insuring Your Vehicle Third Party, Fire and Theft-What is Covered?

There are two main types of insurance available for drivers of motor vehicles – Fully Comprehensive and Third Party, Fire and Theft. Here we look at Third Party, Fire and Theft.

Third Party Insurance

Simply put Third Party insurance cover is the lowest form of insurance a driver of a motor vehicle can have. This insurance cover covers you from the cost of any liability to other people. If, for example, you caused an accident then your Third Party cover would protect you from any costs that might be incurred in putting their vehicle back to a road-worthy state again.

Likewise Third Party insurance also covers against damage to other people’s property and injuries caused to other people.

Third Party insurance carries no excess as you cannot claim for anything yourself; only other individuals affected by your driving can claim against your insurance.

You should also be aware that if you do have an accident and there is damage to your own vehicle that Third Party insurance will not cover the cost of any repairs to your vehicle; you are liable for damages, breakdown fees and towing fees yourself.

You are road legal with Third Party insurance cover as long as you have a valid MOT and Driving Licence.

Providing you are over the age of 25 your insurance company may agree that you can drive another person’s vehicle with just your Third Party insurance but you should be aware again that this will only cover damages to other people, their vehicles and their property and the vehicle you are in charge of will be your own responsibility when it comes to paying for repairs.

Third Party, Fire and Theft

Third Party, Fire and Theft (also known as Non-Comprehensive Insurance) offers the same protection against damage to other people’s vehicles and property and injury to other people as your Third Party insurance would but with the addition of protection for you against damage to your vehicle by fire or from having your vehicle stolen.

As with Third Party insurance you cannot claim against your insurance if you collide with another driver and as such it is only they who can approach your insurance company with a view to making a claim.

You can only make a claim yourself if your car has been stolen or damaged as the result of a fire.

You should be aware of the fact that Third Party, Fire and Theft insurance is not the ideal insurance to have if you own a high value car – or a brand new car for that matter. Most new cars, especially if bought from a car dealership, will come with a year’s fully comprehensive insurance as standard so it is important to take all your documentation with you when purchasing a new car.

Also if you live in an area where car crime is relatively common you may find that Third Party, Fire and Theft premiums are considerably higher than in areas where the same crime is much less common.

Before proceeding with the procurement of any insurance policy it is best to look at the varying policies available to you with the many different insurance companies in the market place today.

Visit insurance companies’ websites and fill out an application for a quote before deciding upon which one to buy.