Sometimes it is prudent to think about whether you should purchase short term car insurance. Most people are fairly unaware to the situations when short term car insurance could be warranted, and unknowingly carry on without insurance. This may cause a substantial financial and legal risk in case something bad will happen, but risk could be prevented after some preparation.

First, it’s useful to know when short term car insurance is warranted. Here are some cases that will help you decide if you should look for a short term insurance plan to cover your driving activities. It can get complicated, so we attempted to break things down to be a little more obvious.

1. You’re driving a friend’s car, and…

You don’t have a personal driving insurance of yours. You are of course not covered, except when your friend’s own car insurance includes a clause that for the short term insures additional drivers of his auto against damages and liability. If your friend’s policy doesn’t cover you, or when there is no liability terms in your friend’s guest-driver insurance arrangement, you need to get short term car insurance prior to driving.

You have a driving policy of yours. The most important question to ask is your auto insurance policy covers you if you drive another person’s car. An easy call to your insurance provider will answer this question for you. If your current insurance policy don't cover you, your friend’s could. In case neither person’s insurance policy covers your guest-driving activity, you should request your primary insurance provider for a short term car insurance.

2. You’re renting a car and…

You don’t have a car insurance. You surely need coverage. You can pay for the leasing company’s damage and liability policy, however, you could probably have a far better deal by contacting the company which provides your property or health insurance, or which you do your banking with. You could reduce your cost on short term car insurance.

You have a insurance policy for your car. So, you should check with your current auto insurance provider to find out if they’ll cover you when you drive your rental car. In that case, don’t pay for the rental company’s overpriced short term insurance policy . If your plan doesn’t cover rental car usage, ask your current insurance company for a short term car insurance. This will be less expensive than using the rental car company’s coverage.

Spending only a little time to find out the details of your short term car insurance will save you lots of headache and money when you have a car accident. Even though you could be a careful driver, there’s no telling if the person next to you on the road could make a mistake.