Non-owner car insurance is available for North Carolina drivers who don’t have their own car but drive someone else’s or who need to avoid a coverage lapse.

Written by Katherine Duffy

Reviewed by Kathleen Flear

Updated on Jan 29, 2024

The average non-owner car insurance cost is $414 per year in North Carolina. This type of coverage is ideal if you don’t have a car but drive someone else’s car frequently or want to avoid a lapse in coverage after selling your car.

Non-owner car insurance is a type of

auto liability insurance

that protects non-owner drivers from steep damage or medical bills if they cause an accident. Whether you’re borrowing a car, using a rideshare app, or frequently renting, non-owner car insurance protects you financially. Here’s a breakdown of coverage and costs, plus how to get it in North Carolina.

MORE:

North Carolina insurance costs

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What does non-owner car insurance cover?

Non-owner car insurance coverage is a kind of liability coverage that covers medical bills and damage to the other vehicle if you’ve caused an accident. This kind of coverage also serves as a type of secondary coverage to the car insurance policy the vehicle owner has purchased for their car.

If you want, you can add other types of popular insurance coverage in North Carolina, like

personal injury protection

medical payments coverage

, and

uninsured motorist coverage

. However,

collision

and

comprehensive coverage

are not available for non-owner car insurance because this kind of policy only covers you—not the vehicle you’re driving.

North Carolina’s

auto insurance requirements

include $30,000 of

bodily injury liability

per person and $60,000 of bodily injury liability per accident, plus $25,000 of

property damage liability

. Considering these baseline requirements, you could be facing major damage and medical bills if you cause an accident and the other driver only has a basic liability policy.

MORE:

Does my car insurance cover me if I drive someone else's car?

Average cost of non-owner car insurance in North Carolina

Purchasing non-owner car insurance in North Carolina is pretty inexpensive at an average of just $414 per year. However, if you have any major traffic violations on your record, such as a

DUI

, you may be looking at a significantly higher rate.

Nevertheless, non-owner car insurance in North Carolina is way more affordable than typical car insurance coverage, and incredibly affordable compared to a

full-coverage policy

The best North Carolina auto insurance companies for non-owner car insurance

Just three insurance providers offer non-owner car insurance across all 50 states:

GEICO

State Farm

, and

Nationwide

. These three providers are a great place to start when looking for non-owner car insurance.

If you’re looking for non-owner SR-22 insurance, check out providers that specialize in policies for high-risk drivers, such as Dairyland or

The General

. If you’re looking for the most affordable non-owner insurance policies in North Carolina, have a look at the table below.

Cheapest North Carolina non-owner car insurance companies

Company	Average annual premium	Average monthly premium	Average annual SR-22 premium	Average monthly SR-22 premium
GEICO	$457	$38	$1,947	$162
Nationwide	$293	$24	$1,220	$102
State Farm	$294	$25	$1,184	$99
Progressive	$499	$42	$1,962	$164

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Who needs a non-owner car insurance policy?

Typically, drivers need non-owner car insurance for one of four reasons:

You may need this type of insurance if you don’t have a car, but rent vehicles all the time, or use ridesharing apps like Zipcar to get around. Extra coverage on top of rental coverage is a good idea if you’re driving frequently.

Drivers who have serious traffic violations on their record sometimes need to get

SR-22 insurance

to get their driver’s license restored. Purchasing a non-owner auto insurance policy to fulfill this requirement is the most affordable way to do so.

Do you borrow your family members’ or friends’ cars often? If so, purchasing non-owner car insurance can mitigate serious financial liability if you get into an accident.

If you don’t own a car temporarily, investing in non-owner car insurance avoids a

lapse in coverage

, which may cause your insurance rates to rise later on.

That being said, if you only borrow cars occasionally, there’s no reason to worry, as the insurance policy for that car will cover your liability. Additionally, using a rental car once or twice a year for holidays isn’t frequent enough to get this kind of insurance—the

rental car insurance coverage

offered by the rental company or your credit card company should be enough.

MORE:

GEICO non-owner car insurance

How to get non-owner car insurance in North Carolina

If you don’t own a car or have routine access to the same car, you’re able to get non-owner car insurance in North Carolina. Start by calling agents from different providers to get quotes, or make things even easier by using an insurance comparison tool that generates multiple quotes for you to instantly compare.

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