: £65,000
  • Maximum value Vans: £65,000
  • Social, Domestic and Pleasure or Social, Domestic and Pleasure + Commercial use only – usage will be restricted to social domestic and pleasure purposes, which includes commuting and personal business use only
  • Vehicle must be registered in the UK
  • Foreign use is not permitted
  • Not for exporting – journeys must start and end in the UK
  • Is not left-hand drive and not modified (factory fitted extras or modifications for a disabled driver or passenger, or LPG conversions are acceptable).
  • Has no more than 7 seats and is not a rental or hire vehicle (if commercial – no more than 5 seats)
  • Must not be modified. LPG conversions and Disabled Modified are acceptable
  • Have a valid MOT (if required), is NOT declared as SORN (off-road) with DVLA and has NOT been seized by the police.
  • Not to be used for impounded or seized vehicles (unless specified as impounded cover)
  • Not to be used for any form of motor racing, pacemaking, track days, motor trade usage or hire and reward
  • Not for carrying hazardous goods or use at a hazardous location
  • There is no cover under this policy for vehicles which are insured, owned by, operated by, supplied by, hired or rented from any Claims, Credit hire or Accident Management Company.
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Short Term Learner Driver Insurance Eligibility Criteria

Before you get a quote for short term learner driver insurance, you need to know that you’re eligible.

MID: Please note that all our Short Term Insurance policies are submitted to the Motor Insurance Database (MID) at midnight every day. We recommend always having a copy of your Insurance Certificate with you during the period of cover.

About the driver

  • Learner driver aged 17 to 74
  • You must hold a UK Provisional driver’s license
  • Must not have had any claims, regardless of fault
  • Must not have had any penalty points
  • Resident in UK for 12 months minimum
  • Has a current permanent address as stated throughout this application, (please note you may be asked to provide proof of residence in the event of a claim)
  • Has not ever been refused insurance or had a policy cancelled or voided
  • Must not have been convicted of any criminal offence or have any possible prosecution pending
  • Must be supervised by a suitable person aged over 25 according to the law.
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About the vehicle and its usage

  • Private Cars only (limits are placed on the vehicle’s ABI grouping)
  • Minimum vehicle value – £1
  • Maximum vehicle value – £50,000
  • The insured vehicle must be covered by an underlying policy
  • Social, Domestic and Pleasure only
  • Vehicle must be registered in the UK
  • Foreign use is not permitted
  • Not for exporting – journeys must start and end in the UK
  • Is not left-hand drive and not modified (factory fitted extras or modifications for a disabled driver or passenger, or LPG conversions are acceptable).
  • Has no more than 5 seats
  • Must not be modified. LPG conversions and Disabled Modified are acceptable
  • Have a valid MOT (if required), is NOT declared as SORN (off-road) with DVLA and has NOT been seized by the police
  • Not to be used for impounded or seized vehicles (unless specified as impounded cover)
  • Not to be used for any form of motor racing, pace making, track days, motor trade usage or hire and reward
  • Not for carrying hazardous goods or use at a hazardous location
  • There is no cover under this policy for vehicles which are insured, owned by, operated by, supplied by, hired or rented from any Claims, Credit hire or Accident Management Company.
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More Important Details for Learner Drivers…

We will not provide cover while your vehicle is being driven by, or is in the charge of, the person named as the policyholder unless that person is accompanied at all times. The accompanying person must be aged 25 or over and must hold a current full UK driving licence which was issued at least 3 years ago.

These restrictions do not apply if the accompanying driver is a Department of Transport approved driving instructor or examiner.

The cover provided by this policy will cease immediately if you (the insured policyholder) pass your driving test for any other reason than to provide a temporary period of cover for no more than 3 hours after passing your driving test to enable you to return the insured car to its normal garaging address.

In this event you must return the Certificate of Motor Insurance to us for cancellation.