One-week truck insurance: What is it and when do you need it?

Q: Is one-week truck insurance legal and available in the U.S.?

Yes , one-week truck insurance is legal and available in the U.S. Policies typically last 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, or five days . Short-term auto insurance must meet the same legal requirements as longer-term policies, so you're fully covered and compliant with state laws.

Q: Does one-week truck insurance exist?

Yes . While it’s not as common as regular six-month or annual policies, a few specialized insurers offer legitimate one-week truck insurance for temporary commercial vehicles, rental trucks, and short hauling jobs.

What does one-week truck insurance cover?

This type of weekly truck insurance is a liability auto insurance policy that gives you the flexibility to purchase legitimate commercial protection for specific timeframes, from single-day rentals to month-long contracts, without committing to longer-term policies that can cost thousands of dollars. Unlike traditional policies that lock you in for six to 12 months, temporary truck insurance allows you to pay only for the time you need protection, such as one or two days or a week. The policies are designed for truckers who don’t need a full policy.

An important note: Short-term policies can come with more strings attached. Policies might only cover certain areas, exclude specific types of cargo or have higher deductibles. Read the fine print before you buy, and make sure you understand what happens if you need to file a claim or cancel early. Also, be sure to check your state’s commercial auto insurance regulation and any Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules you may need to follow.

“One-week truck insurance is a lifesaver,” says Meyr Aviv, founder and CEO of iMoving, a moving company online marketplace. “It offers flexibility without the burden of long-term premiums. But here’s the catch: Most policies come with high deductibles and limited liability coverage.”

Quick coverage

One-week truck insurance offers flexible coverage for drivers who only need protection for a few days or weeks.
Because it’s a specialty product, weekly commercial liability insurance often costs more per day than standard long-term policies.
Temporary commercial truck insurance typically covers liability and physical damage, but some policies have high deductibles, limited liability caps or restricted cargo coverage.

What is traditional commercial truck insurance?

Commercial truck insurance is vehicle insurance for owner-operators, fleet owners and individual truckers. Policies can cover accidents, fires, natural disasters and other damage as well as bodily injury. The average cost of coverage, according to Progressive Commercial Insurance, ranges from $767 to $1,041 per month.

What does one-week truck insurance cover?

Short-term truck coverage gives you the same basic protections as regular commercial policies, just for a shorter time. It covers liability and physical damage.

Liability coverage handles bodily injury and property damage claims when you're at fault in an accident, while physical damage coverage takes care of vehicle repairs. For instance, if your truck is damaged due to a crash, theft, or a hailstorm, this part of the policy covers the cost of fixing or replacing the vehicle.

Depending on your state’s minimum insurance laws, you may also need to purchase uninsured or underinsured motorist and medical payments coverage.

What is the benefit of short-term trucking insurance?

Short-term truck insurance provides commercial vehicle coverage for periods ranging from one day to several weeks. Unlike traditional policies that lock you in for six to 12 months, temporary truck insurance allows you to pay only for the time you need protection.

These policies provide liability coverage should you or the person driving your truck injure someone or damage their property as well as physical damage coverage should your vehicle be banged up in a crash.

How short-term truck insurance works

Consider an independent contractor from Texas, whom we’ll call Mike. He primarily works in construction but occasionally takes on hauling jobs during slow periods. A local company offers Mike an opportunity to transport a specialized piece of equipment from a supplier in Texas to a job site in New Mexico. The trip should take four days, including pickup, transit, and delivery.

Mike plans to use an older flatbed truck that he keeps insured under a personal auto policy. However, personal auto insurance doesn’t cover commercial hauling. He needs temporary commercial vehicle insurance but doesn’t want to pay for six months of coverage, which policies typically require. Instead, Mike purchases temporary truck insurance to meet his liability requirements and protect himself financially for this job.

The four-day coverage period matches his timeline: He's protected from pickup to delivery without paying for months of coverage he doesn’t need. Once he completes the job, his short-term policy expires.

When do you need daily or weekly truck insurance?

Short-term truck insurance can be handy for specific, time-limited scenarios where a full-term policy would be impractical or costly. For example:

You're moving a truck you just bought. If you just purchased a vehicle and need to drive it home, you'll need temporary truck insurance until you arrange permanent coverage.
You do seasonal work. If you only haul hay during harvest or do landscaping in spring and summer, paying for truck insurance all year may not make financial sense.
You're testing out commercial work. Maybe you want to see if delivery driving or furniture moving could bring in extra income, but you're not ready to commit to a full policy yet.
Your regular truck is in the shop. When your work vehicle breaks down and you need to temporarily use another truck, short-term coverage keeps you legal on the road.
You're switching insurance companies. Sometimes an old policy ends before the new one kicks in, leaving you without coverage for a few days or weeks. Driving without insurance is against the law and can lead to legal penalties or make it difficult to get insurance in the future.
You have an unusual transport job. Say a client needs you to move something that won't fit in your regular vehicle, and you’re using another truck you own just for that job.

However, short-term insurance shouldn’t be a replacement for traditional policies for regular commercial operations. Claims can exceed basic coverage caps, meaning users are often underinsured and overpay in the long run, Aviv says. His advice? One-week truck insurance is “great for bridge coverage, terrible as a default. Use it sparingly and only with full awareness of exclusions.”

How much does one-day or one-week truck insurance cost?

It’s easy to assume that weekly truck insurance rates would be cheaper since you’re only paying for a limited window of coverage. But the cost may be higher than what you’d pay with a standard policy because it’s a niche product.

According to The Hartford, a regular commercial auto policy costs between $150 and $500 per month (or more), depending on your industry, vehicle type, cargo, driving record, and coverage limits. Truck insurance for a week can cost about the same. National Independent Truckers Insurance Co., which specializes in providing truck insurance policies to independent owner-operators and small fleets, lists the following coverage prices on its website:

24 hours: $140
48 hours: $240
72 hours: $340
Five days: $540

So why not sign up for regular insurance and then cancel the policy when you no longer need it? There are several reasons. For one, canceling a policy after a few days may raise a flag with commercial insurers when pricing your next commercial truck insurance policy. In addition, some insurers may have what’s known as a minimum earned premium, which means they get to keep a percentage of any premium you paid, even though you canceled the policy.

And there are other alternatives to consider. Pay-as-you-go insurance lets you pay only for the miles you drive, which could work better than traditional policies if you're not on the road much. Some drivers find it cheaper to buy a standard six-month policy and ask their insurer about early cancellation options. In this case, you might get a partial refund if you don't use the full term.

Which insurers sell short-term truck insurance?

Finding temporary commercial vehicle insurance isn't as straightforward as you might expect. Many major insurance companies don't offer short-term commercial truck policies.

Here are some companies that offer short-term truck insurance:

National Independent Truckers Insurance Company offers 24-hour, 48-hour, 72-hour, and five-day commercial truck policies.
Classic Truck Insurance offers short-term and non-trucking liability coverage, plus a wide range of services for independent truckers, from temporary policies to broker bonds.

How to get one-week truck insurance?

Buying coverage for a week is similar to buying a typical full-term policy. You can get a quote online, call an insurer that offers these policies or find an agent or broker.

Before you start calling around, gather up your commercial driver's license, vehicle registration, and details about what you'll be hauling and where you'll be driving.

Even though you may not find many companies offering temporary commercial truck insurance, don’t go with the first quote you get. Check with a few different companies to see who's offering the best deal, making sure to provide each with the same information so you have a true comparison.

Once you've picked a company, you can get everything done online or over the phone. Most insurers can start your coverage the same day and send you digital proof of insurance immediately.

Frequently asked questions

Is one-week truck insurance legal and available in the U.S.?

Yes, one-week truck insurance is legal and available in the U.S. Policies typically last 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, or five days. Short-term auto insurance must meet the same legal requirements as longer-term policies, so you're fully covered and compliant with state laws.

Can I get truck insurance for just one day?

Yes. As mentioned above, short-term policies can last 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, or five days.

Can I renew weekly insurance?

Renewing your weekly truck insurance depends entirely on your insurance company. Since renewal terms aren't standardized across the short-term insurance industry, you'll need to ask your insurer directly about extending your coverage beyond the initial time frame.

Does one-week truck insurance exist?

Yes. While it’s not as common as regular six-month or annual policies, a few specialized insurers offer legitimate one-week truck insurance for temporary commercial vehicles, rental trucks, and short hauling jobs.